Tamal Kundu
There are very few filmmakers active today who can explore the human condition with as much visceral aptitude as Steve McQueen, whose movie, ‘12 Years a Slave’, won the best film award at the 2014 Academy Awards. In his 2020 venture, the movie series ‘Small Axe’, he explores the experiences of the Windrush Generation in the UK between the late 1960s and mid-1980s.
The series comprises five films. After the release of the first movie, it received widespread praise for its engaging plot, complex and realistic characters, and candid and humane depictions of real-life people. Here is everything you need to know about the upcoming 2nd part, i.e., ‘Small Axe: Lovers Rock.’
Small Axe: Lovers Rock Release Date: When will it Premiere?
The pilot, ‘Small Axe: Mangrove’, was first broadcast on November 15, 2020, on BBC One in the UK. It subsequently landed in the US on Amazon Prime Video on November 20, 2020. McQueen wrote the script with Courttia Newland, for whom this is the first major project.
The second film was shown at the 64th BFI London Film Festival on October 18, 2020. For McQueen, who is of Grenadian and Trinidadian descent, the films are incredibly personal. “The seed of Small Axe was sown 11 years ago, soon after my first film, Hunger,” he wrote in a BBC press release. “Initially, I had conceived of it as a TV series, but as it developed, I realised these stories had to stand alone as original films yet at the same time be part of a collective.
He added, “The anthology, anchored in the West Indian experience in London, is a celebration of all that that community has succeeded in achieving against the odds. To me, it is a love letter to Black resilience, triumph, hope, music, joy and love as well as to friendship and family. Oh, and let’s not forget about food too!” ‘Small Axe: Lovers Rock’ is slated to air on BBC One on November 22, 2020. ‘Small Axe’ episode 2 will land in the US on November 27, 2020, on Amazon Prime Video.
Small Axe: Lovers Rock Cast: Who is in it?
As ‘Small Axe’ is an anthology miniseries, each of its weekly films has unique stories to tell with a unique set of characters. ‘Small Axe: Lovers Rock’ stars Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn as Marcia, Michael Ward as Franklin, Shaniqua Okwok as Patty, Kedar Williams-Stirling as Clifton, Ellis George as Cynthia, Francis Lovehall as Reggie, Daniel Francis-Swaby as Bammy, Alexander James-Blake as Parker B, and Saffron Coomber as Grace.
What to Expect From Small Axe: Lovers Rock?
If the first film is set in 1970s Notting Hill, ‘Small Axe: Lovers Rock’ takes place in a blues party in the 1980s. The world is rapidly changing. There are more inter-racial and inter-cultural relationships than ever before. Reggae music, which is originally from Jamaica, has begun to gain popularity. And like always, there are racial tensions between different groups of people. Amidst all this, love blossoms.
Read More: Small Axe: Mangrove Ending, Explained
