Selected in the Geneva International Film Festival (GIFF)’s International Competition for series, Just Act Normal by British director Janice Okoh – who also wrote the screenplay in league with Tolula Dada based on Okoh’s stage play Three Birds, which was directed by Nathaniel Martello-White – thrusts us into the private world of a family who are forced to fight the system in order to stay together. At times heartrending but always highly entertaining and profound, Just Act Normal tells the story of three siblings (a little girl, an almost eighteen-year-old and a super-introverted teenage boy) on the outskirts of Birmingham who are doing everything they can to avoid being taken into care after their mother’s sudden disappearance. Determined to impose their own rules rather than bending to the often-absurd rules created by adults, the three heroes/heroines of this excellent British series end up redefining the concept of community.

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In the first episode, we see young ten-year-old Tanika (an exceptional Kaydrah Walker-Wilkie) desperately trying to motivate her depressed older brother Tionne (Akins Subair) to get out of the bed that has become a hopeless refuge for him. Following the sudden (but not unexpected) death of their mother, nothing can convince him to leave the reassuring warmth of his covers, a kind of lethargic cocoon where he can forget reality. Tanika is undeterred and will do anything to stop social services noticing that something has changed in the family dynamic and taking them into care. Despite her very young age, Tanika is switched on to say the least, and endowed with an irresistible sense of humour (“I’ll definitely be adopted because I’m young and cute”, she tells her older brother mischievously), and these two qualities help her to fight a destiny which, sadly, now seems mapped out for them. Her older sister Tiane (Chenée Taylor), who’ll soon be 18 and officially in a position to take care of them all, helps her with her plan. Thanks to the energy and positivity of their age, the two sisters manage to overcome any initial challenges, but what does the future hold for them? What struggles will they have to face in order to keep the family together? Despite his mental state, Tionne seems to feel secure within this atypical family microcosm, but for how long? Another delectably ambiguous character is the poignant yet odious Doctor Feelgood (Sam Buchanan), a small-time drug dealer who’ll stop at nothing to create a “bad boy” reputation in order to make it easier for him to collect the money owed by his often-young clients.

Jam-packed with highly endearing characters, Just Act Normal is a series which maintains its tension throughout, as if the happy ending we secretly hope will materialise for everyone might suddenly go up in smoke. The three siblings are the linchpin of the story, but the skill that has gone into developing the surrounding characters - Doctor Feelgood, but also Tanika’s teacher Miss Jenkins (Romola Garai) – allows the story to explore a variety of vital themes, namely addictions, the difficulties involved in breaking free from our parents when we can’t find work, and endemic racism. Sitting midway between drama and comedy, Just Act Normal entertains whilst also making us think, without ever depriving viewers of the pleasure of twists and turns.

Produced by The Forge Entertainment and sold worldwide by Banijay Rights, the series was broadcast in the UK on BBC Three.