Movies by Norman Beaton
Black Joy
An innocent and unsophisticated Guyanese immigrant is exposed to the hustlin' way of life in the Brixton ghetto.
Mark of the Hand
Guyanese painter Aubrey Williams (1926-1990) returns to his homeland on a “journey to the source of his inspiration” in this vivid Arts Council documentary, filmed towards the end of his life. The title comes from the indigenous Arawak word ‘timehri’ - the mark of the hand of man - which Williams equates to art itself. Timehri was also then the name of the international airport at Georgetown, Guyana's capital, where Williams stops off to restore an earlier mural. The film offers a rare insight into life beyond Georgetown, what Williams call...
In Sickness and in Health
A hard-working doctor must also carry the burden of a turbulent home life, due to the expectations of his demanding wife. Part of Thames Televison's Armchair Cinema.
Big George Is Dead
Returning to England from Trinidad and Tobago for one night only, a former trickster finds that old friends and communities have moved on.
Black Christmas
A bittersweet drama on a familiar theme - the frictions forced to the surface during a Christmas family get-together - Michael Abbensetts' Black Christmas is an understated and affecting study of relationships, unexpressed pain and a tormented nostalgia for a distant home.
Playing Away
To mark the conclusion of their "Third World Week" celebration, a cricket team in a small English village invites a black cricket team from South London to a charity game with comical results.
Nice
A naïve and "nice" West Indian's descent into postcolonial cynicism is depicted in a twenty minute monologue from writer Farrukh Dhondy.