Through A Different Lens: Celebrating Black Culture Through Film
17th October 2024
In honour of Black History Month, the University of Reading was invited to Creative Connection – Celebrating Black Filmmakers organised by Through a Different Lens, an event organised and hosted by Jocelyn Chandler Hawkins.
The event took place at the Reading Biscuit Factory Cinema, a cinema space that hosts events, screenings and much more. In addition to watching the latest movie, people can enjoy the fun and cosy ambience by playing a board game or two, listening to the varied collection of music records, or even grabbing a bite to eat alongside a refreshing drink.
Once every ticketholder had received their complimentary drink, we took our seats and watched two screenings on two different topics.
Screening no. 1: Mas Resistance
The first screening showcased the culture and heritage of Notting Hill Carnival, which is thought to have been held for the first time in 1964. Having never been to the carnival myself, I found the topic fascinating. The carnival was brought to life by immigrants from Trinidad during times of recession, as the quality of life in the UK seemed to decrease significantly. They aimed to celebrate black lives and culture through cleverly crafted costumes, live music, and plenty of food and drink, yet the most critical element is joy.
The documentary showcased the voices of people who have attended the festival since its first edition, speaking about it with immense passion and pride. However, besides providing a personal look into the carnival, the documentary highlighted the increasing concern among the older attendees that it is losing its history. As the younger generations don’t seem to understand the cultural significance of the carnival, many attend the event to have a fun time; there is a sense of urgency in the shots of the people wearing their characters’ costumes. The historical context of the carnival is and still should be preserved as much as possible, which is what the filmmakers hoped to achieve through creating and sharing this film with the audience.
Overall, as everyone applauded the filmmakers once the credits started to roll, the documentary brought the audience a sense of joy and pride, which was an excellent way to conclude the night’s first screening.
Screening no. 2: The Nod: Tell Me You Got me
The second screening brought the topic of The Nod , a cultural lived experience of the black community. We heard black men what the gesture and what it means to them. Some of their personal definitions of what The Nod is and what it stands for were: “What’s good?” “I’m glad we made it”, “Peace, love and respect”, and “I see you; you are my reflection. The spirit in me is the spirit in you!”
It was heart warming to hear these men discuss such a subtle way of communicating so many things all at once, as it might seem like a trivial gesture to people who might not be aware of this aspect of black culture. The audience members seemed to relate to the comments made in this film, as there were moments when they would react through nods towards the screen.
In Conversation with The People – “Black History shouldn’t be limited to one month!”
As everyone started to leave the theatre, there was room for people to discuss their thoughts and feelings about their viewing experience. Our team was lucky enough to get some interviews with some of the audience members and one of the creators of the film Mas Resistance.
The overall opinions on the films were highly positive, with most people agreeing that it is essential to learn about these topics even outside of events such as this.
While everyone appreciated how Black History Month is celebrated every year, most people we spoke to made an interesting comment: Black History Month shouldn’t be restricted to a limited timeframe, as “Black culture is too vast to cover in just one month.” Some thought it was “silly” to limit our conversations about black culture to only the month of October.
This is particularly interesting to hear about, as we might think that dedicating a whole month to an important cause would be a good idea. Yet, what seems to happen is a sense of performative “activism”, as once October is over, so is “Black History Month”. The idea behind encouraging people to talk about critical topics is to keep talking about them throughout the year without applying borders to these timeless conversations.
Another important opinion we discovered during our interviews was that these things should be shown to the younger generation. We also think that through workshops or even learning modules in schools, black history wouldn’t need to be separated anymore and would finally become part of our world’s history.
Ending Thoughts
With the event being highly praised by the attendees, the evening naturally came to a close as we all reflected on the impact of what we had just watched and discussed. All in all, history shouldn’t just remain in the past but be passed on to the future, as highlighted by some audience members. To do so, we must keep having these conversations beyond Black History Month to keep informing a more expansive audience than just those who were there for this event.
Most importantly, it was amazing to be invited to attend such an important event as part of the University of Reading. I, for one, have learned so much from these two films and the conversations we had with the people who attended, and I hope more students from our university will participate in next year’s edition of this important and community focussed event.
To find out more, check out the event round up video on YouTube.