TV Time Machine: Long Live Our England

“People can say I’m fine because I’m on a television film. But my reason for doing this is to tell the public, the white majority, what blacks think of the society and what we want to do in the society and what we’d like to see society doing for us. And that’s my main reason to be here.” (Prince Kaba)

In 1972, BBC North West broadcast ‘Long Live Our England’, a three-part series that looked at the experiences of West Indian families who had come to Britain in search of a better life, especially those who were building their lives in Moss Side and Old Trafford.

Covering a wide range of subjects from the reasons behind immigration to themes such as employment, education and discrimination, this ground-breaking series brought black voices and perspectives to TV audiences across the UK.

50 years on, award-winning filmmaker, producer and broadcaster Karen Gabay introduces extracts from these programmes, UHD-remastered by the North West Film Archive, plus the follow-up film Strangers Yet (1982), in which the original participants were invited back to reflect on what had changed for them ten years after the original series. Karen will lead an audience discussion after the screening.

The television programmes featured in TV Time Machine were filmed in 1972 and 1982, and reflect the language and social attitudes of their time. 

TV Time Machine is a new project from the North West, Yorkshire and North East Film Archives charting the history of television in the North, from first broadcasts to award-winning documentaries and regional news output.  This specially curated screening brings the small screen to the big screen, revealing local content from more in-depth current affairs series and news magazine programmes.

TV Time Machine is supported by Film Hub North with National Lottery funding on behalf of the BFI Film Audience Network. Thanks to the North West Film Archive at Manchester Metropolitan University and BBC Archive Services.

Duration:
120 minutes

Languages:
English

Country of origin:
United Kingdom

This screening has no adverts or trailers and starts at the advertised time