Small Axe
October-November 2021
Following the immense success of the Small Axe series, we take this opportunity to present these remarkable films on the big screen.
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The Making of Small Axe with Steve McQueen, Tracey Scoffield, Helen Bart and Mike Elliot
Don’t miss the chance to hear from the creative team behind this important collection of films.
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Mangrove + Q&A with director Steve McQueen and Small Axe Consultant Paul Gilroy
A powerful fight to see justice done against all the odds.
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Lovers Rock + Q&A with director Steve McQueen and actor Dennis Bovell
Director Steve McQueen invites you to escape to a time of romance and musical liberation.
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Sonic Cinema Presents: Lovers Rock After Party
Join us for a Lovers Rock Soundsystem and after party at Spiritland, Royal Festival Hall 10pm to 2am, where Dennis Bovell and friends will be playing through the night.
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Red, White and Blue
An account of great dignity and pride in the face of adversity.
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Alex Wheatle
An extraordinary journey of self-discovery and political, and musical, awakening.
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Education
A coming-of-age story featuring tough lessons in the fight against inequality.
Introduction
‘A want and a necessity and a need – that’s what sparked it’
Steve McQueen on Small Axe
Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Steve McQueen and written in collaboration with Courttia Newland and Alastair Siddons, the five-film collection Small Axe is McQueen’s love letter to Black resilience, triumph, hope, music, joy and love as well as to friendship and family (not forgetting the food!). The stories are anchored in the experiences of London’s West Indian community from the 1960s through to the mid-80s, a community whose lives were shaped by their own force of will, despite rampant racism and discrimination (‘Small Axe’ refers to an African proverb that means together we are strong: we are the axe that can take down the big tree). Resonating powerfully with audiences around the globe for their truth, honesty and authenticity, these films lay claim to being among the most important productions of our time.
Chantelle Lavel Boyea, season programmer
Want more?
See our See the African Odysseys programme on Darcus Howe.
With Thanks to Turbine Studios
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