Windrush Caribbean Film Festival (WCFF) Celebrates Fifth Year

The Windrush Caribbean Film Festival (WCFF) launches with the theme Transition and Travels – The Journey Continues. Now in its fifth year the festival celebrates Black British film making and the legacy of storytelling about the contributions of the Windrush generation and their descendants.

Audiences worldwide will be able to access the 2024 Windrush Caribbean Film Festival online, on-demand with 30 days to complete viewing.

Starting on 21 June, audiences will be able to attend in-person screening, interviews and panel discussions to continue the celebration. Featuring new works from up-and-coming creators, the festival also draws on extensive archives for historic storytelling.

In an important new dimension, the festival is pleased to be working in partnership with Friends of Windrush Square to provide the first ever outdoor cinema screening in Brixton’s Windrush Square on Sunday 23 June, as part of the Big Caribbean Lunch, honouring the legacy of the Windrush Generation. The event, running from noon to 7pm, will see 100 original members of Windrush Generation and their descendants enjoy a Caribbean lunch and storytelling to the soundtrack of music they brought with them to Britain.

Festival co-founder and Director Patricia Hamzahee says, “The Windrush Caribbean Film Festival is delighted to add this exciting outdoor cinema experience to the Big Caribbean Lunch. Guests will be able to watch a selection of engaging short films and end with Super Sam, an inspiring tribute to 98-year-old Brixtonian Clovis Salmon.”

The Windrush Caribbean Film Festival will showcase over 30 films across three cities (Birmingham, London & Newport, Wales) offering an exciting programme of feature, documentary and short films. The festival culminates with Closing Ceremony on 29 June where awards will be given for Best Short, Best Feature and Best Film along with two special awards:  the Paulette Wilson Windrush Justice Award given in memory of the tireless campaigner for justice who confronted the continuing Windrush scandal and the Menelik Shabazz Award given to an outstanding up and coming Black British filmmaker.  Adjani Salmon won the inaugural Shabazz award last year.

Festival Programming
This year’s theme of Transitions & Travels highlights the importance of movement for Caribbean people from their home countries to the UK and how this history was emulated through the journey of some aboard HMS Empire Windrush. Each year careful thought is given to the festival’s theme. The inaugural Festival in 2020 focused on Justice as the Windrush generation continues to fight for compensation and Britain’s Black communities faced devasting racial and social injustice. In 2021 the theme looked at the Art of Carnival while 2022 explored the Legacy from Empire to Commonwealth. Last year, for the 75th anniversary, WCFF celebrated The Journey Starts Here.

Director of WCFF Ansel Wong CBE says, “This is an opportunity to celebrate the vibrant and diverse Caribbean communities in Britain, their profound impact on life in the UK, and the continuing contributions they and their descendants make today.”

To purchase tickets please visit windrushfilmfestival.com