FEATURE
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
STEVE MCQUEEN'S MANGROVE OPENED BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL
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WORDS | DUNSTAN CREAVALLE
teve McQueen’s Mangrove had its European premiere on Wednesday 7 October, when it opened the BFI London Film Festival. Co-written by Steve McQueen and Alastair Siddons, starring Letitia Wright, Shaun Parkes and Malachi Kirby, the film tells the true story of the Mangrove 9, the group of Black activists who clashed with London police during a protest march in 1970, and their highly publicised trial that followed. That trial became the first judicial acknowledgment of institutional racism within the Metropolitan Police. Mangrove is one of five films in the Small Axe series, a drama anthology comprising five original films created and directed by Steve McQueen for BBC One. Prior to the event, McQueen said, 36 SN OCT 2020
“I couldn’t be happier that Mangrove will open this year's BFI London Film Festival. Although the themes are universal, Mangrove is a London story. It may have happened fifty years ago, but it’s as relevant today as it was then.” The festival’s innovative 12day offering takes the festival to cities around the UK, with many films across the programme available for virtual premieres at home. For full details of the BFI London Film Festival go to https://www.bfi.org.uk/londonfilm-festival The five original films that make up the Small Axe collection by Academy Award, BAFTA and Golden Globe-winning filmmaker, Steve McQueen, will air weekly on BBC One and iPlayer in November and December.
