World’s first crowd-funded, crowd-featured and crowd-filmed documentary on the life of C.L.R. James to be launched in Central London
WORLDwrite, known for its unique School of Citizen TV and myth busting documentaries, is launching Every Cook Can Govern: the life, impact & works of C.L.R. James at King’s College London on March 31st at 7.30pm.
The ideas and works of Trinidad-born revolutionary and writer C.L.R. James come to life as exclusive never-before-seen footage of the man himself is interwoven with testimony from those who knew him along with leading scholars providing astute contextual and political analysis of his life and works. The result is a historical tour-de-force which grapples with James’ thoughts on culture, cricket and society and above all his politics, in particular his outspoken opposition to: colonialism, abolitionist myths, the Second World War and Stalinism and his belief in the capacity of us all to change the world.
Ceri Dingle, WORLDwrite’s Director says:
“The film provides a great insight into the life of a 24/7 revolutionary in the 20th century, what it means to stand by your principles to the very end and to fearlessly question received wisdom and tirelessly campaign for a better world.”
Having been trained from scratch by WORLDwrite and its Citizen TV station WORLDbytes to shoot, research and present, over 200 volunteers have been the backbone of this world-first production which, crowd-featured and crowd-filmed, does credit to James’ conviction that every cook can govern.
Grant support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation and Trust for London has assisted this ambitious project alongside many generous individuals. Project partners who have provided archive workshops, archive material and filming opportunities include the Museum of London Docklands, the British Library, the George Padmore institute, Nelson Library and Manchester People’s History Museum. The charity is most grateful too, to Banyan Archives and the University of the West Indies.