Rentals
Black Lives
Portraits of public and private lives against the shifting social climate of 20th century Britain.
Black communities, like many minority groups, have long been ill-served by a mainstream British media accustomed to reflecting predominantly white, middle-class lives - a problem entrenched in the second half of the 20th century with the rise of television. Yet a rich tapestry of work from across the boundaries of fiction and non-fiction, film and TV, made for (though not always by) black people, does exist. This selection contains many surprises – some joyous, some sobering, some heartbreaking – and highlights the often painfully slow progress in addressing negative representations and stereotypes on screen. Impassioned and sometimes violent dispatches from the front line in the fight for racial equality can be found here, but so too can records of progress: in the pioneers breaking new ground in culture, politics and sport, and in the more mundane glimpses of everyday life. And this story is not just London’s story: the selection takes a journey around Britain, to a Nigerian wedding in 1960s Cornwall, an ‘African village’ in Essex and a Caribbean restaurant opening in West Bromwich; Newcastle, meanwhile, plays host to not one but two black luminaries, Martin Luther King and Muhammed Ali.
Born in-a Babylon Born in-a Babylon
Documentary 2000 35 mins Director: Nicolas Chaudeurge
A portrait of Rastafarians living in Tottenham at the start of the new millennium.
Immigrants Immigrants
Documentary 1965 25 mins Director: Peter Davis and Staffan Lamm
A fascinating, unsettling study of immigration in 1960s English cities.
Negro next Door Negro next Door
Current affairs 1965 27 mins Director: Peter Robinson
The white residents of a Leeds suburb express their troubling thoughts on their new black neighbours.
Mixed Marriages Mixed Marriages
1958 14 mins Director: Rollo Gamble
Broadcaster Daniel Farson explores different points of view about interracial marriages from 'ordinary' people.
Sid's Family Sid's Family
Documentary 1972 49 mins Director: Nick Gifford
You know Seven Up, but have you heard of Sid's Trilogy? See life through Jamaican-born father Sid's eyes in this 70s doc
Good Father Good Father
Documentary 1980 59 mins Director: Nick Gifford
You'll be delighted to meet Sid Williams and his six children, from Montpelier in Bristol, in this engaging documentary
Coloured Voting - Hidden Issue Coloured Voting - Hidden Issue
Factual TV 1964 14 mins Director: James Butler
Current affairs programme from Birmingham investigating the possible impact that immigration and racial prejudice may have on the upcoming election.
Black Muslims Black Muslims
Documentary 1963 11 mins
Remarkable interview with Malcolm X, spokesman for the Nation of Islam, about police brutality against black Muslims in LA
This Question of Colour This Question of Colour
Documentary 1965 29 mins Director: William Brayne
Dcumentary about race relations in Britain from a US standpoint, including a report on the 1964 election in Smethwick.
Coloured School Leavers Coloured School Leavers
Current affairs 1965 27 mins Director: Peter Robinson
Black school leavers talk about their career aspirations and the discrimination they may face in the world of work.
Blood Ah Go Run Blood Ah Go Run
Documentary 1982 13 mins Director: Menelik Shabazz and Imruh Caesar
This documentary by Menelik Shabazz (Burning an Illusion) about the response to the New Cross Fire in 1981 prefigures the widespread social unrest later that year.
Rooted Rooted
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1997 4 mins Director: Victor Olusola Opeyokun
Animated awakening: a young black man in an oppressive urban environment finds a new outlook by embracing his African roots
Blacks Britannica Blacks Britannica
Campaigning film 1978 57 mins Director: David Koff
British racism is discussed in the context of the class struggle in this powerful American documentary.
The Sailor's Return The Sailor's Return
Period drama 1978 104 mins Silent Director: Jack Gold
Fascinating tale, set in 19th century Dorset, of an African woman who faces prejudice when she falls in love with an Englishman.
Hot Summer Night Hot Summer Night
Drama 1959 82 mins Director: Ted Kotcheff
A progressive union boss is confronted with his family's prejudices when his daughter brings home her black boyfriend.
Dread Beat and Blood Dread Beat and Blood
Biopic 1979 44 mins Director: Franco Rosso
Vibrant documentary portrait of dub poet and activist Linton Kwesi Johnson, fighting racism with the spoken word on the streets of 1970s Brixton.
Omega Rising Omega Rising
1988 50 mins Director: D. Elmina Davis
The women of Rastafari talk about their relationship to the movement’s development.
Film: Heart Within
The Heart Within The Heart Within
Crime 1957 59 mins Director: David Eady
Thrilling adventure set in London's docklands involving a young lad and a Trinidadian docker who's framed for murder.
More Black Lives films from our Free collection.