Fade To Black: Menelik Shabazz

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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 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

the first films in which Black people in the UK were able to see nuanced and balanced versions of themselves. Before the release of these films, Black Londoners had been invisible, or at best, seen through the white gaze of the time. Shabazz’s offering was arguably the first film that gave Black women an authentic voice. It made stars of its cast, including Cassie McFarlane, Victor Romero Evans, and Malcolm Fredericks and helped shine a light on the journey of a Black dreamer. Shabazz was a prolific director, writer, and producer born in St. John, Barbados in 1954. He came to the UK at a young age passing through the school system before studying at North London College and later London International Film School. Here he fell in love with the artform, finding himself behind the camera telling the stories he was unable to find elsewhere. With a career spanning over 40 years, Shabazz became an important voice in the introduction and advancement of Black cinema in both the UK and across the world. He was known for creating what he could not see, such as his early works where the narrative and psyche of the Black British experience were laid bare by characters with agency and multiple facets. Shabazz’s well-received first short, Step Forward Youth (1977) was followed in 1981 by Burning an Illusion which won the Grand Prix at the Amiens International Film Festival in 1982. It was one of the >>

first ever feature films by a Black director produced in the UK. The now cult classic is still shown in educational establishments across the UK and Europe. Shabazz later founded BFM Media and BFM Magazine as a mouthpiece for an industry without one. The company focused on providing a platform for new and established filmmakers to connect with their fanbase and each other. BFM held regular networking festivals and events allowing Black writers, producers, and filmmakers from all over the globe to come together and share ideas in a safe creative space. In 2011, Shabazz produced the acclaimed documentary, The Story of Lover’s Rock starring Janet Kay, Dennis Bovell, Maxi Priest, Paulette Harris-German, and UB40. It told the story of the Lover’s Rock musical genre. Conceived in the Caribbean and born in the UK, Lover’s Rock or ‘romantic reggae’ truly defined the soundtrack of the tumultuous time between the 1970s and 80s where Black people all over the country were developing their own music styles. Inspired by reggae with a hint of British flavour, Lover’s Rock became a mainstay at house parties up and down the land. Shabazz examines its origins and inspirations paying respectful homage to its creators and purveyors in this wellloved piece. May he rest in peace. Roger Ajogbe n