The Windrush Caribbean British Film festival is returning to The Riverfront Theatre in June. In 2023, the festival will explore the complex relationship between the big screen and the Windrush migrants from the Commonwealth, through screening films from across the span of the 75 years of Black British Cinema. This captivating filmic experience along with interactive workshops and thought-provoking events, will once again highlight the artistic, political and social contribution of the original pioneers as well as their descendants who are shaping Britain today, forming their own cultural and political narratives and identities to shine bright in their own starry night.
Festival Programme
June 16TH - 7pm - Book Here
£3.50 for all films and Q&A inclusive
Film: Asunder
Olivia, a trainee professional, finds herself opposing the government that is seeking to criminalise her mother. ASUNDER offers an intricate story about family, politics and justice.
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/549405414?embedded=true&source=video_title&owner=2350344
Film: Spirits Run Deep
A poetic film based on interviews of people from Butetown, Cardiff Docks and Tiger Bay
Film: Small Island Stories 2
Small Island Stories 2 is an audio and visual production based around stories of those who came to Derby on the Windrush and those of their descendants, first, second and third generations.
Small Island Stories 2 is predominantly based around the art form of Hip Hop and spoken word with features from a number of local artists to create a body of eclectic work inspired by the Windrush movement and influences from the Caribbean that have become entwined and part of common culture within Great Britain.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2tFxGnmyHw
Film: Rushed
A chance encounter between a black woman and a South Asian man in Birmingham forces them to confront life changing events they are desperately trying to escape.
Trailer: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/6tivjwm0hr23xcd9ynvfv/h?dl=0&rlkey=056r943d7p5uxpp3n6g7hcq6d
Film: Falsehood
Araloyin Oshunremi who plays Stefan in the hit Netflix series TOP BOY, stars as Richard, who is caught between two worlds as he struggles with his identity. Richard finds himself in situations, where his identity is questioned and he will need to work hard to convince his friends, he really is the person he says he is!
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHDDN6M79iY
Film: Black & White Duppy
A surreal coming of age horror exploring the impact of colonialism on London's Caribbean community.
On the day of his grandma’s funeral, 17-year-old Red faces multi-generational demons in this surreal horror film exploring colonial trauma and Black family histories.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLqgCNkmi_U
Panel Discussion/Q&A
June 17TH - Book here
1pm - £3.50 for film and workshop inclusive
Film: Concrete Garden
A charming story about a West Indian girl who moves to 1950s London from Jamaica. Marcia has spent most of her 11 years living with her Jamaican grandmother but is sent to damp, dark London to start a new life with her parents. Missing her gran terribly, Marcia is surrounded by bullying schoolgirls, racism on TV and a jealous younger brother... Only her favourite pop star will help her feel at home.
2pm
Photography workshop with Carl Connike
4pm - £3.50 for all films and Q&A inclusive
Film: Our Menopause
I am a feminist filmmaker and I work with women (even invisible ones as you can see in my autobiographical, film, Visibly me) to craft their personal stories into aesthetic, intimate, filmic documentaries. I call the women who share their stories with me during filming and the film's audience- Storytellers. I use filmmaking as a tool for empowering the Storytellers I work with.
Film: Our Grief
After finding black women's experiences being under-represented in London, UBELE set out to record women's experiences of grief, loss and bereavement in London, Nottingham and Wolverhampton.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inREJQCSnI4
Q&A session
7pm - £3.50 for all films and Q&A inclusive
Film: Black and Welsh
Film-maker Liana Stewart brings together people from actors and comedians to a model and a Rastafarian beekeeper, to share their stories of what it means to be black and Welsh.
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/523715469
Film: Dread Beat and Blood
This vibrant portrait of dub poet and political activist Linton Kwesi Johnson transports us back to the turbulent streets of Brixton in the late 1970s. Jamaican-born Johnson explains with precise and powerful eloquence the violence and racism meted out to Black and Asian communities in London and beyond - and how his poetry acts as a weapon in the struggle for justice.
Q&A session
8.15pm to 11pm – Free
Live music from Carl Bassett
June 18th - BOOK HERE
1pm - £3.50 for all films and Q&A inclusive
Film: Buckra Maassa Pickney
Award-winning documentary about Enrico Stennett and his lived experiences of life in Jamaica and Britain - his struggle for survival inspiring a lifelong commitment to the anti-racist cause.
3pm
Alex Ferguson - discussion on White Privilege
Cultural Studies scholar wanting to document White Privilege from a Black Perspective
5pm
Film: After the Flood: The Church, Slavery and Reconciliation
charts the roots and legacies of the 18th century church's role in the transatlantic slave trade. It traces the ideas that justified and sustained the enslavement of black Africans, their lasting impact and what true reconciliation might involve and look like today.
Trailer: https://www.mjr-uk.com/aftertheflood.html
Sheila Marshall Q&A
Exhibition
In The Riverfront foyer for the duration of the festival will be a stunning and evocative exhibition 'The Unsung Heroes' curated by Newport resident and photographer Carl Connike.
Carl Connike comments on his exhibition "The Unsung Heroes is about telling the story of the Windrush generation- they may be the last chain in the link that stretches back hundreds of years - we need to capture their images and stories before it’s too late."
There will also an installation entitled The Living Room curated by Carl - this is a typical Caribbean living room, of which the radio-gramme is the centre piece. These pieces belonged to Pill resident Alvin Howells and his family have kindly allowed them to be shared on display.
