2007 In View: Through A Film Lens

 

A summary of film highlights and lowlights screened as part of the Black Filmmaker (bfm) film club 2007programme.

A positive, increasing trend in Black World Cinema, particularly in the UK, is the making of ‘activism’ films such as Our Story, Our Voice (Dir: Owen Alik’ Shahadah), Maafa (Dir: Toyin Agbetu) and What Black Men Think (Dir: Janks Morton). Such films are characteristised by an uncompromising representation of the issues under review; made for community values rather than mainstream popularity; and of low but clever production values.

All films looked at perceived wrongs against specific groups, in Our Story, Our Voice, Muslims in an increasingly Islamaphobic society; Maafa, Africans across the Diaspora struggling to deal with the long-term legacy of Trans-Atlantic Slavery and in What Black Men Think, African American Men’s negative portrayal in the media. Maafa and What Black Men Think were the ‘films of the year’ being the best received, talked about and attended films screened.

From a programming perspective, the development of such filmmaking is exciting and much welcomed. Issues addressed are dealt with in a direct and honest manner and a wider variety of grassroots voices are heard. It is also encouraging that both Maafa and What Black Men Think were not made by conventional filmmakers, rather individuals whose social conscience gave them the impetus to make a difference. What often strikes me as a casual observer of filmmakers and film attending audiences is that budget, independent filmmaking is much more accessible than people would believe. Filmmaking of this kind can only serve as inspiration to those who want to follow a similar path and ensure that their stories are told.

Early in the year we held the sole UK screening of the urban thriller Shadowboxer (Dir: Lee Daniels). Whilst it received distribution in the states, it came out straight onto DVD in the UK. This was despite the fact that it starred the just Oscar winning Helen Mirren, and had strong performances by Cuba Gooding Jnr. Unfortunately, it is only a reflection of a common pattern for ‘black’ films, particularly those directed by persons of African origin.

Of new Black British feature films, we saw Trace (Dir: Rita Gayle) and Crossing Bridges (Dir: Mark Norfolk) emerge on the landscape. Whilst admirable for the multi-cultural take on London and inter-racial relationships, audience enthusiasm was less notable. It could be concluded that the very portrayal of the melting-pot experience has less appeal to an audience who feel marginalized by mainstream film representations.

Of religious themes we had the films Colour of the Cross (Dir: Jean-Claude LaMarre) and Rent-A-Rasta (Dir: J Michael Seyfert). The former was a bland offering of a familiar story, the latter an attempt to view Rastafarianism from a new perspective, but which in the process ended up offending those it proclaimed to represent. Rent-A-Rasta is a good example of the difficulties that can arise when filmmakers attempt to tell the stories of groups and cultures they have a remote knowledge of, though it was admirable for the candid, not oft seen accounts by Rastafarian elders.

Suffering and Smiling (Dir: Dan Ollman), a documentary which looked at the music and politics of Fela Anikulapo Kuti and his son Femi, received an eager response from the public. The combination of focusing on a legendary African Musician, politician and leader; and the corruption of African politics gave what may have otherwise been an ordinary documentary with low production values, substance.

Nadia Denton