Mugabe and Me+ Q&A with director-producer Roy Agyemang and executive producer Andy Mundy-Castle An intimate documentary portrait of former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe in his later years.Courtesy of BBC Africa Over a ten-year period, British-born Ghanaian filmmaker Roy Agyemang gained rare access to Robert Mugabe. His resulting documentary portrait, screening in the year that Mugabe...

African Odysseys was set up in 2007 by Black community activists who were already showing films at various London venues. The programme is very popular but despite being mired in racial controversies for years HERE the BFI is refusing to run a Race Equality Impact Assessment HERE which would reveal the impact of the proposed cuts on the Black community. This is a strange position for an educational public body funded by the taxpayer;

The British Film Institute (BFI) plans redundancies and cuts which would effectively end African Odysseys. This is a vital grassroots initiative celebrating historical, educational Black cinema for the past 17 years (sample of the many films HERE). It is the only such programme in Europe.

The BFI is still refusing to do a Race Equality Impact Assessment. They are also refusing to reverse their decision to make redundant the person who co-founded the unique and successful African Odysseys programme; and to eliminate the 336 days of work post required to produce AO, South Asian and refugee films/events.

The BFI is stating that the removal of the 8000 hours of work annually required for 17 years to produce the monthly AO programme will not make a difference to the programme and they are ‘committed’ to celebrating 20 years of it despite these devastating cuts. This is an obvious contradiction.

On Monday 18th November the legal department of a British anti-racist, equalities and civil rights group sent in 11 questions to BFI management under the Freedom of Information Act. The BFI now has a legal obligation to respond.

The questions include many queries that the Steering Committee have raised since June that have been evasively answered or not answered at all. They include:

10.     We are aware that a decision was made that no Equality Impact Assessment was undertaken regarding the changes to the AO delivery because of the restructure, please provide an explanation as to:

i.       why that decision was made

ii.      who made it

iii.     and when

The African Odysseys programme is unique in Europe. One example of the type of films/events produced are the films of Dr Ken Fero.

In 2014 the Steering Committee arranged a season of films on deaths in custody, police brutality and racist immigration policies directed or produced by Fero. As mentioned by the Institute of Race Relations HERE and by Meeting of Minds HERE

In 2018 AO highlighted Fero’s work as part of the Black and Banned season. Fero’s film Injustice was censored/banned in 2001.

Fero’s films and the Q&A’s, platformed campaigners against police brutality like Marcia Rigg, Brenda Weinberg and Janet Alder. His films highlighted the deaths in custody of Black men like David Oluwale, Brian Douglas, Mark Duggan, Christopher Alder, Roger Sylvester and many more. These campaigns have all suffered from institutional racism and lack of coverage from mainstream media, including cinemas.

In 2021 Fero was a special guest at the BFI Southbank reopening after the pandemic. He is featured in this 2020 BFI interview. HERE

Fero’s films were only exhibited because of the AO Steering Committee and the presence of a dedicated staff member with decades of expert knowledge of Black film, and their 8000 hours of time to research, source and organise those events. 

Even in 2020 the BFI management did not know who Ken Fero was and had to be convinced by the Steering Committee to show his films as part of a Black Lives Matter season that year.

Ken Fero is one of 15 signatories to the open letter from Professor Gus John. Renowned activists/filmmakers Professor Imruh Bakari and Professor Cecil Gutzmore Dr Ama Biney Joy Fraser are also signatories.

Professor John’s detailed 9-page open letter sent 1st October can be seen HERE 

He offered to meet with the BFI to resolve the situation then. His overture was rebuffed by BFI senior management.

At present the BFI senior management is ignoring numerous appeals from South Asian film groups, The Black community, academics and professional filmmakers and13,000 people, to run a Race Equality Impact Assessment before going ahead with any redundancies or job cuts.



Please continue to sign and share the petition. Additionally, you can ask your MP to ask the BFI management why the REIA, a policy, best practice/legal requirement for public bodies, has not been done by the taxpayer -funded BFI after 6 months of protest. You can also ask any media, press, podcasts etc to cover the story as this film programme is unique in all of Europe and at a time of increased far-right activity needs be be supported not undermined.

Watch the english version of the official trailer from Besouro, movie about the brazilian capoeira legend Besouro Mangangá. Produced by Mixer and Globo Films, distributed by Miravista, the film is directed by João Daniel Tikhomiroff. Release estimated for November, 2009.