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Jamaica Weekender

JAMAICA WEEKENDER, WORLD CINEMA SEASON 2021

THAMESMEAD TEXAS are proud to present a season of WORLD CINEMA! Travel the world with The Thamesmead Travelling Cinema. We launch our FOURTH programme of the Autumn 2021 season with a screening event co-programmed with emerging, local filmmaker Kaleb D’Aguilar.

Jamaican Spotify playlist curated by Empress Hasina
JAMAICA WEEKENDER WORLD CINEMA SEASON, 2021 Introduction by Filmmaker Kaleb D’Aguilar

SATURDAY 11 DECEMBER, 2021, FROM 7:30PM, WITH INTRO BY KALEB D’AGULAR
25 MINUTE SHORTS PROGRAMME
95 MINUTE FEATURE FILM
FOLLOWED BY DRINKS AT THE BAR
CLOSE 11:30PM

SHORT FILMS:

NO ENTRY (2020), BY KALEB D’AGULAR

Against the backdrop of the Windrush scandal, a Jamaican mother struggles to keep her relationship with her son intact. Despite the government’s aggressive anti-immigration tactics, she keeps the threat of deportation a secret. As her psychological state begins to deteriorate, she grapples with the fear of losing her son and the country she calls home. 12:00 mins.

MOTHERLAND (2020), BY ELLEN EVANS

MOTHERLAND traces the experiences of two young men forcibly returned to Jamaica after a lifetime in Britain, alongside the story of a Windrush-generation man denied re-entry to the UK. Through the personal accounts of those who have had their British identity questioned by the state, MOTHERLAND explores what it really means for someone to “go back home”. 13:22 mins.

FEATURE FILM:

YOUNG SOUL REBELS (1991), BY ISAAC JULIEN

In the long hot summer of 1977, London prepared for the Silver Jubilee celebrations to the sounds of the burgeoning punk, soul and funk scenes. Soul boys Chris (Valentine Nonyela) and Caz (Mo Sesay), a pair of pirate radio DJs, broadcast their show from a friend’s garage, tussling with the local skinheads, and clubbing with Chris’s sassy music-industry girlfriend Tracy (Sophie Okonedo). But social and sexual tensions in the community reach boiling point following the murder of a local black gay man. With its soulful soundtrack – with Funkadelic, X-Ray Spex, Parliament, Sylvester and more – and enthusiastic young cast, this Cannes Critics’ Week prize-winner is an engaging and sensitive drama from acclaimed artist and filmmaker Isaac Julien. Text taken from Close Up. 95 mins.

KALEB D’AGULAR is a Jamaican writer and filmmaker currently based in London. His background is in theatre and performance, but after completing his BSc in Anthropology, Kaleb transitioned to writing and directing for film. His curiosity in culture and the tensions between the individual and society drives his storytelling, which he hopes will help embolden the voices of the underclass and marginalised communities.

ELLEN EVANS is a documentary filmmaker living and working in London. Before she began making documentaries, she was an Immigration and Asylum caseworker for a Labour MP.

Filmmaker and installation artist, ISSAC JULIEN CBE RA, was born in 1960 in London, where he currently lives and works. His multi-screen film installations and photographs incorporate different artistic disciplines to create a poetic and unique visual language. His 1989 documentary-drama exploring author Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance titled Looking for Langston garnered Julien a cult following while his 1991 debut feature Young Soul Rebels won the Semaine de la Critique prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

Supported by Film FAN London & Bow Arts Trust

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