This film is part of Rentals
Sound Business
Molly Dineen’s directorial debut presents a fascinating look into sound system culture, as well as an important document in the history of Black British music.
Director: Molly Dineen
Overview
Dineen’s cult documentary follows two British sound systems, the legendary Sir Coxsone Outernational (featuring a young Blacker Dread) and the (then) up-and-coming Young Lion, both based in south west London.
Sound system culture was never only a music scene. As DJ Country explains in the film, he would use his sets to also provide news to the community. In a performance shown in the film he speaks about the New Cross Fire, which killed 13 young black people in 1981, the same year that Dineen made Sound Business. Feeling that there was a cover up over how the fire broke out, Black people came together to march in the first Black People’s Day of Action, a precursor to the cross-cultural Black Lives Matter marches in 2020 following the killing of George Floyd by police officers in America.
Related
Together with Lorenza Mazzetti Together with Lorenza Mazzetti
Documentary 2023 55 mins Director: Brighid Lowe
Brighid Lowe’s intimate documentary about the Italian-born artist and filmmaker who became a vital part of the Free Cinema movement in '50s Britain.
Phantom Parrot Phantom Parrot
Documentary 2023 85 mins Director: Kate Stonehill
A top-secret surveillance programme is revealed in this razor-sharp analysis of technology, human rights and structural racism.
blur: To the End blur: To the End
Documentary 2024 104 mins Director: Toby L
Britpop legends Blur reunite for their biggest gig at Wembley Stadium, in this raw documentary steeped in nostalgia.
Orlando, My Political Biography Orlando, My Political Biography
Documentary 2023 98 mins Director: Paul B Preciado
A trans and non-binary cast explore the incarnations of Virginia Woolf’s enigmatic protagonist.
Wilding Wilding
Documentary 2023 75 mins Director: David Allen
A dying landscape is healed against all odds, going on to thrive in astonishing ways, in this hopeful story of ecological regeneration.
Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger
Documentary 2024 133 mins Director: David Hinton
Martin Scorsese presents a highly personal tribute to the work and influence of Powell and Pressburger.
Heart of the Angel Heart of the Angel
Documentary 1989 40 mins Director: Molly Dineen
Molly Dineen’s wry, humorous and sometimes touching look at the trials faced by the staff and passengers of London’s dishearteningly dilapidated Angel tube station, before its modernisation.
Being Blacker Being Blacker
Documentary 2018 89 mins Director: Molly Dineen
Molly Dineen’s acclaimed documentary about renowned Brixton-based music producer Blacker Dread.
Geri Geri
Documentary 1999 91 mins Director: Molly Dineen
Geri Halliwell, the most colourful and outrageous of the Spice Girls, has dramatically left the band. Two days later acclaimed documentarian, Molly Dineen, joins her in this fascinating glimpse of fame and celebrity.
The Lie of the Land The Lie of the Land
Documentary 2007 75 mins Director: Molly Dineen
As the country clamours for a ban on fox hunting, acclaimed British documentarian Molly Dineen uncovers the unpleasant truths of life in the British countryside in this BAFTA-winning film.
The Ark: Survival of the Fittest The Ark: Survival of the Fittest
Documentary 1993 58 mins Director: Molly Dineen
Molly Dineen reveals the inner workings of London Zoo as the institution is rocked by uncertainty and change in the first in a BAFTA-winning series of four films.
The Ark: Tooth and Claw The Ark: Tooth and Claw
Documentary 1993 60 mins Director: Molly Dineen
The fourth and final episode in documentary filmmaker Molly Dineen’s BAFTA-winning series The Ark.
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.
In the Company of Men: The Brotherhood In the Company of Men: The Brotherhood
Documentary 1995 60 mins Director: Molly Dineen
This third and final film in Molly Dineen’s three-part series builds towards the ‘The Prince of Wales' company of the Welsh Guards’ symbolic victory parade in Brussels.
In the Company of Men: Commander In the Company of Men: Commander
Documentary 1995 59 mins Director: Molly Dineen
The first episode of Molly Dineen's three-part series follows Major Crispin Black as he considers the course his life could have taken if he hadn't joined the army.
The Ark: Survival of the Fittest The Ark: Survival of the Fittest
Documentary 1993 58 mins Director: Molly Dineen
Molly Dineen reveals the inner workings of London Zoo as the institution is rocked by uncertainty and change in the first in a BAFTA-winning series of four films.
The Lords' Tale The Lords' Tale
Documentary 2002 86 mins Director: Molly Dineen
Molly Dineen’s astute political documentary follows the abolition of hereditary peers and the resulting upheaval in parliament during the New Labour era.
My African Farm My African Farm
Documentary 1988 40 mins Director: Molly Dineen
Molly Dineen’s uncompromising portrait of spirited 78-year-old widow, Sylvia Richardson, on her farm in the foothills of Mount Kenya.
The Ark: The Political Animal The Ark: The Political Animal
Documentary 1993 59 mins Director: Molly Dineen
The third episode in documentary filmmaker Molly Dineen’s BAFTA-winning series The Ark.
Unicorns Unicorns
Romance 2023 120 mins Director: Sally El Hosaini and James Krishna Floyd
Sally El Hosaini and James Krishna Floyd have created a moving romance between an Essex mechanic and a South Asian drag queen.
Call Jane Call Jane
Drama 2022 90 mins Director: Phyllis Nagy
Elizabeth Banks and Sigourney Weaver star in this confident directorial debut from Carol screenwriter Phyllis Nagy about a network of women providing safe abortions in 1960s America.
Kill Kill
Action and Adventure 2023 105 mins Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat
A pair of commandos square off against savage bandits in this breathless action thriller set on a moving train.
Together with Lorenza Mazzetti Together with Lorenza Mazzetti
Documentary 2023 55 mins Director: Brighid Lowe
Brighid Lowe’s intimate documentary about the Italian-born artist and filmmaker who became a vital part of the Free Cinema movement in '50s Britain.
Phantom Parrot Phantom Parrot
Documentary 2023 85 mins Director: Kate Stonehill
A top-secret surveillance programme is revealed in this razor-sharp analysis of technology, human rights and structural racism.
Rosalie Rosalie
Period drama 2024 115 mins Director: Stéphanie Di Giusto
Enchanting tale of female empowerment in 19th century France, based on the true story of a famed ‘bearded lady’.