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26/7/05
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Page 93
Drum: BLACKWORLD 93
Now entering its third month, Black World – the British Film
Institute’s (bfi) major national initiative – continues this summer’s
scorching programme.
ugust and September see the release
of a series of iconic films on DVD plus
an in-depth focus on music with events
dedicated to reggae and calypso through to
ska and two-tone. Jazz hits the screens in
September and Blacktronica continue their sellout monthly night at the NFT film café.
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In August, music’s Caribbean Connection explores
the influences of styles such as calypso, soca,
rocksteady and reggae on the template of
popular music in Britain and across the world.
Black World TV re-boots live footage and
documentary classics from across the decades.
Expect to see Eek-a-Mouse and Yellowman on
reggae Sunsplash (1983), The Specials in a
1980 live set and Bob Marley on The Old Grey
Whistle Test (1973).
Throughout September, Black World TV turns
its focus to jazz offering-up rare recordings of
some of the world’s most iconic jazz musicians:
Louis Armstrong and the All Stars Show (1968);
Miles Davis on Jazz Scene: at the Ronnie Scott
Club (1969) and special footage of Billie Holiday.
Blacktronica’s sell-out DJ sessions continue to
support this season offering-up their not-to-bemissed, monthly club night. The summer promises
a mix of tunes, Caribbean-influences, jazz and
much more at the NFT’s film café venue.
bfi Black World aims to increase awareness of
the artistic, cultural and political context from
which black talent has emerged in moving image
and related art forms and in support, bfi video
have released a series of iconic films on DVD.
Looking for Langston, Burning an Illusion and
Horace Ové’s Pressure are three stylish master-
pieces that showcase the breadth of black filmmaking talent over recent years. Isaac Julien’s
Looking for Langston (1989) documents the
life of revered Harlem Renaissance poet and
gay, cultural icon, Langston Hughes. Menelik
Shabazz’s Burning an Illusion (1981) charts
the emotional journey of a woman as she
reaches emotional maturity, emancipation and,
finally, political awakening. And in Pressure
(1975), Ové’s story focuses on one black
teenager and his attempts to find his way in a
white-dominated, 70s Ladbroke Grove.
In addition to championing established talent, the
bfi and its Black World initiative are dedicated to
encouraging the new. New Futures provides a
platform to screen work from the latest generation
of filmmakers hand picked from across the USA,
Canada, Europe, Africa and the Caribbean. The
New Futures tour promises a collection of
must-see films from exciting breakthrough talent
later this year. Black World also encourages
young creatives with its series of masterclasses,
Rough Cuts, exclusively for 16-24 year olds
looking to kick-start a media career. Advice
comes direct from those in-the-know, including:
screenwriter, Catherine Johnson; TV presenter,
June Sarpong; Black Film magazine’s Cassam
Looch; special-effects genius, Tim Morgan and
in September, advertising guru, Trevor Robinson.
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