- dir. Menelik Shabazz
- year. 2011
- country. UK
- run-time. 97 mins
- rating. 15
£6.00 (£4.50 conc.)
Doors 17:30 - Film 18:00
This summer, Deptford Cinema is proud to host a retrospective of a key figure of black British cinema: the internationally acclaimed director Menelik Shabazz. With this retrospective we hope, in our own small way, to introduce his body of work to a wider public and reaffirm him as one of the most significant artists and activists in contemporary British film.
We conclude on a high note: Shabazz' acclaimed return to filmmaking after a 15 year hiatus, a love letter to love music. With us will be director Menelik Shabazz himself, to talk with the audience after the film!
Other films in the series: BURNING AN ILLUSION, Activist shorts, TIME & JUDGEMENT
Lovers Rock was the British made romantic reggae music that defined a generation in the late 1970s and ’80s.It was initially led and defined by female artists whose lyrics reflected the lives and experiences of many black British youths, though not exclusively. Lovers Rock was also about lifestyle, fashion and sensual dance. Close intimate dancing known as a ‘rub-up’, was the initiation into the world of embracing another and the sweetness of youthful love.
Beyond the live performances from the “Kings and Queens of Lovers Rock” we understand how the music was created, the key players and the social backdrop, in the late ’70s and ’80s. The internal and external dynamics affecting its success and the limited impact on mainstream music. Underlying this is a portrait of the post Windrush generation. A generation that influenced and transformed British youth and mainstream culture as well as creating its own unique music genre. Through interviews and comedic reflections we gain insights into an era and generation not seen before on the big screen.
Featuring UB40; Maxi Priest; Levi Roots; Linton Kwesi Johnson; as well as comedians Angie Le Mar, Robbie G and Eddie Nestor, alongside new artists such as Ava Leigh and Lovella Ellis.