This year’s theme for Black History Month is RECLAIMING HERITAGE. Since its inception in the UK in 1987, Black History Month has served as a vital celebration of the historical and contemporary contributions of Black Britons, emphasising the importance of reclaiming narratives that have often been marginalised.
At Together Films, we believe that films can inspire action and drive meaningful change. With that in mind, we have selected four films that celebrate Black heritage and inspire crucial dialogues about identity, resilience, and the ongoing fight for racial justice.
WHITE NANNY BLACK CHILD
Directed by Andy Mundy-Castle.
A group of adults find solace in sharing their experiences of growing up as children of Black Nigerian immigrants who were fostered by white British families.
Between 1955 and 1995, over 70,000 West African children were fostered by white Britons, in a practice known as ‘farming’. Many individuals then had to live, often in silence, with the long-lasting impact of this controversial official policy. Nine of those raised this way were invited to a workshop retreat, under professional guidance, to discuss their experiences. Each take turns delving into their past, revealing the confusion and trauma of dealing with such change at a young age. For many, this marks the first time they have had the opportunity to connect with people who have shared a similar childhood. WHITE NANNY BLACK CHILDpresents a personal, moving and sometimes unsettling meditation on identity, belonging and the nature of family.
Learn more on how you can host a screening of WHITE NANNY BLACK CHILD in your community now.
Directed by Alain Kassanda.
At Ibadan, Nigeria’s oldest university, a student association hosts a documentary screening and discussion group. In a country where dissent is frequently punished, this Thursday Film Series becomes a space for conversation and impassioned debate.
Organizers program films by the likes of John Akomfrah (Ghana/UK), Jean-Marie Teno (Mauritania), and Med Hondo (Cameroon). With the films as a starting point, the students hold compelling discussions on issues including corruption, gender roles, LGBTQ+ rights, colonialism, housing, and corruption. In between screenings, we get a taste of their daily lives at university, as they play soccer, eat instant noodles and joke around with each other.
But when nationwide protests against police brutality break out, students find themselves on the front lines of resistance — and the issues that occupied them take on a new urgency. Meanwhile, university life is far from carefree, with frequent blackouts, overcrowded conditions, and consequences for even the most benign actions to better their lives.
“Coconut head generation” is a term used by older generations to denigrate young Nigerians as brainless. As this film makes abundantly clear, they are anything but.
Directed by Franco Rosso.
Franco Rosso’s incendiary BABYLON had its world premiere at Cannes in 1980 but went unreleased in the U.S. for “being too controversial, and likely to incite racial tension” (Vivien Goldman, Time Out). Raw and smouldering, it follows a young dancehall DJ (Brinsley Forde, frontman of landmark British reggae group Aswad) in South London as he pursues his musical ambitions, battling fiercely against the racism and xenophobia of employers, neighbours, police, and the National Front. Written by Martin Stellman (QUADROPHENIA) and shot by two-time Oscar® winner Chris Menges (THE KILLING FIELDS) with beautifully smoky cinematography that has been compared to TAXI DRIVERr, BABYLON is fearless and unsentimental, yet tempered by the hazy bliss of the dancehall set to a blistering reggae and lovers rock soundtrack featuring Aswad, Johnny Clarke, Dennis Bovell, and more.
Directed by Maureen Blackwood and Isaac Julien.
Co-directed by Blackwood and Julien, the first full-length feature film by Sankofa Film and Video offers a radical and necessary interrogation into what constitutes ‘post-colonial’ identity at a time of political and social restlessness in Britain. Set within an isolated desert landscape contrasted with recognizable scenes of the intensity of family life, this vanguard work demonstrates the richness and variety of the black experience; it is a poetic and hard-hitting commentary on the complexities of race, gender and sexuality.
Visit our Letterboxd now to find out more about these powerful films.
