In Anthony Simmons' Palme d’Or nominated comic drama Ben, an innocent immigrant from a remote village in Guyana, arrives in Brixton and falls prey to an assortment of streetwise characters
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Produced shortly after Horace Ové’s landmark film Pressure, Black Joy is both a culture-clash comedy and an unflinching look at the social and financial issues facing black Britons. |
A West Indian immigrant arrives in Brixton, where his bright-eyed innocence and full wallet see him have to grow up, fast. |
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It's a comedy of serious intent, featuring the knockout combination of Norman Beaton and Floella Benjamin. Ex-barrister Anthony Simmons directs with flair and an excellent soundtrack featuring Gladys Knight, The Real Thing and The Heptones. |
It was nominated for the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1977. |
It lives up to the filmmaker's goal, which was to show 'the reality of life in an immigrant area, angry and frustrated like so many other parts of Britain – but full of hope and humour'. |
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