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Menelik Shabazz (1954-2021)
Menelik Shabazz, the award-winning film director and a founding father of UK Black cinema, died recently due to complications with diabetes. A spokesperson for his family said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved father, brother, partner and uncle Menelik Shabazz, aged 67. Menelik was a passionate film maker and forged the way for many Black filmmakers. We thank you all very much for your messages of condolence. We have been touched by the tributes from 74
those that knew him, worked with him, and were inspired by his work”. The Guardian stated the sad news was confirmed by Shabazz’s daughter, author and curator Nadia Denton, who said that the director had indeed passed away in Zimbabwe. Shabazz, a pioneer of the UK Black filmmaking industry, was known for his much-acclaimed debut feature, Burning an Illusion (1981), which along with Franco Rosso’s Babylon (1980), and Horace Ove’s Pressure (1976), were among
