Horace Ove
Encyclopedia
Horace OvéHorace Ové (born 1939, Trinidad
, is a British
filmmaker, painter and writer and one of the leading black
independent film-makers to emerge in Britain since the post-war period.
Ové holds the Guinness World Record for the first Black British film-maker to direct a feature-length film, Pressure (1976). In its retrospective history, “100 Years of Cinema”, the British Film Institute
(BFI) declared, “Horace Ové is undoubtedly a pioneer in Black British history and his work provides a perspective on the Black experience in Britain.” Pressure, which tells the story of a London teenager who joins the Black Power
movement in the 1970s, was banned for two years by its own backers, the British Film Institute, before eventually being released to wide acclaim.
Breaking into film as a (slave) extra in the 1963 Joseph L. Mankiewicz
' epic Cleopatra
,he has built a prolific and sometimes controversial career as a filmmaker. Documenting racism and the Black Power movement in Britain over many decades through photography and in films such as Baldwin’s Nigger (1968) or Pressure and Dream to Change the World (2003). His documentaries such as Reggae (1971) and The Skateboard Kings have also become models for emerging filmmakers.
Ové’s TV work has included four episodes of the pioneering series Empire Road
in 1979, an episode of The Professionals
(“A Man Called Quinn,” 1981) and more recently, The Equaliser, a drama about the 1919 Amritsar Massacre which won him two Indian Academy Awards (see →IIFA Awards?) in 1996.
Ové's film Playing Away
(1987) starred Norman Beaton
, is perhaps his most well known work. The film centers around the residents of fictional British village Sneddington, who invite the “Caribbean
Brixton
Conquistadors” (from South London
) for a cricket
match to commemorate “African Famine Week.”http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/508052/
Ové acknowledges influences from African-American political leaders of the 1960s and 1970s like Malcolm X
and Stokeley Carmichael but is disparaging of contemporary black politics in Britain. He says: “In black British politics there are still lot of things that are missing, that are not said.”http://www.camdennewjournal.co.uk/063005/f063005_02.htm
In 2006 he was one of five winners of the £30,000 Paul Hamlyn
Foundation Award for Visual Arts.http://www.phf.org.uk/news.asp?id=133 http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article1962977.ece
In 2007 he was awarded a CBE, Commander of the British Empire, for his contributions to film in the UK.
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
, is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
filmmaker, painter and writer and one of the leading black
Black British
Black British is a term used to describe British people of Black African descent, especially those of Afro-Caribbean background. The term has been used from the 1950s to refer to Black people from former British colonies in the West Indies and Africa, who are residents of the United Kingdom and...
independent film-makers to emerge in Britain since the post-war period.
Ové holds the Guinness World Record for the first Black British film-maker to direct a feature-length film, Pressure (1976). In its retrospective history, “100 Years of Cinema”, the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
(BFI) declared, “Horace Ové is undoubtedly a pioneer in Black British history and his work provides a perspective on the Black experience in Britain.” Pressure, which tells the story of a London teenager who joins the Black Power
Black Power
Black Power is a political slogan and a name for various associated ideologies. It is used in the movement among people of Black African descent throughout the world, though primarily by African Americans in the United States...
movement in the 1970s, was banned for two years by its own backers, the British Film Institute, before eventually being released to wide acclaim.
Breaking into film as a (slave) extra in the 1963 Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Joseph Leo Mankiewicz was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Mankiewicz had a long Hollywood career and is best known as the writer-director of All About Eve , which was nominated for 14 Academy Awards and won six. He was brother to screenwriter and drama critic Herman J...
' epic Cleopatra
Cleopatra (1963 film)
Cleopatra is a 1963 British-American-Swiss epic drama film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. The screenplay was adapted by Sidney Buchman, Ben Hecht, Ranald MacDougall, and Mankiewicz from a book by Carlo Maria Franzero. The film starred Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Roddy...
,he has built a prolific and sometimes controversial career as a filmmaker. Documenting racism and the Black Power movement in Britain over many decades through photography and in films such as Baldwin’s Nigger (1968) or Pressure and Dream to Change the World (2003). His documentaries such as Reggae (1971) and The Skateboard Kings have also become models for emerging filmmakers.
Ové’s TV work has included four episodes of the pioneering series Empire Road
Empire Road
Empire Road is a British television series, made by the BBC in 1978 and 1979.The series was the first British television series to be written, acted and directed entirely by black artists...
in 1979, an episode of The Professionals
The Professionals (TV series)
The Professionals was a British crime-action television drama series produced by Avengers Mk1 Productions and London Weekend Television that aired on the ITV network from 1977 to 1983. In all, 57 episodes were produced, filmed between 1977 and 1981. It starred Martin Shaw, Lewis Collins and Gordon...
(“A Man Called Quinn,” 1981) and more recently, The Equaliser, a drama about the 1919 Amritsar Massacre which won him two Indian Academy Awards (see →IIFA Awards?) in 1996.
Ové's film Playing Away
Playing Away
Playing Away was a 1987 TV comedy about two cricket teams. The English team, fictitiously named Sneddington invited a team of West Indian heritage based in Brixton to play a charity game in support of their “Third World Week.”Starring in the program were:*Norman Beaton*Nicholas Farrell*Brian...
(1987) starred Norman Beaton
Norman Beaton
Norman Lugard Beaton was a Guyanese actor long resident in the United Kingdom....
, is perhaps his most well known work. The film centers around the residents of fictional British village Sneddington, who invite the “Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
Brixton
Brixton
Brixton is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth in south London, England. It is south south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
Conquistadors” (from South London
South London
South London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...
) for a cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
match to commemorate “African Famine Week.”http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/508052/
Ové acknowledges influences from African-American political leaders of the 1960s and 1970s like Malcolm X
Malcolm X
Malcolm X , born Malcolm Little and also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz , was an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its...
and Stokeley Carmichael but is disparaging of contemporary black politics in Britain. He says: “In black British politics there are still lot of things that are missing, that are not said.”http://www.camdennewjournal.co.uk/063005/f063005_02.htm
In 2006 he was one of five winners of the £30,000 Paul Hamlyn
Paul Hamlyn
Paul Hamlyn, Baron Hamlyn of Edgeworth, CBE , was a German-born British publisher and philanthropist.-Family:...
Foundation Award for Visual Arts.http://www.phf.org.uk/news.asp?id=133 http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article1962977.ece
In 2007 he was awarded a CBE, Commander of the British Empire, for his contributions to film in the UK.
External links
- Horace Ové in New York Times filmography