“Heartening and head-banging.”
— Glenn Kenny, The New York Times
“A pitch-perfect, punk AF documentary…Here’s a blueprint for resistance”
— David Fear, Rolling Stone
“A thrilling, incendiary look at punk’s influence on politics.”
— Christopher Schobert, The Film Stage
THIS DECEMBER, FILM MOVEMENT INVITES HOME AUDIENCES TO FRONT ROW SEATS FOR THE UNTOLD STORY OF HOW A MOTLEY CREW OF PUNK ROCKERS STOOD UP AGAINST RACISM AND
CHANGED THE WORLD
WHITE RIOT
Street Date: December 15, 2020
DVD/Digital: $24.95
This Rockin’ Acclaimed Documentary Charting the Rise of the U.K.’s ‘70s Grassroots Movement, Rock Against Racism, Features The Clash, Steel Pulse, Tom Robinson,
Sham 69, Alien Kulture and More!
SYNOPSIS
Britain, late-1970s. The country is deeply divided over immigration. The National Front, a far-right and fascist political party, is gaining strength. And countering this was Rock Against Racism (RAR), a movement that swept across the U.K. and Europe and culminated in a 100,000+ person march and a legendary concert event – Woodstock meets the March on Washington, punk-style. Capturing this incredible moment in time when music changed the world is the award-winning documentary WHITE RIOT from director Rubika Shah.
Expanding on her documentary short White Riot: London, Shah’s energizing film charts the rise of Rock Against Racism (RAR), formed in 1976, prompted by “music’s biggest colonialist” Eric Clapton and his support of racist MP Enoch Powell. The brisk, informative WHITE RIOT blends fresh, engaging interviews with RAR staff and musicians with archival footage to recreate a hostile environment of anti-immigrant hysteria and National Front marches. As neo-Nazis recruited the nation’s youth, RAR’s multicultural punk and reggae gigs provided rallying points for resistance. The campaign grew from “Temporary Hoarding,” the movement’s fanzine to 1978’s huge antifascist concert in Victoria Park, featuring X-Ray Spex, Tom Robinson, Steel Pulse and, of course, The Clash, whose rock star charisma and gale-force conviction took RAR’s message to the masses. WHITE RIOT chronicles this “extraordinary fusion of culture and politics that changed society for the better.[1]”
PROGRAM INFORMATION
Type: DVD/Digital (iTunes, Amazon, Vudu)
Running Time: 84 minutes
Genre: Documentary/Music
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen
Audio: 5.1 Surround Sound/2.0 Stereo
