Handsworth Songs (1987, John Akomfrah/Black Audio Film Collective, UK)

A still image of a man from the film Handsworth Songs

“Handsworth Songs was made for the Channel 4 series Britain: The Lie of the Land. The film went on win seven international awards including the BFI John Grierson Award for Best Documentary. The techniques for which Black Audio Film Collective became recognised are already apparent: a multi-stranded narrative, visual experimentation, a mosaic of sound, interspersed with newsreel, and still photographs of black people’s lives.”

See Parts 1 – 4 here.

Keywords: african-american, documentary, experimental, found footage, sound design