Following on from the global acclaim for his phenomenal BBC anthology series Small Axe, director Steve McQueen with producer James Rogan present a vivid and visceral three-part documentary which examines three important events all taking place in the year 1981: the January 1981 New Cross Fire, a fire at a party in the South London suburb that killed 13 young people; the Black People's Day of Action two months later in March, the first organised protest by Black Britons, with 20,000 people flooding the streets; and then the Brixton riots in April.
The series reveals how these events intertwined in the early months of 1981, and how, in the process, race relations were defined for a generation.
What happened and how Britain responded is a story that has been waiting to be told in depth for 40 years. For the first time, survivors and key participants give their account of events, and the profound legacy it left behind.
The first part of the series will have its World Premiere at Sheffield DocFest.
- Words by
- Joe Harris
- Featured in
- Sheffield DocFest picks
