Power to the People: Horace Ové’s Radical Vision  15 films at BFI Southbank

A celebrated photographer and painter, Horace Ové is best-known as a pioneering filmmaker who occupied a unique place in British cinema

‘I’m not interested in just becoming a jobbing filmmaker, just making films to earn a salary. I believe that film is an art and I’m interested in experimenting and taking it further.’
– Horace Ové

Born in Trinidad, Ové arrived in London in 1960 and studied painting and photography, before spending time in Rome where he worked as a film extra, including on Joseph Mankiewicz’s epic, Cleopatra. On returning to Britain, Ové began to document the social and racial upheaval in the country, fusing his political activism with a profound understanding of world cinema, particularly neo-realism. He directed major documentary films about reggae music, the cultural complexity of Trinidad Carnival, and a unique London performance of American writer, James Baldwin. His first feature film, Pressure is a ground-breaking exploration of the anxieties of an emerging second-generation of West Indians in Britain.

Caryl Phillips, author

With thanks to

Special thanks to the Ové family for all their guidance and support for this season.

https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=horaceove&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::context_id=