How does community bloom after momentous events?
Following the death of rag trade worker Altab Ali in 1978, the British-Bangladeshi community in East London galvanised a massive anti-racist uprising, which has since been memorialised as the ‘Turning Point’ event. Photographer Paul Trevor captured the pulse of this movement. Decades later, these images have been mobilised with the help of oral testimonies by the Rainbow Collective.
In the same decade, Bangladesh tried to develop its identity as a new nation-state following the Liberation War of 1971. What did this new land look like? Contemporary Bangladeshi filmmakers look at the country through the cracks in its history, as machines breathe, habitats become denser, and crows sing into deep time. A globalising nation, a diasporic fight, and the long shadows of colonial violence create slippages that unsettle our understanding of ethnic historiography. The programme digs into these frictions, hierarchies, and hymns to land and community.
The screening will be preceded by an extended introduction by curator Najrin Islam.
Contains scenes of racism and animal slaughter.
This programme is curated by Najrin Islam, in collaboration with Four Corners.
