This Letitia Wright-starring movie tells the true story of the Mangrove Nine, a group of black activists who clashed with London police officers during a protest march in 1970.
- August 25, 2020
AceShowbiz - Steve McQueen's latest movie "Mangrove" is to open this year's BFI London Film Festival.
The movie, which stars Letitia Wright, Shaun Parkes and Malachi Kirby, tells the true story of the Mangrove Nine, a group of black activists who clashed with London police officers during a protest march in 1970. The subsequent trial was the first time racial hatred within the police was officially acknowledged in court in the U.K.
McQueen and bosses at the British Film Institute (BFI) announced the movie will receive its European premiere as the event's opening film on October 7.
The director says in a statement: "I couldn't be happier that Mangrove will open this year's BFI London Film Festival. Although the themes are universal, Mangrove is a London story. It may have happened 50 years ago, but it's as relevant today as it was then."
The movie, one of five in McQueen's "Small Axe" anthology he is creating for the BBC, will be shown for free to festival ticket holders in cinemas across the U.K. as part of the London Film Festival's offerings amid the Covid-19 pandemic. "Mangrove" and 11 other new films from the programme will screen in previews across Britain in participating cinemas, while more than 55 films will have virtual premieres online.
"Mangrove" will debut on the BBC later in the autumn.
