From the introduction to 54.4:
“Even more than the films produced by these collectives, to see [Steve] McQueen’s Small Axe and Uprising is to see and hear the work of the one Black film and video collective that is too often left out of formal recollections of Black British image-work in the 1980s: the Ceddo Film and Video Workshop. It’s truly difficult to engage that visual vocabulary and soundtrack, which may very well now become associated with McQueen, without thinking about Ceddo and without asking two questions one hears often in conversations about Black Independent Film in Britain: Do you remember Ceddo? What happened to them? Such questions arise because it is difficult to understand how such an important group of artists and activists who had such a firm grip on the street-level zeitgeist of Enoch Powell’s and Margaret Thatcher’s England could come so close to disappearing from Black cultural memories and their archives.”
This very special issue includes many archival images, previously unpublished work, and the following:
“Burning Illusions: The Ceddo Film and Video Collective,” by Louis Chude-Sokei.
“Stepping Forward: A Re-Introduction to Ceddo,” by Ceddo co-founder, Imruh Bakari.
Ceddo’s Original Manifesto written for the Third Cinema Festival, Edinburgh Festival, August 1986.
Remembering the Ceddo Film and Video Workshop: A Conversation with remaining members of the collective and fellow travelers.
For a limited time, download and read Louis Chude-Sokei’s introduction for free.
This issue marks the end of the decade-long tenure of editor-in-chief, Louis Chude-Sokei. Thank you, Louis! We will miss you and look forward to seeing more of the incredible work you continue to gift to the world.
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