Handsworth Songs + Q&A
Handsworth Songs + Q&A
Sunday 10th May, 2026
Dir: John Akomfrah
UK, 1986
61 mins
Cert: 15*
Doors: 14:45
Screening Starts: 15:00
Content warnings: Violence
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Forty years ago a new work by Black Audio Film Collective premiered as part of the Birmingham Film and Television Festival at the Triangle Arts Centre in Aston.
Commissioned by Channel 4 and the BFI, Handsworth Songs was not your typical TV documentary. Drawing on 16mm footage, news reports, archive material and a stew of interviews and voiceover, the film used an evocative collage approach to reflect on the aftermath of the disturbances which took place in UK cities - including Birmingham - during 1985.
That Triangle screening was a first opportunity for local audiences to see the film, but it was also a thank you. BAFC were based in Hackney, and their work in Birmingham was supported by a network of small organisations including Ten.8 Magazine, Birmingham Film & Video Workshop, Macro Films and many others.
This rare opportunity to see Handsworth Songs will also include an opportunity to hear from some of those who helped to make it happen.
Join us after the screening for a discussion with photographer Vanley Burke and Curator Mukhtar Dar.
