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Black British Filmmaking
A selection of shorts and features by black writers and directors, from milestones of the 60s and 70s to contemporary hits.
For much of the history of British film and TV, black stories were overseen by white filmmakers. By the 1960s, black writers and directors were demanding to tell their own stories, in their own way. This collection celebrates the work of black storytellers who have enriched our understanding of the black British experience. Landmark features like Horace Ové's Pressure (1975) and Menelik Shabazz's Burning an Illusion (1981) stand beside earlier milestones in short filmmaking by Lionel Ngakane and Lloyd Reckord, and 1990s work by Isaac Julien and Julian Henriques. And you'll find hits by leading lights in new black British cinema, including Noel Clarke, Destiny Ekaragha and Debbie Tucker Green. The collection also highlights the work of Ngozi Onwurah, who became the first black British woman director to get a UK theatrical release with her extraordinary debut feature Welcome II the Terrordome (1995), a controversial dystopian fable unavailable for many years.
Pressure Pressure
Drama 1978 121 mins Director: Horace Ové
Hailed as Britain's first black feature film, Pressure is a hard-hitting, honest document of the plight of disenchanted black youths in 1970s London.
Young Soul Rebels Young Soul Rebels
Drama 1991 105 mins Director: Isaac Julien
The Queen's Silver Jubilee beats to the sounds of Funkadelic, Sylvester and the O'Jays in Isaac Julien’s feature debut.
Second Coming Second Coming
Drama 2015 105 mins Director: debbie tucker green
What if an immaculate conception took place in a South London household? Idris Elba stars in a subtle, thought-provoking and original family drama.
The Stuart Hall Project The Stuart Hall Project
Documentary 2013 99 mins Director: John Akomfrah
Composed of film, music and photographs from the archives, a fascinating portrait of the life and times of the founder of cultural studies and the New Left Experience.
Honeytrap Honeytrap
Drama 2015 97 mins Director: Rebecca Johnson
While attempting to settle into her new London neighbourhood, Layla finds herself thrown into the city's gang culture.
Burning an Illusion Burning an Illusion
Drama 1982 102 mins Director: Menelik Shabazz
Menelik Shabazz’s pioneering first feature traces the emotional and political growth of a young black couple in Thatcher’s London.
Babylon Babylon
Drama 1980 95 mins Director: Franco Rosso
A young Rastafarian toaster (rapper) aims for success at a Reggae Sound System competition.
Gone Too Far! Gone Too Far!
Comedy 2014 88 mins Director: Destiny Ekaragha
Riotous urban comedy adapted from the hit Royal Court play, about a Peckham teen affronted by the arrival of his long-lost Nigerian sibling.
Film: The Hard Stop
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.
More Black British Filmmaking in our Rentals collection.
More Black British Filmmaking in our Free collection.