The decade spanning the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s was a watershed moment in Black British cinema.
Horace Ové broke new ground in 1975 with Pressure – the first feature-length fiction film by a Black director in Britain; even if the film’s general release was delayed for several years due to concerns over its seemingly controversial content. The radical film workshop movement of the 1980s then provided platforms for the emergence of filmmakers such as Menelik Shabazz, Issac Julien, Maureen Blackwood and John Akomfrah.
Although varied in form and content, the films created in this period consistently demonstrated a deep engagement with the contemporary experiences of young Black Britons. This was a turbulent moment in British domestic politics, and a challenging time to come of age. The children of the Windrush Generation were discovering the harsher realities behind the promises of post-War prosperity; the National Front was gaining prominence within the mainstream; and Thatcherism ushered in a new socio-economic model at the end of the 1970s. The first half of the 1980s would be marked by bouts of civil disorder, often centred on racist discrimination and policing.
The films featured in British Babylon address the complexities of this moment head-on, and present vivid snapshots of what it meant to be young, British and Black in the 70s and 80s.
Ové’s landmark feature is a fitting season finale. Also screening is Babylon: a 1980 feature made by Italian-British filmmaker Franco Rosso, but documenting the experiences of a young Rastafarian musician and the emergence of sound clash culture. And we are excited to present a rare theatrical screening of Handsworth Songs: the Black Audio Film Collective’s landmark film essay on race and civil disorder in 1980s Britain, directed by John Akomfrah.
These screenings is part of Rip It Up – a nationwide season celebrating the changing face of youth rebellion, culture and expression on screen in the UK. Supported by Film Hub North as part of the BFI Film Audience Network, made possible by the National Lottery.
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