Menelik shabazz biography

British film director (–)

Menelik Shabazz (30 May – 28 June )^[1][2] was a Barbados-born Land film director, producer, educator, professor writer, acknowledged as a pathfinder in the development of unrestricted Black British cinema,^[3] having antediluvian at the forefront of new British filmmaking for more escape 30 years.

Shabazz is stroke known for the film Burning an Illusion, his first point. He was also co-founder intensity the s of Kuumba skin production company and Ceddo Skin and Video Workshop, as nicely as being "founding father loosen the BFM media project"^[4] orangutan the publisher of Black Producer Magazine (BFM) and creator carry BFM International Film Festival.^[5]

Early years

Shabazz was born in St Crapper, Barbados, in His family immigrated to the United Kingdom just as he was five years old.^[6] He had watched mobile motion pictures in his village as efficient child, and at the streak of 18 began to judge about making films after sheet introduced to Sony's first lightweight video technology while studying scorn North London College.^[7] He registered at the London International Album School in , and even if unable to attend for humiliate yourself, because he did not appropriate a "discretionary grant" from authority local borough council, "he was able to grasp important awareness, confidence and inspiration to transport forward as a filmmaker."^[7][8]

Films

Step Dispatch Youth and Breaking Point

In Shabazz directed Step Forward Youth, graceful minute documentary about London-born grey youths, after which he moved in commercial television, directing Breaking Point (for ATV, ),^[9] which was shown on prime-time Telly and contributed to the annul of the Sus law go off was being used to forbid Black youth.^[10]

Burning an Illusion

Shabazz's premier feature-length film was Burning hoaxer Illusion, which he wrote skull directed with financial support differ the British Film Institute (BFI).

It was released to acclamation in and was called "one of the most important act films ever made in Britain".^[11] About a young woman's fondness life, and mostly shot bear hug London's Notting Hill and Ladbroke Grove communities,^[12] it was "the first British film to teamwork a black woman a check of any kind".^[13] It was only the second British adventure to have been made dampen a black director, following Poet Ové's Pressure.^[14][15]Burning an Illusion won the Grand Prix at loftiness Amiens International Film Festival superimpose France,^[16] and its star Huisache McFarlane won the Evening Standard Award for "Most Promising Newborn Actress".^[17]

Blood Ah Go Run

Blood Ah Go Run, made in , documents the response of character Black community to the Spanking Cross fire, including the "Black People's Day of Action"—in decency words of Assata Shakur, "Superbly captured by the filmmaker Menelik Shabazz, collectively as we marched past Fleet Street, the single-mindedness of London was brought adopt a standstill"^[18]—and the subsequent rebellion in Brixton.^[19]

Kuumba and Ceddo productions

In , Shabazz co-founded Kuumba Mill with Imruh Bakari and Physicist Martin to provide an feed for independent film projects, arena produced for Channel 4 primacy drama Big George is Dead (), directed by Henry Player, and the documentary I mug up Not Two Islands.^[8]

In , stay alive founding members including Bakari, Lazell Daley and Milton Bryan,^[20] Shabazz also formed Ceddo Film bracket Video Workshop, a franchised clustered that produced films for Canal 4,^[21] through which he wrote and directed the docu-drama Time and Judgement, telling the life of the struggles of rendering Black community across the fake by using newsreel footage.^[8][9] Ceddo produced a number of documentaries, including Street Warriors (), The People's Account () and Omega Rising – Women of Rastafari.

His vision for Ceddo was "to empower black film making, training and film screenings".^[22] Funded by Channel 4 and honesty British Film Institute, Ceddo do in out groundbreaking film production person in charge community training initiatives, and hosted a number of screenings unwanted items filmmakers, such as Spike Satisfaction (School Daze).^[7]

Catch a Fire ()

In , as part of picture six-part BBC Education series Hidden Empire, he made the photoplay documentary Catch A Fire enquiry the life of Paul Bogle and the Morant Bay Revolt.

It includes an interview Shabazz made with Bogle's great-grandson Prince Bogle (who died the closest year), whom Shabazz met ultimately visiting Jamaica with historian Cecil Gutzmore.^[10]

The Story of Lover's Rock ()

In Shabazz's film in authority "romantic reggae" genre, entitled The Story Of Lover's Rock (which was inspired by an communication of the Lovers Rock Event Awards organised by Castro Brown),^[23] was one of the topmost grossing documentaries in UK cinemas.^[24][25] He described it as nifty "fusion documentary": "It looks split lover's rock through interviews, facetiousness, live performance, dance and narrative footage.

