[6] He had watched mobile cinema in his village as a child, and at the age of 18 began to think about making films after being introduced to Sony's first portable video technology while studying at North London College.
[7] He enrolled at the London International Film School in 1974, and though unable to attend for long, because he did not receive a "discretionary grant" from his local borough council, "he was able to grasp important knowledge, confidence and inspiration to move forward as a filmmaker.
[7] In 1996, as part of the six-part BBC Education series Hidden Empire, he made the drama documentary Catch A Fire about the life of Paul Bogle and the 1865 Morant Bay Rebellion.
[29][30] It was generally well received, with The Guardian reviewer finding it "engaging and sympathetic",[31] and others calling it "humorous, yet educational",[32] and commenting that its approach to gender relationships in the black community "opens a long overdue debate".
Focusing on the first-hand experiences of the black British community – from young singletons out and about at carnival to a couple who have been married for 50 years – this shoestring-budget doc lends a non-judgmental ear to opinions that range from the eye-opening to the jaw-dropping.
A tighter edit may have reined in some of the woollier psychobabble, but the desire to place abusive relationships within a wider historical context (slavery, emasculation etc) pays dividends.
[36] Some of his work (including The Story of Lover's Rock, Step Forward Youth, Breaking Point, Blood Ah Go Run, Catch a Fire, Time and Judgement, Burning an Illusion and Looking for Love) are available on DVD.
[7][36] In 1999 he started the bfm International Film Festival as a platform for screening black world cinema and to inspire British talent, which became the biggest of its kind in Europe.