In these times of social isolation and cultural deprivation there is no lack of television shows and films to watch and so many platforms to find them on. I'm not knocking them. However, no matter where you go, none of these platforms offer an instantly accessible category of shows that look at and investigate history, politics and culture from a radical, working class perspective. To be sure you can probably find such shows if you know what you're looking for, but for many people titles like those listed here are either unknown or buried deep in our memory bank.
So? So I've decided to create my very own catalogue of documentary and drama films that are instantly accessible in one site. And it's here in my new page called Reel News.
For copywrite reasons it hasn't been possible to share many titles such as Libertarias and Land and Freedom which are great films about the Spanish revolution, or the wonderful film Missing starring Jack Lemon in the tragedy of Chile in the aftermatch of the Pinochet coup d'etat. However, I will be adding these and many others to a visual catalogue of copywrite titles which you can obtain commercially. In the meantime, I've put together a selection of over 20 English and Spanish language titles covering different themes and genres.
There are historical documentaries covering the 1916 rebellion in Ireland and the civil war and revoluiton in Spain in the 1930s. Also incuded are a some black and white original recordings of Malcolm X and James Baldwin speaking at the Oxford and Cambridge student unions respectively.
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Politics and history are at the centre of this collection but it also includes several classical film dramas such as October:Ten Days That Shook the World (Einstein,1927), The Battle of Algiers (Hadjadj,1966), Salt of the Earth (Biberman, 1954) and the Ken Loach TV play Up the Junction (1965).
As part of a more contemporary collection, I have included a number of Cuban films such as Oliver Stone’s Looking for Fidel (2006) and dramas such as Defiant Souls (2018) and Kangamba (2008) dealing respectively with a female doctor's life in pre-revolutionary Cuba and the Cuban contribution to the liberation of Angola.
These are part of what I hope will be a growing collection of films that will help to both educate and entertain the Dwarf’s readers. As always I would appreciate your feedback and suggestions for new material. In the meantime, please enjoy and share with your friends.