The World of Black Film: A Journey Through Cinematic Blackness in 100 Films is written by the curatorial director of the Criterion Collection, Ashley Clark. It surveys important and influential Black films from around the globe, looking at films from across 100 years and 30 countries.
For Black History Month (UK), we overview 5 Black British Films that Ashley Clark discusses in The World of Black Film:
Jemima & Johnny (1966)
A short drama about the adventures of two young children in West London’s Notting Hill district who become fast friends: Johnny, son of a racist right-wing activist father; and Jemima, same-age daughter of a recently arrived West Indian family.
"This vibrant portrait of a guileless, wholesome interracial friendship, which won a prize
for best short at the Venice Film Festival, symbolically decries the bigotry and de facto segregation surrounding its two young protagonists."
Pressure (1975)
A drama following London-born Tony, a recent school leaver. Tony is caught between a society that subjects him to racial prejudice, the religious conservatism and enduring respect for British colonial power of his Trinidadian immigrant parents, and the Black Power activism of his Trinidad-born older brother Colin.
"Pressure is a skillfully made, emotionally absorbing film that blends Ové’s keen sense of place and documentarian’s eye with intriguing cinematic influences, from Italian neorealism to, in a startling late sequence, the surrealism of Luis Buñuel."
Burning an Illusion (1981)
A drama about Pat, an independent young woman in London, who strikes up a relationship with the mercurial Del. Before long, events take a tempestuous turn, and Pat begins a new journey to discovering her political consciousness.
"It is a fascinating and unpredictable film, bursting with dramatic incidents and provocative observations about consumerism, female friendship, labor and gender relations, and activism"
Belle (2013)
Set at the end of the eighteenth century, this is a fictionalized account of the story of Dido Elizabeth Belle, the daughter of a white British naval officer and a Black African woman. Horrified upon learning of the mass killing of more than 130 enslaved African people by the crew of the British slave ship Zong, Dido gradually becomes an activist for abolition.
"An elegantly crafted and entertaining drama featuring a star-making turn from Gugu Mbatha-Raw in the title role, Belle emerged as a refreshing and overdue twist on the British period costume drama, a genre traditionally reserved for white characters and stories, and purveyed by white creators."
Blitz (2024)
Set in 1940 during the bombing of London by the Germans in World War II, this drama follows nine-year-old George, whose mother Rita sends him to safety in the countryside. The defiant George, however, is determined to return to his mother and grandfather in East London.
"In the sweeping, propulsive epic Blitz, McQueen turned his attention to World War II, a conflict about which there have been countless films. His choice of protagonist, though, was unique, offering a window through which to critically engage with issues of race and class that comparable British films in the genre rarely, if ever, touch."
