Black Screen Britain

Actor Burt Caesar presents two programmes exploring how British film and television drama from the 1950s to the 1970s portrayed the lives of African-Caribbean immigrants. (2 x 28′)

First Broadcast  March – April  2009   BBC Radio 4

1: Ambassadors for the Race  The pioneering black actors who made their names in  A Man from the Sun, Fable, Pool of London, Flame in the Streets and Jemima and Johnny.

2: Reclaiming Our Image  Burt Caesar charts the landmark screen dramas such as Pressure, Empire Road and Burning an Illusion which presented an alternative view of black lives in Britain during the 1970s.

Contributors include: actors Earl Cameron CBE, Mona Hammond, Cy Grant, Joan Hooley, Rudolph Walker, writer Michael Abbensetts, film makers John Akomfrah OBE, Menelek Shabazz, Alrick Riley, commentators June Givanni, Dr Jim Pines and Baroness Lola Young.

Producer Mukti Jain Campion

Radio Choice: The Guardian, the Observer, The Independent & The Times.

Radio 4 Pick of the Week

Most of the films discussed in this series can be viewed free of charge at the BFI Southbank’s Mediatheque in London or at the Quad in Derby

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