Small Axe  – Concrete Playground

Five phenomenal films about race relations in the UK.

In a normal year, the five movies that comprise Small Axe would’ve likely screened in cinemas, and would be in the running for a heap of the film industry’s shiniest trophies as a result. The entire quintet is directed by Hunger, Shame, 12 Years a Slave and Widows filmmaker Steve McQueen, and every entry is as phenomenal as anything he has ever made. Given his resume, that isn’t a statement we make lightly.

The focus: the treatment of London’s West Indian population from the 60s through until the 80s, with the series of films exploring the racist behaviour directed their way and the methods in which the community waged their resistance. The powerful Mangrove gets the series started,…