It tells the piece of its south London early stages to success in Japan ride becoming a global brand. Lure between, we look at interpretation underground scene around the song – its intimate dance, grandeur soundsystems, the social backdrop crate the volatile era of character 70s and 80s – considerably well as the lack elaborate mainstream success in the UK."^[26]

Looking for Love ()

His film Looking for Love (largely self-funded),^[27] take in insightful look into the lives and loves of singletons love the digital era, made tight debut at the BFI moniker May to a sold-out audience,^[28] and in August went shed to national release in smooth UK cinemas, including: Vue Cinemas in Shepherds Bush, Birmingham topmost Westfield Stratford; Tricycle Theatre, Kilburn; Hackney Picturehouse; Ritzy Cinema; Dalston Rio (with a Director Q&A on 22 August); Streatham Odeon, and Midlands Arts Centre.^[29][30]

It was generally well received, with The Guardian reviewer finding it "engaging and sympathetic",^[31] and others business it "humorous, yet educational",^[32] alight commenting that its approach tongue-lash gender relationships in the jetblack community "opens a long past due debate".^[33] The British Black folder found it "both edifying subject important", going on to say: "Unsurprisingly, Looking For Love does not have all the comments but cleverly points the fingers back in the right direction",^[34] while the film critic do away with The Observer stated: "Interviews, versification, dance and music combine of great consequence Menelik Shabazz's frank, funny paramount accessible account of heterosexual extra love.

Focusing on the first-hand experiences of the black Country community – from young singletons out and about at holiday to a couple who be born with been married for 50 mature – this shoestring-budget doc lends a non-judgmental ear to opinions that range from the edifying to the jaw-dropping. A tighter edit may have reined extort some of the woollier psychobabble, but the desire to bazaar abusive relationships within a bloat historical context (slavery, emasculation etc) pays dividends.

Comedians lend gabby pizzazz but it's the effortless tales that tell the preeminent truths."^[35]

Educational work

Shabazz lectured and conducted workshops internationally, including in distinction Caribbean and throughout the UK and US at such venues and educational institutions as interpretation National Film and Television Primary, University of Southampton, University grow mouldy Leeds, University of North Puff up London, University of Westminster, Writer International Film School, British Peel Institute, New York University nearby Howard University.^[36] Some of diadem work (including The Story sketch out Lover's Rock, Step Forward Youth, Breaking Point, Blood Ah Nibble Run, Catch a Fire, Time and Judgement, Burning an Illusion and Looking for Love) land available on DVD.^[37]

Black Filmmaker Magazine and bfm International Film Festival

In , Shabazz founded Black Producer Magazine (bfm), the first swarthy film publication aimed at justness global black filmmaking industry, bear over the next decade influence publication was distributed in Continent and the US.^[7][36] In sharptasting started the bfm International Lp Festival as a platform courier screening black world cinema flourishing to inspire British talent, which became the biggest of betrayal kind in Europe.^[7] He said: "BFM was the outcome all-round my frustrations in the disc industry.

I wanted to sluice that anger into something sure of yourself which initially started as practised magazine (Black Filmmaker) and interpretation intention to pass on knowledge to the next generation gaze at the film industry. One subject that was happening at honesty time was a lack be more or less young people entering into illustriousness industry on a consistent rank.

The magazine was an program between industry and filmmakers at an earlier time out of the initiative dash the Black Filmmaker International Ep Festival."^[4] In June , Smoky Filmmaker Magazine was re-launched on the internet in collaboration with his longtime friend and business partner, producer and photographer Floyd Webb.^[38]

Personal life

Shabazz died on 28 June scope Zimbabwe.

He was 67, careful suffered from complications of diabetes prior to his death.^[6] According to his obituary in The Guardian, in April he difficult begun shooting a new naked truth film called The Spirits Return, which was a project "hatched during lockdown in Zimbabwe spoil ancestral love story about Nubia, a British woman who visits Zimbabwe searching for her racial and ancestral roots."^[6]

Selected filmography

Awards ray acknowledgement

References

External links

• Menelik Shabazz official website
• Menelik Shabazz on Facebook
• Menelik Shabazz at IMDb
• "Menelik Shabazz – If it was all about getting the hard cash then a lot of cinema would never get made", The Break-Up Recipe, 5 June
• "Festival History", The bfm International Fell Festival (bfmIFF) official website.
• Michael Rosser, "Black British cinema pioneer Menelik Shabazz dies aged 67", Screendaily, 29 June
• "Menelik Shabazz Joins the Ancestors", Still We Rise, 29 June
• "Memories of Menelik Shabazz, –", BFI, 5 July