Director Gordon Parks, English, USA, 1971, 100 min, 15
Considered one of the first Blaxploitation films, starring Richard Rowntree as private detective John Shaft. Shaft is hired by a Harlem crime lord rescue his daughter from the Italian mobsters who kidnapped her.
To mark the fiftieth anniversary of the invention of the Blaxploitation genre, 2021’s film series for Black History Month will showcase a groundbreaking film each Wednesday throughout October. Influenced by the Black Power Movement, films of the Blaxploitation era were amongst the first where Black characters are centralised within narratives as heroes alongside soundtracks set to funk and soul music. Although not without their controversies, their impact has endured.
More Leicester Listings MORE
Paul Simon’s Graceland Reimagined By The London African Gospel Choir
Prepare to be uplifted and inspired as the sensational London African Gospel Choir brings its acclaimed reimagining of…
Signatures and the Black British Dance Platform (2026)
Signatures and the Black British Dance Platform are two internationally recognised performance platforms that celebrate the creativity, innovation…
Annual Windrush Day Lecture 2026
Windrush Day, officially recognised by the UK government since 2018, is commemorated annually on 22 June to mark…