YOUNG SOUL REBELS
While the British Commonwealth prepares to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s 25th Jubilee, London is going through a phase questioning punk music. At the centre of its multifaceted narrative are two young DJs who from their garages preach the funk and neo-soul music of the Heptones and Funkadelic. Isaac Julien is not interested in the goings on around Buckingham and instead focuses on the black and queer community of that time, thus delivering England’s answer to Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing”. Starting with the murder of a young rentboy looking for punters in parks, the director captures racism and homophobia, theoretical political discords which manifest on the streets and ultimately the entire dynamic on the fringe of a multicultural metropolis, before sinking into the darkness of Thatcherism.
UK / 1991 / COLOR / DCP / 140’ / ENGLISH
While the British Commonwealth is preparing to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s Silver Jubilee, punk is launched in London to challenge everything. However, the focus of the narration are two young DJs who preach Heptons and Funkadelic’s funk and neosoul, Julien doesn’t care about Buckingham. He turns his camera to the black and queer community of the era, articulating the English answer to Spike Lee’s ‘Do the Right Thing’. The film begins with the murder of a young man who picks up men in parks, the film documents the deep racism and homophobia, the political conflicts that spill on the streets and the whole dynamic in the fringes of a multicultural metropolis, before it sinks in the darkness of Thatcherism. Th.K.
DIRECTOR: Isaac Julien
SCREENWRITERS: Isaac Julien, Paul Hallam
DoP: Nina Kelgren
MUSIC: Simon Boswell
EDITOR: John Wilson
PRINCIPAL CAST: Valentine Nonyela, Mo Sesay, Dorian Healy, Frances Barber, Sophie Okonedo, Debra Gillett, Jason Durr, Gary McDonald, Eamon Walker
SIR ISAAC JULIEN
British installation artist, film director and teacher, born in 1960. His life goal is the merging of various expression/artistic media to create a uniform narration. ‘Young Soul Rebels’ has won the International Critic Week’s Award at Cannes.
FILMOGRAPHY (SELECTED)
2019 Lessons of the Hour
1996 Frantz Fanon: Black Skin White Mask
1991 Young Soul Rebels
1989 Looking for Langston
