BABYLON + DJ set
Wednesday 6 April • Cert 15
Book your tickets here.
Stanley’s Film Club present a screening of the reggae-infused drama BABYLON (Franco Rosso; 1980; Certificate 15) a gritty cult drama starring Brinsley Forde of the reggae band Aswad. The film today stands as a vibrant time capsule of a time and place: a London that increasingly seems lost in time as cultural changes and gentrification do their work. Smoke Screen reviewed the film here when it screened at the BFI, awarding it a well-deserved 4 star rating.
The story follows a week in the life of Blue, a young Rastafarian musician who hopes to rise above the trials of his daily life and succeed at a soundclash competition with his Reggae Sound System Ital Lion. Filmed on the streets of Brixton and Deptford in the early 80s when Jamaican sound system culture was at its peak and racial tensions were high, Babylon was the first British non-documentary film focused on reggae music.
With its driving dub reggae soundtrack, this politically sensitive film highlights the social and racial struggles of the British black working classes in Thatcher’s London. An exciting chance to watch this film in South London close to the beating heart of London’s reggae scene.
Arrive from 7pm to enjoy reggae and dub rhythms from DJ Dubplate Pearl, before we kick off the film at 9pm.