Generation Revolution: New documentary follows journey of London’s young activists of colour

The film gives a rare insight into how activist groups operate in London

Generation Revolution follows two London-based activist groups as they strive to change the capital’s political and social landscape. Through their journey, it tells a sad story - the one of blameless black and brown young people being a potential police target on account of skin colour. The feature-length documentary has recently been released in the UK and it is a brave call to action.

For more than a year, directors Cassie Quarless and Usayd Younis followed activist groups London Black Revolutionaries (or Black Revs) and R Movement.

The Black Revs grabbed headlines for pouring concrete over anti-homeless spikes outside a central London Tesco. The radical R Movement took an online debate and turned into a political action.

The result was a documentary that explores the challenges faced by young activists of colour as they protest against racism, deaths in police custody, migrant policies, attitudes to the homeless and gentrification.

“Young people of colour in the UK a lot of time are represented as violent and apolitical, but we knew that in our community there were people who were doing amazing things and we wanted to capture that”, Cassie Quarless told The Independent.

Activists during protest over Eric Garner's death.

Through the activists’ actions and struggles, the audience not only takes a pulse of society’s political and social landscape, but is also given a rare insight into how activist groups operate in London.

“We still have a problem with access to education for black and brown people; we still have problem with over policing; we still have problems with access to healthcare. People are not only aware of these things, but also acting on these things”, the director said.

The film also takes the viewers right to the heart of some of the main demonstrations that took place in London over the last two years. Black Revs called a “die-in” protest at Westfield shopping centre over Eric Garner’s death, which saw 76 people arrested in 2015 and The Black Lives Matter movement organised a march in Brixton after the killing of black people in the US last July.

Police arrested 76 people during "die-in" protest in Westfield shopping centre in 2014.

After a moment of disruption at Black Revs, the activist filmmakers tracked the feelings of some group members as they realised that the nature of peaceful protest is more nuanced and gendered than had at first appeared.

The film - which is an explicit call to action - was released in the UK last month and has since been well received across the country. Over the past year it also featured in renowned festivals, such as Sheffield Doc/Fest and East End Film Festival.

“We never had a screening where that hasn’t a full Q&A of people always asking questions. There’s never anybody who doesn’t feel the need to explore [the questions raised by the film] more”, said Usayd Younis.

Generation Revolution can be seen across the UK, with screenings often followed by Q&A sessions with the directors.

For more info, visit: https://genrevfilm.com