Cedar Wood & Silk

1995
Sound
14m

Insightful exploration of the relationship between a Jamaican mother and her British-born daughter.

Differing opinions about fashion spark a vibrant, insightful exploration of the tender relationship between a Jamaican mother and her British-born daughter. Jillian Li-Sue's film deftly weaves together flashbacks to tell mother Florence's story, from her early life in Jamaica to her move to the UK and her skill as a seamstress. Daughter Sandra - who dresses "for comfort, not comments" - resists wearing her elaborate creations, revealing the cultural and generational divide between the two women. Through astute dialogue and rich period imagery, the film explores the ways West Indian heritage is kept alive in the diaspora.

This film was made as part of the Arts Council-funded Black Arts Video Project (1988-1996). Other films in the series included Kanga and The Homecoming: A Short Film About Ajamu, which are also available on BFI Player. Director Jillian Li-Sue's other films include Ursulena's Box (1993) and Songs for Our Daughters (1996), which also explore Caribbean culture and migration to Britain.

Black British Filmmaking

A selection of shorts and features by black writers and directors, from milestones of the 60s and 70s to contemporary hits.

For much of the history of British film and TV, black stories were overseen by white filmmakers. By the 1960s, black writers and directors were demanding to tell their own stories, in their own way. This collection celebrates the work of black storytellers who have enriched our understanding of the black British experience. Landmark features like Horace Ové's Pressure (1975) and Menelik Shabazz's Burning an Illusion (1981) stand beside earlier milestones in short filmmaking by Lionel Ngakane and Lloyd Reckord, and 1990s work by Isaac Julien and Julian Henriques. And you'll find hits by leading lights in new black British cinema, including Noel Clarke, Destiny Ekaragha and Debbie Tucker Green. The collection also highlights the work of Ngozi Onwurah, who became the first black British woman director to get a UK theatrical release with her extraordinary debut feature Welcome II the Terrordome (1995), a controversial dystopian fable unavailable for many years.