''Guerrilla'' is a six-part British drama serial set in early 1970s London, against the backdrop of the
Immigration Act 1971
The Immigration Act 1971c 77 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning immigration and nearly entirely remaking the field of British immigration law. The Act, as with the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962, and that of 1968, re ...
Babou Ceesay
Baboucarr Alieu Ceesay (born 1979) is a British actor. He is known for his roles in '' Guerrilla'' and ''Rogue One''. He also starred as the main antagonist Pilgrim in season 3 of AMC TV series '' Into the Badlands''.
Early life and education
C ...
in leading roles. ''Guerrilla'' debuted on Sky Atlantic on 13 April 2017 and on Showtime on 16 April 2017.
Plot
A love story set against the backdrop of one of the most politically explosive times in UK history. A politically active couple (played by Freida Pinto and Babou Ceesay) have their relationship and values tested, when they liberate a political prisoner and form a radical underground cell in 1970s London.
Babou Ceesay
Baboucarr Alieu Ceesay (born 1979) is a British actor. He is known for his roles in '' Guerrilla'' and ''Rogue One''. He also starred as the main antagonist Pilgrim in season 3 of AMC TV series '' Into the Badlands''.
Early life and education
C ...
Zawe Ashton
Zawedde Emma "Zawe" Ashton (; born 25 July 1984) is a British actress, playwright and narrator. She is best known for her roles in the comedy dramas '' Fresh Meat'' and ''Not Safe for Work'', the Netflix horror thriller film ''Velvet Buzzsaw'' ...
Bella Dayne
Bella Dayne (born 8 January 1988) is a German actress. Her credits include the television series ''Plebs'', ''Humans'' and the BBC/Netflix miniseries '' Troy: Fall of a City'', in which she portrayed Helen of Troy. In 2020 she was cast in the ro ...
The show was inspired by the political activism of British Black Panther (BBP) members
Farrukh Dhondy
Farrukh Dhondy (born 1944) is an Indian-born British writer, playwright, screenwriter and left-wing activist who resides in the United Kingdom.
Education
Dhondy was born in 1944 in Poona, India, where he attended The Bishop's School, and obtai ...
and Darcus Howe, members of the ''Race Today'' Collective. Howe and Dhondy were consultants for the show, while Dhondy was also asked to be a script editor. Ridley also consulted other BBP members, including Neil Kenlock and
Leila Hassan
Leila Hassan Howe (born 13 June 1948) is a British editor and activist, who was a founding member of the Race Today Collective. She worked for the Institute of Race Relations and became editor of the ''Race Today'' journal in 1986. Hassan was al ...
. The character Jas Mitra, played by Freida Pinto, was inspired by BBP member Mala Sen, another member of the ''Race Today'' Collective.
Five episodes were written by John Ridley, who also directed the first two episodes and the finale.
Misan Sagay
Misan Sagay is a British-Nigerian screenwriter, best known for the 2013 film '' Belle''.
Biography
Sagay was born in Nigeria and at the age of five moved with her parents to England.Sam Miller directing the other episodes.
Episodes
Broadcast
''Guerilla'' premiered 13 April 2017 on Sky Atlantic in the United Kingdom and 16 April 2017 on cable network Showtime in United States.
Reception
The show has received positive reviews, with a "fresh" 75% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and a "generally favorable" 76% rating on Metacritic.
Controversy
The drama has been criticised for excluding the historical role played by black women who were part of the British Black Panthers (BBP) organization. There has been debate about erasure of black women, since none of the lead characters are black women and the female lead is played by an Indian woman. The most prominent black woman in the first episode is working to support racism.
Several former BBP members have responded to the controversy including, Neil Kenlock,
Farrukh Dhondy
Farrukh Dhondy (born 1944) is an Indian-born British writer, playwright, screenwriter and left-wing activist who resides in the United Kingdom.
Education
Dhondy was born in 1944 in Poona, India, where he attended The Bishop's School, and obtai ...
, and Elizabeth Obi. All three have defended Pinto's casting and the role of
Asians
Asian people (or Asians, sometimes referred to as Asiatic people)United States National Library of Medicine. Medical Subject Headings. 2004. November 17, 200Nlm.nih.gov: ''Asian Continental Ancestry Group'' is also used for categorical purpos ...
in the movement as historically appropriate. However, Obi also criticised the absence of black women in leading roles, as well as the representation of black women in the first episode.
Writing for '' The Guardian'', Obi said: "I was there, and I find the portrayal of black women unforgivable". Obi was supportive of Pinto's casting as Jas Mitra, stating that her character "is quite obviously in recognition of Mala Sen, who was part of the leadership of the Black Panther movement....For me it was an absolute pleasure to have Mala's contribution acknowledged through the role of Jas." Obi goes on to say that "the portrayal of black women in the first episode was unforgivable, as they are represented solely by Wunmi Mosaku’s character Kenya, a sex worker whose clients include the police inspector Pence." Later Obi states: "It is impossible to watch Guerrilla without noticing the gaping hole it leaves in the story of the struggle for racial justice. Black women – including Althea Jones-Lecointe,
Olive Morris
Olive Elaine Morris (26 June 1952 – 12 July 1979) was a Jamaican-born British-based community leader and activist in the feminist, black nationalist, and squatters' rights campaigns of the 1970s. At the age of 17, she claimed she was assaul ...
and Gail Lewis – weren’t just part of the history of the black power movement, they led it in Britain."
On the other hand, while at a screening Kenlock stated: "I'm the only person here who was part of the movement and John has got it spot on. Mala Sen, an Asian woman, was extremely active." Dhondy noted that the BBP began in the late 1960s by a collective of black and Asian activists working together under the banner of "blackness", with "Black" as a political label for all people of colour. He wrote that, along with black women such as Altheia Jones, Asian men and women, such as himself and Sen, were also prominent in the movement. He also noted that, along with the lack of a black female lead, the series also lacks an Asian male lead, despite Asian men such as himself, Sunit Chopra and Vivan Sundaram being prominent BBP members. According to Dhondy, at least 20 Asian women held leadership positions in the British black power movement, including founders of the Southall Black Sisters and the Organisation for Women of Asian and African Descent.Cawthorne, Ellie "'Guerrilla' and the real history of British Black Power" '' BBC History'', 13 April 2017.