Meet Saloum N’Jie: Film Director and Netflix’s Bridgertons Crowd Ad

Image Via Saloum N’jie (Instagram)

Netflix unveiled it’s new hit show, Bridgerton, on Christmas day and it became an instant hit as it drew 63 million viewers all over the world to gaze at yet another period drama but with a twist. I am personally not the biggest fan of period dramas but I am a huge fan of Shondaland, so I was assured that it was going to be a good watch!

Shondaland producing shows that sends social media into a frenzy is certainly not a surprise, I am sure many of us took part in the ritualistic tweet-watching of Scandal and How to get Away with Murder every Thursday – or more like Friday when you are from the UK. It got to the point that if you did not want the latest episode to be spoiled, you had to simply avoid going on twitter. 

So what does it take to be a part of the wonderful world of Shondaland? 

Like many people reading this article on BLK BRIT, Saloum N’Jie, comes from a first generation British background, from Gambian heritage. As a young Black Boy, he saw himself working as a filmmaker, and today he stands as a 3rd Assistant Crowd Director from Bridgerton. Saloum N’Jie spoke with me on his journey in the filming industry and his role as a 3rd Assistant Crowd Director in Bridgerton. His experience includes directing segments of the Notting Hill Carnival Experience last summer, to working on Luther, Maleficent 2, Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows, and World War Z as a 3rd Assistant Director.

If you want to better understand how you can possibly fit into the expansive filming industry, read on!

Image Via Saloum N’jie (Instagram)

Enna: Congratulations on the success of Bridgerton, it was amazing to see British talent really shine through the show. Firstly, I think I speak for a good amount of our audience in saying that we all love Bridgerton. As a keen follower of Shonda Rhimes and Shondaland productions, it was a must-watch for me. Let’s start with describing your role for the BLK BRIT audience. What was your role in Bridgerton?  

Saloum: She’s great, she really picked a winner here. My role, I was a Crowd 3rd Assistant Director. Basically, when you see the big town, the big balls and the big dances, it was my job as well as other ADs (Assistant Directors) to dress them into set, make them do interesting things and bring the scene alive by introducing crowds and making it as real as possible. You have a director that directs all the main cast members. So as you watch the Duke of Hastings, and Queen Charlotte, everything behind them that moves, my job as a 3rd Assistant Director is to really bring that to life.

Enna: Just for clarity, would that involve costuming, stage design and everything around that?

Saloum: You would have the costume department, and the make-up department for that. They run together. The Supporting Actors (SAs) go to make-up sometimes first, (then) get their hair done, then they go to the costume department and put on their costume. By the time all the SAs are done and we get the call to bring them to set, it is then my job to bring them to set and make them become a part of the scene, whilst making it as realistic as possible and that’s exactly what we did for Bridgerton.

Enna:  How does your role in Bridgerton differ from your previous work? You have worked on some major high grossing movies such as Maleficent 2, Great Expectations and World War Z and the hit show Luther, in what major ways has your role developed as you gained more experience.

Saloum: I started out as a runner. As a runner, you are at the beginning of your AD career, you will make teas and coffees, bring lunches to actors, directors and producers, and then you learn about where you want to go in the industry. So when you start at the bottom, you can decide “well you know what, I want to work in the art department or, I prefer to work with the cameras” you basically see everything at the start. I always knew that I wanted to be a director so it was the best job for me to do as my mum could not afford to send me to film school. So working on films was my film school and being a runner was the way that I learned. With other jobs, World War Z, Maleficent 2, I was able to get myself to a level where I became an Assistant Director, it is the same thing though, you deal with crowds, you gain more responsibilities or you are told to do something like “go over there with 10 SAs and do something different whilst we do this”. So you are always learning. Bridgerton was different as it was the first time I can honestly say I worked with so many Black/Black-mixed SAs in one go. For me, it was an incredible experience and one I will never forget. 

Enna: Certainly, because the SAs really did bring the whole thing to life with the dancing , the whole vibe and energy to the scenes. 

Saloum: Also with the show, Alrick Riley, he is a Black British director that works on a lot of big American shows. He directed two episodes, episode 7 and 8, it was great to see a Black Englishmen at the height of the biggest show this year. He’s a great man, we got along and exchanged ideas and contact details. That’s the level I am going - to direct my own show and to be part of that narrative.  

Enna: What stood out for me was seeing Black/mixed people quite comfortably in the nobility in Bridgerton. British period dramas are notably White, which is obviously historically accurate of course, but due to the popularity of period dramas, it does not give Black actors as much wiggle room in the industry. It was great to see British nobility reimagined in this way in a story that explores social class, love, sexuality within a very elite part of society.

The show was post-racial but set in an extremely racialised time in terms of its historical reality. In your view, what is the significance of reimagining multiracial nobility in the Regency-era in the film industry?  

