Join us for an afternoon screening of Horace Ové’s Pressure (1975). Ové’s fiction-film debut marks a watershed in the history of British cinema: the nation’s first feature to be written and directed by a Black filmmaker and the first to focus on the perspective of Black characters. In Pressure, Tony (Herbert Norville) is caught between his Trinidadian parents’ desire to attain middle-class respectability in London and his older brother Colin’s (Oscar James) urging to join the Black Power movement. Ové depicts Tony’s political awakening in captivating vérité style as he realizes that taking on the system will invite not only violent police oppression but also a thorough examination of his own values and beliefs. Pressure is a marvel of independent filmmaking that captures Black working-class solidarity while refusing easy solutions to social problems that remain relevant today.

Enjoy the film and snacks as part of this series. Come early or stay late to visit our galleries—free admission is included with your ticket!