The Radical Imagination Project is delighted to be once again partnering withCinema Politica and the Central Branch of the Halifax Public Library to curate a series of provocative documentary films to Halifax from September to December 2015. These films focus on key contemporary issues and will be followed by moderated discussions. All films are free and open to the public.

Monday, October 19, 6:30pm – Central Branch Library, rm. 301

Election Night special: Riots Reframed

Riots Reframed is a feature-length documentary which reframes England’s 2011 riots through voices of resistance – threading these perspectives together using moody instrumentals, dramatic monologue and raw spoken word. This hard-hitting film is unique both in its scope and the journey that produced it.

The idea was conceived soon after the producer, Fahim Alam, was released from prison on bail, after being arrested for taking part in riots. With virtually no knowledge of filming and editing, he set out to make an independent and complex documentary. Most of it was filmed whilst Fahim wore an ankle tag and was subject to a strict curfew as he awaited trial for the charge of ‘violent disorder’.

The documentary takes the viewer through a journey that begins in Tottenham and spirals out to a detailed look at the role of police, power, racism, government, prison, war, resistance and more.

Although the voices base their analysis around the riots, the scope of Riots Reframed is much wider and stands in its own right as a poetic but fierce challenge to the system we live under and the suffering it produces. The result is a radical social commentary grounded in knowledge and art, that synthesises a number of voices, from prominent social, cultural and political analysts, to prisoners still recovering from time inside.

Riots Reframed is simultaneously engaging, informative, thought-provoking, emotion-stirring, and importantly, a challenge to the media institutions that serve the narrative of the power structure. This film is a historical document not to be missed.