Celebrating Black History Month with Benjamin Zephaniah, June Givanni, sci-fi films and discussion
Poet Benjamin Zephaniah will speak about his latest work as part of a series of Black History Month events
Acclaimed poet Benjamin Zephaniah (pictured, right) will speak about his latest work as part of a series of Black History Month events and film screenings involving Birkbeck.
The writer and musician will discuss his new novel Terror Kid with filmmaker Fahim Alam at the Stratford East Picturehouse at the first of eight sessions taking place throughout October in Stratford.
Sci-fi films featuring black characters and communities, including I, Robot with Will Smith, and Attack the Block about a London housing estate, will also be shown at the Stratford East Picturehouse as part of the collaboration involving Birkbeck, The New Black Film Collective, and the Nu Social Health Organisation.
The Peltz Gallery in Birkbeck's School of Arts will also be hosting BIOGRAPHY OF AN ARCHIVE: The June Givanni Pan-African Cinema Archive from 10 - 24 October.
Birkbeck’s expertise
Academics from Birkbeck will discuss the involvement of black soldiers from the British Empire in World War One, and the importance of Black Studies at Birkbeck’s east London campus at University Square Stratford. Birkbeck is co-organising five of the eight sessions throughout Black History Month. The three films and two discussions co-organised by Birkbeck are free to attend.
Dr William Ackah, a lecturer in Community and Voluntary Sector Studies at Birkbeck, will be speaking about the relevance, importance and wide-ranging nature of Black Studies. He said: “These events are an ideal opportunity to recognise the contribution of black culture to our society. Black Studies are needed to counter the damaging and corrosive idea that black culture is somehow anti-intellectual and that black people are not capable of contributing meaningfully to the intellectual life of this country. ”
Black History Month events
Thursday 2 October, 6.30pm
Newham Bookshop and Newham Monitoring Project present ‘An Evening with Benjamin Zephaniah’
Ticket price: £5
Venue: Stratford East Picturehouse, Salway Road, London, E15 1BX
Book your place: Phone the Stratford East Picturehouse on 0871 902 5740 or book online
Benjamin Zephaniah’s work is known for his brilliant and distinctive voice and its focus on important social and political issues. Terror Kid, his first novel in seven years, is set against the backdrop of the 2011 riots, and tells the extraordinary tale of how one boy’s idealism and passion to speak out is distorted and manipulated by those who want to commit acts of terror. Benjamin will be talking about the issues he tackles in his novel – examining our judgements, intentions and actions, and also the timely issues of terrorism, hacktivism and the exploitation of young people. Always impactful and thoughtful, Benjamin Zephaniah is not to be missed.
Thursday 2 October, 8:30pm
I, Robot
US 2004. Directed by Alex Proyas. Running time 115 mins. (12A)
Film screening, talk and discussion, with The New Black Film Collective
Ticket price: £6.50
Venue: Stratford East Picturehouse, Salway Road, London, E15 1BX
Book your place: Phone the Stratford East Picturehouse on 0871 902 5740 or book online
In its depiction of the near future, human beings have become almost completely dependent upon robots to carry out any given task from their everyday lives. As technology has advanced so too have the Robots capabilities, but each is programmed to obey humans without question and most importantly to never harm a human. Soon though, the human race’s sense of security is shattered when a scientist winds up dead and a humanoid robot is the main suspect. Everyone quickly becomes suspicious of their mechanised house servants and can only hope their safety is not at risk. Will Smith (Men In Black, ALI) stars as Del Spooner, the robot-hating Chicago cop who is assigned to the murder investigation.
Thursday 9 October, 8:30pm
After Earth
US 2013. Directed by M Night Shyamalan. Running time 100 mins. (12A)
Film screening, talk and discussion, with Dr Andrew Asibong
Ticket price: £6.50
Venue: Stratford East Picturehouse, Salway Road, London, E15 1BX
Book your place: Phone the Stratford East Picturehouse on 0871 902 5740 or book online
A thousand years into the future, having abandoned a terminally ravaged Earth, humankind has colonised a distant planet, from which legendary space ranger General Cypher Raige (Will Smith) embarks on a routine mission with his wannabe-ranger son Kitai (Smith’s real-life son Jaden). But when their spacecraft crash-lands on Earth, a critically wounded Cypher obliges Kitai to retrieve a rescue beacon. Against terrifying odds, Kitai desperately tries to complete his mission and become the soldier even his father doubted he could be. From a story written by Smith Snr, M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Signs) has fashioned a tense, visually amazing sci-fi heart-stopper.
Dr Andre Asibong is a Senior Lecturer and the co-founder of the Birkbeck Research Centre in Aesthetics of Kinship and Community. He will talk about emotions, father-son relationships in film and in reality, the 'internalized father', and cultural transmission across the generations.
Thursday 16 October, 8:30pm
Fire In The Blood
US 2013. Directed by Dylan Mohan Gray. Running time 87 mins. (PG)
Film screening, talk and discussion, with Reubs Walsh, Birkbeck Student Union’s LGBT Officer
Ticket price: Free
Venue: Stratford East Picturehouse, Salway Road, London, E15 1BX
Book your place: Phone the Stratford East Picturehouse on 0871 902 5740 or book online
An intricate tale of “medicine, monopoly and malice”, Fire In The Blood tells the story of how Western pharmaceutical companies and governments blocked access to low-cost AIDS drugs for the countries of the global south in the years after 1996 - causing ten million or more unnecessary deaths - and the improbable group of people who decided to fight back. Shot on four continents and including contributions from global figures such as Bill Clinton, Desmond Tutu and Joseph Stiglitz, Fire In The Blood is the never-before-told true story of the remarkable coalition which came together to stop ‘the crime of the century’ and save millions of lives in the process.
