It’s number three in the UK box office, after Thor and Fast Furious. It features a majority black British cast but how does the film Attack the Block portray black people and what impressions will audiences walk away with? The main characters in film are a gang of five muggers. They are black or mixed…
The London International Documentary Festival 2011 featured the première of Agadez: The Music and the Rebellion. Director Ron Wyman tells the story of the Touareg of the region of Agadez, northern Niger, focusing on the rise of local guitar-hero and newly internationally acclaimed artist, Omar Moctar “Bombino”. Making documentaries about the Touareg has become en…
There is a familiar feeling to things as the opening titles roll. Sweeping shots of London’s skylines. Check. Dramatic, mood setting music. Check. Shiny Rolls Royce, personalised plate and bearded businessman. Check, check and check. That man Lord Alan Sugar is back on our screen but this time the programme in question isn’t The Apprentice….
The curtain has fallen on Hollywood’s annual love-fest – the Oscars and we can all brace ourselves for a new year of films. Or that’s what we thought. 2011 mainstream cinema is going to see a record number of sequels, prequels and spin-offs of already existing film franchises. Some of the highly anticipated titles this…
The Cricket World Cup is well underway in South Asia with the top countries racking up runs and wickets for fun. Away from the excitement, spare a thought for a smaller nation that didn’t quite make it to the party. Recently released on DVD, Out of the Ashes charts the rise of the Afghan Cricket…
Three years after the compilation Ishumar was released, the Touareg rockers are back on Ishumar 2. While the first part presented up-and-coming or internationally acclaimed artists, this release focuses on a segment of Touareg music still unknown to this day. The ishumars have been in the spotlight for the past thirty years. They appeared amid…
After the hysteria that greeted Disney’s Princess and the Frog, it is worth reviewing the presence and treatment of black characters in children’s’ films