3 February
–
23 April 2006
Films:
Section 3: Gender, Race and SocietyBlack Audio Film Collective and John Akomfrah
Handsworth Songs 1986
Handsworth Songs 1986, directed by John Akomfrah (b. 1957) under the aegis of the Black Audio Film Collective, addresses black British experience, race relations and the politics of representation. It was made at a critical moment following riots in Birmingham. The film rejects straightforward photographic realism in favour of a montage juxtaposing news reports, interviews, archival footage and dramatisation. This approach challenged the realism of the British documentary tradition. The film questions who has the power to speak in Britain and demonstrates how a group can be marginalised by the practises and ideology of mainstream media.