Imruh Bakari (Ishaq Imruh Bakari) is a film maker and writer born in 1950 on
St Kitts
Saint Kitts, officially the Saint Christopher Island, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis cons ...
, who is also referred to as Imruh Bakari Caesar or Imruh Caesar."Imruh Caesar" Diaspora Artists. He currently teaches Film Studies at the
University of Winchester
, mottoeng = Wisdom and Knowledge
, established = 1840 - Winchester Diocesan Training School1847 - Winchester Training College1928 - King Alfred's College2005 - University of Winchester
, type = Public research university
...
. He works in the UK and a number of African countries in the area of culture and the creative industries.
Film and TV work
Bakari worked in film and theatre projects in
Bradford
Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
at the Art College and then attended the UK
National Film and Television School
The National Film and Television School (NFTS) is a film, television and games school established in 1971 and based at Beaconsfield Studios in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England. It is featured in the 2021 ranking by ''The Hollywood Repor ...
. His graduation film was ''Riots and Rumours of Riots'' in 1981. This documented the history of immigration from the Caribbean to the UK from the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
until the 1958
Notting Hill riots
The Notting Hill race riots were a series of racially motivated riots that took place in Notting Hill, England, between 29 August and 5 September 1958.
Background
Following the end of the Second World War, as a result of the losses during the wa ...
. The film looked at that period against the background of the 1981 riots in the UK.
He worked with
Menelik Shabazz
Menelik Shabazz (30 May 1954 – 28 June 2021) was a Barbados-born British film director, producer, educator, and writer, acknowledged as a pioneer in the development of independent Black British cinema, having been at the forefront of contempor ...
on ''Step Forward Youth'' (1974), which documented the lives of black youth in Britain, and in 1982 on '' Burning an Illusion'' and the short ''Blood Ah Goh Run''. Bakari formed Kuumba Productions with Menelik Shabazz and Henry Martin, and was a founder member of Ceddo Film and Video Workshop, an outlet for new young, primarily black, talent. He produced ''I Am Not Two Islands'' (1983) for
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
.
He then made ''Street Warriors'' in 1985, and ''The Mark of the Hand'' in 1986 for the
Arts Council of Great Britain
The Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. It was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England (now Arts Council England), the Scottish Arts Council (l ...
on the work of Caribbean artist
Aubrey Williams
Aubrey Williams (8 May 1926 – 17 April 1990) was a Guyanese artist. He was best known for his large, oil-on-canvas paintings, which combine elements of abstract expressionism with forms, images and symbols inspired by the pre-Columbian art o ...
. The latter "was a pioneering work and to this day, sympathetic and sensitive documentary film studies of Black British artists, such as ''Mark of the Hand'', remain a rarity. One hugely important aspect of the film is the exploration of Williams’ respect and fondness for the indigenous peoples of the Guyana interior. In this regard, the film positively complicates and challenges assumed notions of Caribbean identity."
In 1992 Bakari directed ''Blue Notes and Exiled Voices'', about the experiences of exiled South African musicians during the
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
era, featuring
Hugh Masekela
Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018) was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and for ...
, The
Brotherhood of Breath
The Brotherhood of Breath was an English-South African big band established in the late-1960s by South African pianist and composer Chris McGregor, an extension of McGregor's previous band, The Blue Notes.
History
The Brotherhood of Breath i ...
,
Louis Moholo
Louis Tebogo Moholo (born 10 March 1940), is a South African jazz drummer. He has been a member of several notable bands, including The Blue Notes, the Brotherhood of Breath and Assagai.
Biography
Born in Cape Town, Moholo formed The Blue ...
and Pinise Saul.
Between 1999 and 2004 Bakari was Festival Director for the
Zanzibar International Film Festival
The Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF), also known as Festival of the Dhow Countries, is an annual film festival held in Zanzibar, Tanzania and one of the largest cultural events in East Africa. ZIFF is a non-governmental organization esta ...
. In
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
, together with Beatrix Mugishagwe and lecturer Augustine Hatar, he cofounded the Tanzania Screenwriter's Forum in 2001, running a monthly scriptwriting workshop at the
University of Dar es Salaam
The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) is a public university in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It was established in 1961 as an affiliate college of the University of London. The university became an affiliate of the University of East Africa (UEA) in 1 ...
. Bakari also participated in the industry organisation, the Tanzania Independent Producers Association (TAIPA). Between 2005 and 2008 he produced in Tanzania the short film series ''African Tales''. He was the producer of ''Mwalimu – The Legacy of Julius Kambarage Nyerere'' (
Mnet
M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...
, Great Africans Series, 2009).
Theatrical work
He has acted and directed in the theatre. During the 1970s he worked at the
Keskidee Arts Centre
The Keskidee Centre, or Keskidee Arts Centre, was Britain's first arts centre for the black community, founded in 1971.
Writing
Bakari writes on African and Caribbean cinema and the creative industries. His articles have appeared in publications including the 1993 and 1994 ''
Ecrans d'Afrique
''Ecrans d'Afrique: Revue Internationale de Cinema Television et Video'' (also known as ''African Screen''), founded by African filmmakers in Burkina Faso in 1992 during a period of intense worldwide interest and commentary on African T.V. and fi ...
'', ''Screen'', ''Black Filmmaker'' and ''Black Film Bulletin''. He is the joint editor, with Mbye Cham, of ''African Experiences of Cinema''. In 1996 he wrote "Memory and Identity in Caribbean Cinema" for ''New Formations''. He has also published the collections of poetry ''Sounds & Echoes'' ( Karnak House, 1981), ''Secret Lives'' (
Bogle-L'Ouverture Publications
Bogle-L'Ouverture Publications (BLP) is a radical London-based publishing company founded by Guyanese activists Jessica Huntley (23 February 1927 – 13 October 2013)Margaret Busby"Jessica Huntley obituary" ''The Guardian'', 27 October 2013. and ...
, 1986), and ''Without Passport or Apology'' (Smokestack Books, 2017). He has performed his work on London's
Southbank Centre
Southbank Centre is a complex of artistic venues in London, England, on the South Bank of the River Thames (between Hungerford Bridge and Waterloo Bridge).
It comprises three main performance venues (the Royal Festival Hall including the Nat ...
Bogle-L'Ouverture Publications
Bogle-L'Ouverture Publications (BLP) is a radical London-based publishing company founded by Guyanese activists Jessica Huntley (23 February 1927 – 13 October 2013)Margaret Busby"Jessica Huntley obituary" ''The Guardian'', 27 October 2013. and ...
, 1986)
* ''Without Passport or Apology'' (Smokestack Books, 2017)
The Open University
The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...