101
POWERLIST 2008
NOEL CLARKE, 32
Writer/Director/Actor
NOEL CLARKE (left) has, predictably perhaps, been called ‘the sequel to Kidulthood, and once again he also served as writer
new Spike Lee’ and hailed as the one of the 20 most powerful and acted in the fi lm. Its release marked the fi rst time a black
people in British fi lm. It is easy to dismiss this as just media British fi lm had had a West End premiere. Adulthood, which was
hype, but the accolades have been bestowed by reputed US fi lm made for just £1m, grossed an impressive £1.36m at the box
industry trade magazine Variety and The Independent newspaper. offi ce on its opening weekend.
And, more to the point, the west Londoner’s achievements speak NOEL: ‘If anyone is proof that you can do things, then I am
for themselves. that proof. I didn’t go to a private school or college, and I came
Clarke is a popular actor whose resumé includes primetime from a council estate in west London. People don’t have to look
TV favourites Doctor Who and Auf Wiedersehen Pet. In 2006 up to me or see me as a role model, but they should look at me
he starred in the critically acclaimed fl ick Kidulthood, a movie and see that they can do whatever they want in life.
made from a script he had penned a few years earlier, and which ‘I am extremely proud of the two fi lms I have already done,
became one of the top-10 British fi lms of the year. but now I want to tell different stories. We can’t have fi lms where
It was his big-screen writing and fi lm acting debut and earned black men are fi ghting all the time. We’ve shown what we have
him kudos and more writing gigs, notably with the BBC. This been through and now we need to show what we can do.’
year he added a director credit to his CV with Adulthood, the
www.noelclarke.co.uk
JESSICA HUIE, 27
CEO Colorblind Cards and Director of JH Public Relations
JESSICA HUIE began a media career as an offi ce junior for
publicist Connie Filipello (whose clients include Mariah
Carey and George Michael). At the time she was 17 and
pregnant with her now nine-year-old daughter, Monet.
However, she treated this as a reason to succeed not to
give up. College and university followed, as did valuable
experience as a showbiz reporter for ChoiceFM, Pride
magazine and as a press consultant for publicist Max
Clifford. In 2006 Colorblind Cards was born after she and
her brother Jethro noted that there were no greetings cards
specifi cally for ethnic minorities available on the high street.
A distribution deal with several outlets, including market
leaders Clinton Cards, followed and now Jessica, who has
received a slew of prestigious awards for her achievements,
including Enterprising Brit of the Year, is in the process of
taking her cards to the US. The company is expected to see
a turnover of £500,000 this year.
JESSICA: ‘As a mother I feel a huge social responsibility
because of all the problems our young people are
experiencing today. And I think a lack of self-worth is at the
root of that. If you can instil a strong identity in children,
such as them seeing positive images that represent them
in various mediums, then this stays with them as they get
older. Obviously a greeting card isn’t going to change the
world, but if we start somewhere then that is a good thing.
‘In terms of juggling motherhood and work, I’ve always
had a good family structure, but I certainly wasn’t one of
those girls who passed the baby to grandma. It wasn’t that
kind of party. Right from the start I was dropping off my
daughter to nursery in the morning, commuting 40 miles
to uni, driving back, picking her up from nursery, working
at a shoe shop on the weekend, doing work experience on
my days off and then doing a radio show every Sunday at
midnight. I grafted.’
www.colorblindcards.com
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