Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £4.99 a month
Black Joy
Ben, an innocent immigrant from a remote village in Guyana, arrives in Brixton and falls prey to an assortment of streetwise characters in Anthony Simmons' Palme d’Or nominated comic drama.
Director: Anthony Simmons
Overview
Ben (Trevor Thomas), an innocent immigrant from a remote village in Guyana, arrives into Brixton with a full wallet and a packed suitcase. When he bumps into Devon, a young streetwise boy with an eye on his money, he is taken for a fool – but is gradually drawn in to the boy’s charismatic family circle, which includes Floella Benjamin in one of her earliest roles. Nominated for the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1977, and produced shortly after Horace Ové’s landmark film Pressure, Black Joy is both a culture-clash comedy and an unflinching look at the social and financial issues facing black Britons.
Director Anthony Simmons came from a legal background – formerly a barrister, his debut work, the short documentary Sunday by the Sea (1953) won the Grand Prix at Venice Film Festival.
Contains strong languageRelated
Sex Is Comedy Sex Is Comedy
Comedy 2002 95 mins Director: Catherine Breillat
A director struggles to film a difficult sex scene between two actors who happen to hate each other, in Catherine Breillat's witty exploration of intimacy coordination.
Hotel Splendide Hotel Splendide
Comedy 1932 53 mins Director: Michael Powell
Music hall veteran Jerry Verno stars as a lowly clerk who gets more than he bargained for when he inherits a hotel, in Michael Powell's charming comedy.
Scrapper Scrapper
Comedy 2023 90 mins Director: Charlotte Regan
A gorgeous and colourful heart-warming gem from Charlotte Regan, one of the best new voices in British film.
Chameleon Street Chameleon Street
Comedy 1989 95 mins Director: Wendell Harris
Extraordinary, fictionalised account of real-life Michigan conman William Douglas Street which won the Grand Prix award at Sundance in 1990.
Where Do We Go Now? Where Do We Go Now?
Comedy 2011 102 mins Director: Nadine Labaki
A group of Lebanese women strive to smooth over the ever-rising religious tension between Christians and Muslims in their village.
The Beta Test The Beta Test
Horror 2021 93 mins Director: Jim Cummings and PJ McCabe
Indie actor-director Jim Cummings returns after his breakout hit Thunder Road with a pacey down-the-rabbit-hole thriller about a Hollywood talent agent who becomes ensnared in a sinister world of sex, lies and murder.
A Touch of Zen A Touch of Zen
Action and Adventure 1971 179 mins Director: King Hu
King Hu's epic swordplay saga combines ghost story, martial arts mastery and Buddhist mythology to stunning, hypnotic effect.
Black Orpheus Black Orpheus
Romance 1959 107 mins Director: Marcel Camus
Academy Award and Palme d'Or-winning adaption of the Orpheus myth, incorporating the music, costume and dance of Brazil’s Rio Festival.
Memories of Underdevelopment Memories of Underdevelopment
Drama 1968 99 mins Director: Tomás Gutiérrez Alea
A mesmerising and complex character study of alienation amid tumultuous social change, from one of Cuba’s greatest directors, Tomás Gutiérrez Alea.
La Ronde La Ronde
Drama 1950 89 mins Director: Max Ophuls
Ophuls’ exquisite, imaginative adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler’s play about a carousel of erotic encounters involving characters of different social status.
French Cancan French Cancan
Period drama 1955 104 mins Director: Jean Renoir
Based on the story of Moulin Rouge founder Charles Zidler, Jean Renoir’s tale of an impresario’s commitment to his art is a masterpiece of Technicolor brilliance.
Les Enfants du paradis Les Enfants du paradis
Drama 1945 190 mins Director: Marcel Carné
Marcel Carné's masterpiece of French cinema portrays the theatrical milieu of Paris' 'Boulevard du Crime'.
A Touch of Zen A Touch of Zen
Action and Adventure 1971 179 mins Director: King Hu
King Hu's epic swordplay saga combines ghost story, martial arts mastery and Buddhist mythology to stunning, hypnotic effect.
Les Enfants du paradis Les Enfants du paradis
Drama 1945 190 mins Director: Marcel Carné
Marcel Carné's masterpiece of French cinema portrays the theatrical milieu of Paris' 'Boulevard du Crime'.
Plan 75 Plan 75
Drama 2022 113 mins Director: Chie Hayakawa
Faced with a rapidly ageing population, a government in near-future Japan rolls out an unsettling agenda.
The Edge of the World The Edge of the World
Drama 1937 75 mins Director: Michael Powell
Michael Powell's daring, windswept story of the inhabitants of a remote island who find their way of life threatened by a rapidly industrialising world.
De Humani Corporis Fabrica De Humani Corporis Fabrica
Documentary 2022 118 mins Director: Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Verena Paravel
The psychedelic physicality of this mortal coil – journey into the systems that comprise the human body in this fascinating sensory experience.
Great Yarmouth: Provisional Figures Great Yarmouth: Provisional Figures
Drama 2023 113 mins Director: Marco Martins and Marco Martins
As Brexit looms on the horizon, hundreds of migrant workers arrive in the coastal town of Great Yarmouth looking for work, in Marco Martins’ damning depiction of immigrant life in a fracturing Britain.