A report from Jamaica’s Gleaner

The Windrush Caribbean Film Festival (WCFF) now under way will be screening several submissions from black film-makers for the month of June in cities across the UK.

The organisers of the film festival have announced that the cities of Bristol, Birmingham, Newport, Southampton, and London will co-host the summer event, which culminates with the closing awards ceremony at the Genesis Cinema in London on June 30.

This year’s event is presented by Caribbean Tales Media Group, Integriti Capital, and Recognize Black Heritage and Culture, with the support of the British Film Industry (BFI), awarding funds from the National Lottery in order to grow audiences for the festival, focusing on those age 16 to 25 years old.

One of the festival founders, Oscar Academy member Frances Anne Solomon, says she wants WCFF 2023 to be the “best attended” events. She said: “They were our parents, grandparents, uncles, and aunties. We inherited their courage, their struggles, and their cultures of resistance. We are proud to stand on their broad shoulders and carry forward their stories.”

It is the fourth time that the Windrush Caribbean Film Festival has been held with over 40 screenings and talks across 24 days at 11 venues in five cities, a move that Artistic Director Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe says “demonstrates the festival’s intent, ambition and purpose”.

Additional partners announced for the festival include The Collective at Channel 4 – Channel 4’s Employee Network Group; Westminster UNISON ; The Voice newspaper; Kamo Vodka; and Alt A Review – a bespoke print newspaper and online media outlet that celebrates diversity and inclusion. Editor-in-chief Joy Coker will host an afternoon of screenings on June 24 in honour of Barbadian film-maker Menelik Shabazz.

Among the films that will be showcased throughout the festival are St anding Firm: Football’s Windrush Story; T he Roll Out; R ea’s Men; I am Light; Dolapo is Fine; Dread Beat and Blood; Rushed; Black & White Duppy; Spirits Run Deep; Asunder; Concrete Garden; Buckra Massa Pickney – Life of Enrico Stennet Windrush Elder; After the Flood: the Church, Slavery and Reconciliation; Hero: Inspired by the extraordinary life and times of Mr Ulric Cross; Ultraviolence; Death of England: Face to Face; Hostile; The ID project: My Dominican Story; No Regrets; And Still We Rise; Babylon; the First Black Train; Small Island Stories 2; The Homemaker; and Y oung Soul Rebels.

Cinema Golau, a regional festival partner, will be hosting a weekend of events in Newport, South Wales, from June 16 – 18. Yvonne Connikie said: “Cinema Golau has always championed inclusivity at a grass-roots level. We are proud to celebrate 75 years of Windrush in Wales and are grateful to our ancestors for all they have done to get us here.”

Laura Glanville, audiences manager at the BFI, said: “We are proud to support this incredibly important festival through the Audience Projects Fund. It is fantastic to see it growing its geographical footprint in cities across the UK, and we believe with the support of our BFI National Lottery funding, they can reach new audiences – particularly younger people.”

Southampton, a city with historical ties to the Windrush generation, will host film screenings from the festival for the first time ever on June 21 at Harbour Lights Picturehouse, the day before National Windrush Day, which this year marks the 75th anniversary since the Empire Windrush ship arrived at Tilbury Docks, the first stop en route to London for Caribbean citizens who were invited to live in the UK. Many Caribbean nationals had already arrived in the UK a year prior, docking at Southampton on board The Almanzora.