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A 'Mischief Night,' apparently, is a sort of holiday in Yorkshire. It's one night, a bit like Hallowe'en, when kids are allowed to run amok, playing tricks on their friends and neighbours without getting into too much trouble. It's a peculiarly Northern sort of carnival � and like all other uses of carnival in fiction, it's there to provoke revelations about the true nature of various characters by, perversely, allowing them to step outside of their everyday identities. There is a scene in Mischief Night where a character reads aloud a scene from Shakespeare's As You Like It in an English lesson; that little tip-off could only have been more screamingly unsubtle if she'd been reading A Midsummer Night's Dream.

The movie's central character is Tina, a some-time single mother of three kids by three different fathers. She ties all the different stories together, and also dutifully narrates (despite not being privy to many of the events, but hey, that's storytelling for you). The estate on which Tina lives is divided into two halves: a white side, and an Asian side. On the white side is Tina's family: her drug-dealing father, her would-be drug-dealing eldest son Tyler, her headstrong daughter Kimberley who's determined to find her real father, and her rebellious younger son Macaulay, for whom baiting paedophiles is all good fun. On the Asian side live Tina's old school friends: career criminal Quassim and reformed dealer Immy, who longs for change, to end all the crime and violence. Immy's extended family gets a look-in, too; notably Asif, a troublemaker who befriends Kimberley, and Serina, a young girl whose dreams of university are about to come to an end � her parents plan to marry her off to an old-man cousin from Pakistan.

It's a lot to ask of a film to carry so many characters without neglecting the development of any of them, but Mischief Night pulls it off admirably. More importantly, it handles a lot of potentially contentious issues with aplomb and, essentially, humour. There are a lot of laugh-out-loud moments in Mischief Night, with some gentle surrealism thrown in for good measure, though there is an occasional tendency to paint scenes with overly broad brushstrokes. The film covers the week leading up to Mischief Night, which is when all the bubbling tensions rise to the surface: every one of the main characters is trapped in one way or another, whether by socio-economic status, tradition, or just the products of their own stupidity, and the excitement of that one night manages to somehow set each of them free. Throughout, despite the humour and silliness, there're some rather dark undercurrents, but the rapid-fire rundown of each character's fate manages to defuse this as everyone gets an improbably neat and tidy happy ending. The finale plays out rather like a series of punch lines � but at least everything wraps up with a smile. 
 
A Company Pictures production for UK Film Council, FilmFour and Screen Yorkshire, produced by Abi Bach and Willow Grylls, written and directed by Penny Woolcock, Mischief Night will be released by Verve Pictures on November 3rd, 2006.

SPREADING MISCHIEF�AT THE TIMES LONDON FILM FESTIVAL

Speaking at the London Film festival, interview by Jinny Nagra

Penny Woolcock - Director

I just wanted to ask you a little bit about the film, was this based on your own experiences, what inspired  you to complete the trilogy?

I don�t know if I�ve finished it, I might do another one.  Kelly who plays Tina,  well Kelly and I both think Tina is like our alter ego, she plays a life that we might have led I might get interested in what she is doing in the future.  It is very much based on stories that people have told me and people that I know, very little in the film is completely made up, but I put it together in a way that makes a narrative�.

You tackle racial divide, is that something you encountered whilst growing up?

Not really while I was growing up, because what is says in this film, I think its true is that 15 years ago I think we all lived together much more happier.  If you live in Central London we do all live together but if you got to the East End its not like that, kids go to different schools, black kids got to one school and Asian kids go to another and there is even a divide between Muslim and Hindu and Bangladeshi kids or whatever, something that happens all round country but I think it�s a real shame.  I think we can all live together and people can understand each other better if we do, what I saw in Leeds is something happening everywhere.

With your previous film, like Principles of Lust, would you say that this was quite different?

Well it is because its lighter and although it does deal with some serious issues, it�s a comedy and I hope people will have a good time and come away feeling good will to all mankind�.  I�ve made two films with Kelly the Tina character, �Tina Goes Shopping� and �Tina takes a break�.  Tina live�s a life that we don�t have but we could have had, so we are always very interested In her.  Really I was always going to make a third film and the thing that struck me was how segregated in terms of Asian people were up north, but not just up north in London aswell, and somewhere here a friend Ian Slade who was telling me stories of teaching in Stepney green at a school that was 90% Bangaldeshi, gave me the idea really�

If there was one point you would like to get across after everyone sees this film, what would it be?

Well I think its to all love each other and mischief night is a genuine night, it�s a night when kids go out and they do naughty things and the Asian kids and the white kids, all they think about is ringing peoples door bells and throwing eggs or whatever, and it�s a night when people do come together and I think that really is the message of the film, kind of humour and humanity everywhere really.

Any plans for Halloween, for Mischief Night?

No I think I�m a bit to old for Mischief Night (she laughs) it�s a kids thing really.

Did you do a lot of research?

We went up to Bradford and hung out with a lot of naughty boys and we had the most fantastic time and it was very funny.  If you believe what you read about Muslims it not true at al,l people were very funny and we found out things as the man says in the mosque that everyday is about being a good person and I didn�t know that before, but its something I wanted to tackle.

Kelli Hollis

What was your reaction when you saw the script for the first time?

When I first read the script I just laughed the whole way through, all the stuff with the kids, when I watched the film after they were done making it, thinking I were there, I was really shocked actually.  I probably really didn�t get it meself until I watched it and i were in it, sounds really stupid you know what I mean as a whole thing and all the other characters in it and all their stories,  I was really shell shocked�.  I thought everyone did Mischief Night and Ramon was like I never heard of it in me life, so which is typical of what the film trys to get across in a way.

Ramon Tikaram

She rings me up and says I�ve got a gritty northern drama for you to look at, so anyway I looked at it the first day and started to read the first two pages and 20 mins later I was like I want to do this film.

What did you bring to this role?

Growing up out of this, I wasn�t part of any Asian community and I was brought up in the British army, it gave me a sense of separateness as I picked up straight away, Immie�s essence is to be aloof a bit away with fairies but he is there�

Chris Simpson

Having worked on this film how do you feel, what were your first thoughts when you saw the script?

I had a blast going to Leeds and meeting all the characters there and really taking part in what I think is a glorious film.

Did you face any difficulties when filming?

Well no not really, because the film company went to such great lengths to forge links with all the people from the different communities, people were really eager to co-operate when they found out this film was happening and telling their story, they were really keen to participate.

Did Penny Woolcock approach you or did you attend a casting?

Well yes all the usual things of going to a casting and Penny was actually convinced I was not the right person for the role, and I turned up with all my garb think I shocked her and she cast me�

And some people would say the film is quite controversial, trying to tackle racial divide in the area through comedy would you agree? Is this something you feel strongly about?

I think it has come at a time when there are all sorts of issues in terms of identity, politics, religion, but in the end I think the film talks about these things in a really fun light-hearted way.

Any plans to work on Trilogy�s in future?

This is third in the trilogy and maybe in future Penny may have plan to make more.