| Babylon | |
| Director: | Franco Rosso |
| Producer: | Gavrik Losey |
| Starring: | Brinsley Forde Karl Howman Trevor Laird |
| Music: | Dennis Bovell |
| Cinematography: | Chris Menges |
| Editing: | Thomas Schwalm |
| Studio: | National Film Finance Corporation |
| Distributor: | Kino Lorber Repertory Seventy-Seven |
| Runtime: | 95 minutes |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English and Jamaican patois with subtitles |
| Budget: | £300,000[1] |
Babylon is a 1980 British drama film directed by Franco Rosso.[2] Written by Franco Rosso and Martin Stellman (Quadrophenia), and shot by two-time Academy Award winner Chris Menges (The Killing Fields), Babylon is an incendiary portrait of racial tension and police brutality set in Brixton, London. The film, anchored by Dennis Bovell’s propulsive score, is partly based on Bovell’s false imprisonment for running a Jamaican sound system, Sufferer’s Hi Fi, in the mid-70s.
Produced by Gavrik Losey and the National Film Finance Corporation, the film is regarded as a classic.[3] [4]
Babylon follows a young reggae DJ (Brinsley Forde, M.B.E., frontman of the British group Aswad) of the Ital 1 Lion sound system in Thatcher-era South London as he pursues his musical ambitions while also battling fiercely against the racism and xenophobia of employers, neighbours, police, and the National Front.
Babylon was filmed on the streets of Deptford and Brixton, London. The story centers on sound system culture[5] and themes of police brutality, racism, poverty, and disillusionment with lack of opportunities.[6]
Babylon was filmed on a six-week shooting schedule, entirely on location in South London and the West End. The production headquarters were above a rambling church in Deptford. The set was totally closed to visitors, including journalists, because of the film's sensitive subject matter and the fact that shooting was taking place in an area of London where there was racial tension.
The cast of actors were carefully chosen, with the help of casting director Sheila Trezise, Franco Rosso, and Martin Stellman, who all already had many contacts within the black community. Aside from the regular actors, there were many extras. The vast majority were West Indians living around the Deptford, Lewisham, Peckham, and Croydon areas.
The film features an entirely reggae and dub soundtrack, including artists such as Yabby U, I-Roy, Aswad, and Dennis Bovell.[7]