The Darker Side of Black  |  Isaac Julien  |  UK  |  1994  |  55 min

The film explores homophobia, misogyny and violence within rap and dancehall across music scenes in the UK, US and Jamaica. Featuring interviews with artists themselves and cultural critics as well as music video analysis, the work is a vital intervention in dismantling patriarchy within Blackness. Following the film there will be an intergenerational conversation with Chloe Filani discussing how issues it raises persist today and what if any changes have occurred.

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Chloe Filani is a Black British-Nigerian feminist, poet, performance artist, public speaker and workshop facilitator. Her poetry works on her lived experiences and the broader themes of identity and power structures, dealing with ideas of precolonial African trans femme ancestors as poetic stories.

Deborah Findlater is an artist born and based in London. She refers to herself as a ‘griot’ – a West African term for an oral storyteller, community historian and keeper of ancestral knowledge who moves between mediums in their tellings. She echoes this fluidity with her practice encompassing poetry, music, sound art, filmmaking, video art, installation and performance. The voice is key. They are interested in how dominant narratives are constructed and from whose gaze subverting this in order to create new stories in a polyphonic manner from a queer, Black feminist and decolonial perspective. They also DJ under the moniker Pepper Coast connecting the dots between bass heavy and electronic sounds from across the African diaspora.

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Space: Given the nature of the content Otherness Archive would like to ensure that this is a protective space for Black queer folk and make sure that their voices are prioritised for the discussion.

Access: This event will have a BSL interpreter and is wheelchair accessible with street to floor access.

TW : homophobia, misogyny, and references to violence.

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Otherness Archive is a visual archive documenting queer films and its pioneers, as well as a space for contemporary filmmakers. Our choices in moving image works defies the historic censorship of homosexual, trans and racial themes, and instead highlights them as representations of otherness that deserve equal, if not greater, recognition. Otherness acts as a route into complex narratives and subjectivities that make for richer cinema.

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This is a free event but advance booking is highly recommended & tickets are available online via this link here.