Matthew Anthony Barrington

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The Perfumed Nightmare

I tried to chose film's I'd curated and I had personal connections to, and we showed this as part of our festival in 2016 and the film is a really wonderfully eccentric portrait of what it meant at the time to be an artist from what was then called 'the third world' and the problematic, contradictory nature of that term, through a playful, satirical and subversive approach. The opening 6 minutes is probably one of the most successful, inventive and succinct commentaries of the remnants of colonialism and how these histories and geo-political networks inform the individual and their concept of nationhood.

Pressure

Probably one of the most accurate and humane accounts of the conditions experienced by second generation Jamaican, Trinindadian, Guyanaese and Tobcaan migrants. What makes the film stand out, is not only does Ove present a realist portrays, but he uses his film as a call to action, not only content with representing people’s experiences, he posits direct action and political engagement as a solution to myriad of racist conditions across the 70s and 80s.

West Indies: The Fugitive Slaves of Liberty

A challenging, wildly ambitious work presenting the history of Colonialism in France, through a theatrical staging of a musical aboard a slave ship. Presents Hondo as a real maverick showcasing his unique passage into cinema. That the film was even made is astonishing in itself, given the difficulty in raising money for his work and the many projects that Hondo would have to abandon across his career.

When It Rains

One of the most humane films ever made. Only 13 minutes long. Burnett made many, many wonderful films in his career, and this short film made for French TV, is a succinct work which captures the heart of much of his cinema, channeling community, music and compassion with his presentation of a lively, colourful and joyous South Central LA.

Tonsler Park

One of the most prolific filmmakers of the modern age, Everson has made many fantastic works, exploring modes of labour, history and culture across the Black disapora, through a form which draws from his background in sculpture and photography, and of all the many, films he has made to date, none seems to have connected with the public and generated as much visibility as Tonsler Park. Like many of his films, it's shot on 16mm, black and white, and it captures the small elements of everyday labour in the workplace, in this instance a polling station, and the film is a portrait of the African American's who enable the democratic process.

YULSKII DOZHD

Screening this earlier this year to a packed auditorium was a really memorable experience, the use of CinemaScope here is truly breathtaking as Khutsiev's camera pans the streets of 1960's Moscow providing an overview of the changing city. The opening to the film is a subtle reflection of the shifting meaning of Soviet Russia during the Khrushchev Thaw as a radio is tuned and flicks through pop music, football commentary, classical music reflecting the fragmented multi-faceted experience urban experience the film's young protagonist is existing in the middle of. A truly unforgettable film which demands to be seen on the biggest screen possible.

One Way or Another

Another film I was able to curate and share with a large audience, it's a really wonderful piece of cinema which incorporates a range of perspectives through a deceptively simple story which allows multiple deviations, to enable a wider depiction of the larger community. It contains one of the most beautiful uses of music I've ever seen in a film. Thankfully the film has managed to grew in status and visibility over the years, and is a testament to the networks of restoration and repertory spaces that the film has been able to find an audience and increasingly become part of the canon.

Sambizanga

Maldoror's most visible, most celebrated film, is clearly an important, incendiary piece of cinema, which focuses on the struggle for Angolan independence. When viewed as part of her larger body of work, Maldoror's connection to engaging with radical Black tradition's across the arts present this particular film reflects her career long engagement with thinking through how art can facilitate radical thought and radical political change, particularly through her interactions with the negritude/tigritude movements.

Crystal Gazing

A really exceptional, singular vision of 1980's Britain. Mixes experimental techniques with a series of interconnected narratives reflecting a shifting political climate connected to Thatcherism.

Variety

Aside from being one the great New York films, Variety is a wonderfully strange and subversive take on sexual desire, drawing from many popular clichés and stereotypes often centred around male voyeurism, to explore the both the boredom and alluring spectacle of the back alleys and pornography theatres which once populated the from the perspective of Gordon's female protagonist.