Rentals
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.
Babymother Babymother
Musical 1998 77 mins Director: Julian Henriques
Neeta and her crew rise to dancehall fame in North West London's Caribbean community, in the first Black British musical.
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.
Dog Eat Dog Dog Eat Dog
Comedy 2001 93 mins Director: Moody Shoaibi
David Oyelowo makes his first feature film role as one of posse of DJs who enrage a local drug baron after stealing his dog.
Kidulthood Kidulthood
Drama 2006 91 mins Director: Menhaj Huda
Noel Clarke and Menhaj Huda’s explosive youth film follows the drug, sex and crime-fuelled antics of a group of West London teens over the course of a single day.
Adulthood Adulthood
Drama 2008 99 mins Director: Noel Clarke
After being released from prison following a murder charge, Sam Peel (Noel Clarke) attempts to reboot his life and seek redemption.
Brotherhood Brotherhood
Crime 2016 104 mins Director: Noel Clarke
A decade after the release of Adulthood, Sam (Noel Clarke) is trying to keep his family safe while simmering old grudges threaten to resurface.
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.
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.
The Weekend The Weekend
Comedy 2016 94 mins Director: Sheridan De Myers
Street-smart Hackney comedy about three friends whose unexpected cash windfall funds the mother of all parties; from the talents behind YouTube hit Mandem on the Wall.
Sidney's Chair Sidney's Chair
Drama 1995 21 mins Director: Roberto Bangura
What do you do when a Hollywood star makes a film in your neighbourhood? Nick his chair, of course!
Speak Like a Child Speak Like a Child
Drama 1998 77 mins Director: John Akomfrah
Moving drama about three close friends forever tied to a dark secret from their teenage past.
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.
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.
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
12 Years a Slave 12 Years a Slave
Biopic 2014 134 mins Director: Steve McQueen
Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender star in Steve McQueen’s fearless, Oscar-winning story of a free man who’s sold into slavery.
Smack and Thistle Smack and Thistle
Drama 1989 95 mins Director: Tunde Ikoli
When a young black wide-boy rescues a rich white girl from a heroin overdose – and falls for her – he’s drawn into a world of high-class crime.
Midnight Breaks Midnight Breaks
1988 113 mins Director: Laurens C. Postma
Big Audio Dynamite’s Don Letts made his acting debut in this gripping, gritty 1990 drama of dreads, drugs, and music business corruption.
Hush Hush
Thriller 2009 88 mins Director: Mark Tonderai
A tense and terrifying motorway thriller about a man whose girlfriend is kidnapped by a malevolent trucker, directed by former Radio 1 DJ Mark Tonderai.
Omega Rising Omega Rising
1988 50 mins Director: D. Elmina Davis
The women of Rastafari talk about their relationship to the movement’s development.
Coffee Coloured Children Coffee Coloured Children
Biopic 1988 17 mins Director: Ngozi Onwurah
Experimental monologue about the trauma of racial harassment and self-hate that accompanies growing up mixed-race in Britain.
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