
Director Menelik Shabazz, English, UK, 1981, 101 min, 15
Paving the way for Black filmmakers in the UK, Black History Month 2021 recognises the legacy of Menelik Shabazz, who sadly passed earlier this year through this film screening and conversation. As only the second British feature film made by a Black director in the UK, Burning an Illusion (1981) was filmed in London’s Notting Hill and Ladbroke Grove communities and starring Cassie McFarlane, Victor Romero Evans, Beverley Martin and Angela Wynter. The film follows a young Black woman as she becomes increasingly frustrated with her life.