Lovers Rock
About the event
The second film in Steve McQueen’s landmark Small Axe anthology about London’s West Indian diaspora, Lovers Rock is a rich, sensuous ode to youth and freedom in self-expression. Loosely following Martha (Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn) as she sneaks out to attend a blues party and finds the promise of love, the film chronicles the party from beginning — as sound systems are loaded in, outfits decided, and food prepared for guests — to end, when inhibitions are lost to the heavy riddims on the dancefloor. Immersed in beautiful fashions, smoky haze, and bodies in slow whine and joyful dance, the party becomes a space for Black youth to find freedom, connection, and resistance against the racism and misogyny that lurk outside. Featuring songs by Janet Kay, Louisa Marks, and The Investigators, the film celebrates the distinctly British genre of lovers rock championed by Windrush producers Mad…
