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Stevan Riley’s exuberant documentary is much more than just a cricket film. New interviews with players such as inspirational captain Clive Lloyd, fast bowler Michael Holding and the ice cool Viv Richards bring vintage test match footage to vibrant life. Unfolding as a classic underdog tale, Riley’s film places the narrative firmly within the civil rights movement and nascent reggae-powered Caribbean nationalism.
Steeled by colonial oppression, Lloyd instilled an uncompromising attitude in his charges, subverting the old elite and leading the Windies to strike back in historic victories over England and Australia by the end of the decade.
'Fire in Babylon is the kind of film that makes you proud to be a human being.' Charlotte O'Sullivan, Evening Standard
The screening on 23 August was introduced by author of the book, Fire In Babylon: How the West Indies Cricket Team Brought a People to its Feet, Simon Lister, and was followed by a post film discussion and book signing in the Garden Cinema bar.