Small Axe

Mangrove tells the true story of Frank Crichlow, whose West Indian restaurant Mangrove, a lively community hub in London’s Notting Hill, attracted locals, activists, intellectuals and artists. In a time of blatant racial discrimination, Crichlow finds himself and his drug-free business the brunt of relentless police raids. In a bid to stop the discrimination and ruination of their community base, Frank and his friends take to the streets in peaceful protest in 1970, only to be met by police aggression. As a result, nine men and women, including Frank, leader of the British Black Panther movement Altheia Jones-LeCointe and activist Darcus Howe, are wrongly arrested and charged with incitement to riot and affray. A highly publicised trial ensues.

A single evening at a house party in 1980s West London sets the scene, developing intertwined relationships against a background of violence, romance and music.

The true story of Leroy Logan, a young forensic scientist with a yearning to do more than his solitary laboratory work. When he sees his father assaulted by two policemen, he finds himself driven to revisiting a childhood ambition to become a police officer and change their racist attitudes from within.

The true story of award-winning writer Alex Wheatle. Having spent his childhood in a mostly white institutional care home with no love or family, he finally finds a sense of community for the first time in Brixton, where he develops a passion for music and DJing. When he is thrown in prison during the Brixton uprising of 1981, he confronts his past and sees a path to healing.

When 12-year-old Kingsley is transferred to a special-needs school, a group of West Indian women uncover an unofficial segregation policy preventing many black children from receiving the education they deserve.