This film is currently unavailable
Blood Ah Go Run
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.
Director: Menelik Shabazz and Imruh Caesar
Overview
This prescient documentary Menelik Shabazz (Burning an Illusion) was made in the aftermath of the New Cross Fire in January 1981, in which thirteen young black people were killed at No. 439 New Cross Road, London. This was the home of Yvonne Ruddock, whose birthday was being celebrated that night and who herself was killed in the fire. The bungled police investigation outraged the Black community and culminated in the formation of the New Cross Massacre Action Committee, who called a massive day of action and demonstration that is the subject of this short film.
The slogan of the march, ‘13 dead and nothing said’ became a byword for the perceived indifference of the British state - Margaret Thatcher did not express her sympathy until two months after the tragedy. The final statement of the film - ‘this is only the beginning, not the end’ - was indeed accurate, as the march was to be the first sign of nationwide unrest in the Black communities culminating in violent uprisings in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool.
Related
Bogancloch Bogancloch
Documentary 2025 86 mins Director: Ben Rivers
The life and environment of a solitary man is gently observed in Ben Rivers' intimate, experimental documentary.
E.1027 - Eileen Gray and the House by the Sea E.1027 - Eileen Gray and the House by the Sea
Drama-documentary 2024 90 mins Director: Beatrice Minger
A love triangle of jealousy in the Parisian art scene of the 1930s is brought to life in a stylish docufiction about the iconic artist and architect.
One to One: John & Yoko One to One: John & Yoko
Documentary 2024 101 mins Director: Kevin Macdonald
Kevin Macdonald’s essential record of the former Beatle’s final full-length performance is a fascinating portrait of two artists in a state of flux.
A New Kind of Wilderness A New Kind of Wilderness
Documentary 2023 84 mins Director: Silje Evensmo Jacobsen
A tragedy shatters the idyllic world of a family living off-grid in the Norwegian wilderness.
Riefenstahl Riefenstahl
Documentary 2024 115 mins Director: Andreas Veiel
Captivating insight into the controversial filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, who became world-famous for her Nazi propaganda.
Blue Road: The Edna O'Brien Story Blue Road: The Edna O'Brien Story
Documentary 2025 100 mins Director: Sinéad O'Shea
A candid portrait of a literary sensation that’s as enchanting as O’Brien’s wonderful novels.
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.
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.
Riots and Rumours of Riots Riots and Rumours of Riots
1981 34 mins Director: Imruh Caesar
Radical resistance in the postwar British Caribbean community, from the 1948 Nationality Act to the 1958 Brixton riots.
Welcome II the Terrordome Welcome II the Terrordome
Drama 1995 94 mins Director: Ngozi Onwurah
A ferocious dystopian nightmare, this was the first film directed by a Black British woman to receive a UK theatrical release.
The Hard Stop The Hard Stop
Documentary 2016 86 mins Director: George Amponsah
The story of Mark Duggan, who was shot and killed in Tottenham in 2011, is brought to the screen in this humane, thought-provoking and topical documentary.
Baldwin's N***** Baldwin's N*****
Documentary 1969 44 mins
Horace Ové's striking portrait of the American writer James Baldwin at his sharp-witted best addressing a group of radical West Indian students in 1960s London.
Slow Slow
Romance 2023 108 mins Director: Marija Kavtaradze
Sundance award-winning love story about the evolving connection between a dancer and sign-language interpreter, when the man reveals he’s asexual.
To a Land Unknown To a Land Unknown
Thriller 2025 106 mins Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Danish-Palestinian director Mahdi Fleifel’s feature debut combines a buddy drama and tense thriller to powerful and topical effect.
Chicken Town Chicken Town
Comedy 2025 90 mins Director: Richard Bracewell
Two old schoolfriends join forces with an elderly neighbour to fence a shed full of weed, in this sprightly, easy-going British comedy.
Bogancloch Bogancloch
Documentary 2025 86 mins Director: Ben Rivers
The life and environment of a solitary man is gently observed in Ben Rivers' intimate, experimental documentary.
When Autumn Falls When Autumn Falls
Drama 2024 104 mins Director: François Ozon
The ever-inventive François Ozon offers a bittersweet tale with a twist or two, about age, youth, the past and the art of breaking the rules.
Gholam Gholam
Drama 2017 95 mins Director: Mitra Tabrizian
An Iranian exile in London, who is haunted by his past, gets involved in the conflicts of a total stranger and has to see it through until the end, in this mesmerising slow-burn thriller.