2021 has been quite the year for Leigh-Anne Pinnock, having made history with Little Mix back in May when they won the Brit award for ‘Best British Group’, and welcoming twins in August. However, the milestones for Leigh-Anne don’t stop there, as she is to make her acting debut this festive period in the Christmas Rom-Com ‘Boxing Day’.
Leigh-Anne has been a huge voice for the Black community, making her very own documentary ‘Race, Pop and Power’ throughout the pandemic. This makes her casting even more special, as ‘Boxing Day’ marks the very first British Christmas film focussing solely on Black relationships and culture in London.
Speaking on being a part of the film, Leigh-Anne said;
“I am truly honoured to have been able to be apart of this film but also truly proud, to witness the arrival of a film that celebrates black culture, black talent and black love.”
Making this all possible was Aml Ameen, who consistently pushed for the film to be set around British Black culture. ‘Boxing Day’ will mark Aml’s directorial debut, with him stating;
“It’s a quintessentially British film but it’s a part of Britain we have never really focused on in cinema. I’m a big fan of Love Actually and Richard Curtis films and took inspiration from his work but I wouldn’t call it the ‘Black Love Actually’.”
The film’s plot is surrounding Ameen’s character Melvin – a British author based in America – who heads back to London for Christmas, bringing his fiancé Lisa (Aja Naomi King) to meet his family. Things don’t run so smoothly when the couple runs into Leigh-Anne’s character, Georgia, a successful singer who Lisa is a massive fan of, who also happens to be Melvin’s ex-girlfriend.
What happens next is a mystery, which we can’t wait to find out! You can catch ‘Boxing Day’ in UK cinemas from the 3rd of December – a perfect time for festive films to be at the top of your watch list!
Words By Nadia Clasper
Photo Credit: Leigh-Anne Pinnock Instagram
