White Riot (plus Q+A)

No longer available

In 1976, prompted by a racist tirade from guitarist and ‘music’s biggest colonialist’ Eric Clapton and the inflammatory speeches of Enoch Powell, Britain seemed to be on the edge of out-and-out racial conflict. In this seething atmosphere, a new movement, Rock Against Racism (RAR), used music to rally resistance and speak up for solidarity. Fleshing out her earlier short documentary White Riot:London, and reflecting the collagist visual aesthetic of punk fanzines, Rubika Shah has made a hugely energetic, exhilarating and to-the-point document of the glory days of the movement through archive footage and recent interviews with participants and supporters, including Denis Bovell, Pauline Black, Topper Headon, Mick Jones, Joe Strummer and Tom Robinson.

White Riot won the Grierson Award for Documentary Film at the 2019 London Film Festival.

Click here to watch a recording of the live streamed Q+A with director Rubika Shah and writer Ed Gibbs which followed our launch screening on Sunday 14th June.

“Not only does White Riot present a compelling case of why the fight isn’t over, it makes you want to join in.” - Film Enquiry.

“Highly engaging and suddenly very relevant.” – Screen Daily