Reubs Walsh is Birkbeck SU’s LGBT Officer, and one of the NUS LGBT Campaign’s trans reps. In the latter role, they are working on a national project to improve access to sexual health services for trans people. They recently attended UNAIDS’ conference on preventing HIV in young LGBTQ people in Europe. Reubs will provide a perspective on the intersection between black and LGBT communities.
Thursday 23 October, 8:30pm
Attack The Block
UK 2011. Directed by Joe Cornish. Running time 88 mins. (15)
Film screening, talk and discussion, with Birkbeck Lecturer Dr Paul Watt
Ticket price: Free
Venue: Stratford East Picturehouse, Salway Road, London, E15 1BX
Book your place: Phone the Stratford East Picturehouse on 0871 902 5740 or book online
Attack the Block is a fast, funny, frightening action adventure movie that pits a teen gang against an invasion of savage alien monsters. It turns a London housing estate into a sci-fi playground. A tower block into a fortress under siege. And teenage street kids into heroes. Leader of the youthful gang, Moses, (John Boyega) attacks a common alien enemy with the residents. It’s inner city versus outer space in this stylish sci-fi romp from the producers of Shaun of the Dead and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
Dr Paul Watt is a Senior Lecturer in Urban Studies at Birkbeck. His academic interests lie in cities, class formation and the inter-relationships between social and spatial inequality. Dr Watt will talk about the London housing crisis in the 1960s, how it relates to today’s housing situation and how it affects Black communities in our capital.
Friday 24 October, 6.30pm
‘Beyond Empire’: the Black Experience in World War One
Ticket price: Free
Venue: University Square Stratford, 1 Salway Road, London, E15 1NF
Book your place: Book online
The upheaval of the First World War witnessed the enlistment of thousands of Black British men from across the empire in the British armed forces. The men who emerged from this terrible experience had their eyes opened to possibility of breaking the bonds of empire. Alongside of the millions of African American, French African and South Asian soldiers the Great War marked the beginning of a journey away towards freedom. This master class will introduce you to this important period in Black history and how it shaped the twentieth century world.
Michael Berlin is a specialist in the social history of early modern London. He has published extensively on the history of London's guilds. His most recent work has been on twentieth-century social history, including a history of the RMT transport union. He is currently researching into the history of the British New Left.
Thursday 30 October, 6.30pm
Black Studies – Where is it?
Ticket price: Free
Venue: University Square Stratford, 1 Salway Road, London, E15 1NF
Book your place: Book online
Black Studies – a social science covering subjects such as history, politics, religion, the arts, economics, geography and psychology – is needed to counter the damaging and corrosive idea that black culture is somehow anti-intellectual and that black people are not capable of contributing meaningfully to the intellectual life of this country. Black Studies include, for example, the examination of the Notting Hill carnival, building insight into its historical significance and connections to the Caribbean, South America and Africa, the complex religious symbolism that underpins it, its economic, geographical and cultural impact, and its role in establishing London as a global city.
Dr William Ackah a lecturer in Community and Voluntary Sector Studies at Birkbeck will deliver this talk, examining the place of Black Studies in the UK academia.
Thursday 30 October, 8:30pm
Anomaly
Film screening, talk and discussion, with actor, screenwriter and director Noel Clarke and Birkbeck Lecturer Professor Ian Christie
UK 2014. Directed by Noel Clarke. Running time 97 mins. (15)
Ticket price: Free
Venue: Stratford East Picturehouse, Salway Road, London, E15 1BX
Book your place: Phone the Stratford East Picturehouse on 0871 902 5740 or book online
Set in the near future a former soldier is taken captive and awakens in the back of a van with no memory of how he got there. Accused of kidnapping a child Ryan tries to put the pieces together but nine minutes and forty seven seconds later he loses consciousness again. Under impossible circumstances he has no choice but to search for the answers to the mystery behind his memory losses. Anomaly is a unique sci-fi thriller, directed and starring Noel Clarke (Doctor Who, Star Trek into Darkness, Adulthood), that explores the idea of mind control. Also featuring Ian Somerhalder, Brian Cox, Alexis Knapp, and Luke Hemsworth.
London’s own Noel Clarke is probably best known for his role as Mickey Smith in Doctor Who, as well as for creating films like Kiduldhood and Adulthood.
Ian Christie is a Professor of Film and Media History at Birkbeck, he is a frequent guest on BBC4 and BBC2. His interests span a great range of topics from local history of screen entertainment in London to Russian cinema, and the digital revolution.
Professor Ian Christie in conversation with Noel Clarke will talk about what it means to be a filmmaker, the exodus of the Black talent to the US and the Act for Change campaign.
10 October - 24 October, 10am - 6pm
(Exhibition) BIOGRAPHY OF AN ARCHIVE: The June Givanni Pan-African Cinema Archive
Venue: Peltz Gallery, School of Arts, 43-46 Gordon Square
No booking required
Over 32 years ago, June Givanni, a remarkable curator of African and African diaspora cinema, started out working on the Third Eye Film Festival in London. She then went to programme nationally and internationally, eventually setting up the African-Caribbean unit at the British Film Institute (BFI) in 1992. From 1993-1996, June publoished the BFI's Black Film Bulletin with Gaylene Gould.
Throughout her career June has been programming prominent film festivals around the world and on this journey has built up a wealth of material of and about Pan-African cinema which dates from the 1970s (films, photographs, audio interviews, journals, posters, scripts and memorabilia), all devoted to the celebration of Black experiences on film.
“Historic moments in the development of Caribbean, Black-British, African-American and African cinema have played witness to significant movements that transcend geographical boundaries and given rise to a global dialogue. The Archive is born out of the passion that has driven these aesthetic, intellectual and socio-political positions within the diaspora experience.” June Givanni, October 2014.