HANDSWORTH SONGS (1986)

Handsworth Songs by John Akomfrah & Lina Gopaul explores Black history, focusing on the 1985 riots in Handsworth and London. It uses innovative techniques, blending newsreels, photos, and sound to create a multi-layered narrative. Commissioned by Channel 4, it has won awards for its unique insight into the Black experience during the riots.

John Akomfrah is a widely respected artist and filmmaker, whose works are characterised by their investigations into memory, postcolonialism, temporality and aesthetics and often explores the experiences of migrant diasporas globally. Akomfrah was a founding member of the influential Black Audio Film Collective, which started in London in 1982 alongside the artists David Lawson and Lina Gopaul, who he still collaborates with today.