Saloum: What is exciting about that is people like you watch it. I worked on Top Boy for a few days, it is based on a council estate kid who sold drugs and he becomes a Topboy, but you hardly see anything else. This drama gives Black directors, writers and actors something else to do, rather than films based on gangstas, criminals and cops, it is giving them another branch to lean up on in a nutshell. It has opened up an opportunity for more Black people to work on period dramas.  Okay, Bridgerton is based on a fictionalised book, but we existed (in England) back then before Queen Victoria. The merit in that for me would be educational as it would tell the truth about who we are, where we came from.

For me, I am Gambian. We have our own nobility and royalty but I was born here and we were not taught much about it. We learnt about Henry VIII, King George V (fifth) in school - we did not learn about Queen Charlotte possibly having African ancestry. When I was on set, you see all these Black people with canes walking around, having a good time. Looking back on it, I used to talk to the actors and the general feeling was, “Wow, we are here!” and we are not leaping out of cars, we are not being pinned up against a wall. None of those narratives happened in Bridgerton. 

Enna: Going a bit deeper into your journey, what inspired you to go into the filming industry? Did you know exactly what you wanted to do in the industry or was it a matter of figuring it out as you went along? 

Saloum: My mother took me to see Empire Strikes Back (Star Wars). I’m sitting in the theatre then I see this Black character with a cape, played by Lando Calrissian. He owned his own city! He was Han Solo’s best friend, he used to own the Millennium Falcon. I was like “WOW!”. When I saw that movie, I knew then that I wanted to be a filmmaker. My mum was like “Saloum, you are crazy” because there wasn’t any prominent Black directors in Britain at the time. When I was your age, Lenny Henry was the biggest Black person on TV - there was some TV shows but nobody was doing movies. But again, it still did not deter me. I am from Ladbrook Grove, there was a local film club called Massive Videos.  I met a guy called Barney Platts Mills, he encouraged me to really follow my passion. He said if I want to make films then I should do it. Then one day, Bill Murray, the guy in the original Ghost Busters, was making a film in Ladbrook Grove, I managed to get on that film as a runner and since that day, I have never looked back. At first, I wanted to be an actor, but then I realised, I wanted to create content. That’s when I started to look at directing and that is how the whole thing for me started.

Enna: In your view, what is the importance of more Black British people exploring roles behind the camera as well as in front of the camera? 

Saloum: The importance is simple for me, we will learn how the filmmaking process happens. You will have many Black shows created by White directors, even though there are loads of Black directors out there, there are Black sound people out there, Black MUAs and costume designers. Every behind-the-scenes role in filmmaking in Britain is a role for a Black person or POC to occupy. And it is important because once we have these skills, we can then tell our own stories and tell them right. 

Enna:  People who aspire to work in the film industry may be thinking, what could they be doing to help their chances during the ongoing pandemic, what advice do you have for them? 

 Saloum: Right now is the best time, because there are productions still going on. So I would say keep reading, keep doing self -tapes, go online and visit studios’ websites and see what productions are being shot there. See who the production coordinators, producers, 3rd assistant directors are. Try to get their emails and push your CV! Always practise your craft, surround yourself with people that inspire you in terms of where you want to go, and network! You cannot make a film by yourself! The filmmaking process is a collective collaboration of everybody, of all artists, we are all filmmakers, we have to help one another because that’s the way we evolve. We have to be seen helping each other.

Enna: Alongside Bridgeton, are there any other projects we should be keeping a keen eye for.

Saloum: (Laughs) I prefer to show you something when I’ve done it. I have a few projects on the go, I have a documentary that I am involved in, I have 3 feature films in the development stage at the moment. I am really enjoying the creative process at the moment. But I have to keep it hush.

Enna: What should be expect from season 2 of Bridgerton in three words?

Saloum: Bigger. Bolder. Better.

(Spoiler question) 

Enna: The great reveal was that Penelope Fetherington was Lady Whistledown, was Penelope right to expose Mariam?

Saloum: (Laughs) I can’t answer that question. Why must I answer that question?

Enna: Because it really bothered me!

Saloum: Why did it bother you? 

Enna: Because it was in a time where women did not have many choices and she essentially threw her under the bus.

Saloum: Well, that’s what makes good TV!

Enna: Any final thoughts: 

Saloum: I am proud I did season 1 as what we achieved was historic. Downton Abbey is huge, but there are no Black people on that show, maybe 1 or 2, but this was all out in your face without explanation, you either like it or you don’t. What happened? Everyone loves it. It’s the number one show in 25 countries, in America, Australia, watched in 65 million households. I am happy that I was a part of it working with the crowds and the SAs. There was a big team of us, just want to say thank you to all of them.

It is a common tale of Black British actors going to find work in the USA, becoming successful there before finally getting their flowers in Britain. The predominance of period dramas in the British film and TV industry have typically stifled Black talents holistic development in the UK as it is famously exclusive.  To combat this, people in the industry have suggested blind casting as a solution. Bridgerton created a space to progress the conversation of Black British inclusion in British storytelling through the grandiose point that even in the Regency aristocracy and royalty, Black British talent has its place when reimagining these stories. What is clear is that there are many stories that need to be told to explore the history of Black Britons in England, in Africa and Caribbean. Black people in front and behind the camera will be pivotal in making these productions a reality!