John Lennon giving Michael X his hair to auction, 1970

Horace Ové CBE is internationally renowned as
one of the leading Black independent filmmakers
to emerge in Britain since the post-war period. His
1976 film Pressure is cited in the Guinness Book
of Records as the first feature-length film made by
a Black British director. Ové’s career has produced
such diverse films as Baldwin’s Nigger (1969);
Reggae (1970) and The Mangrove Nine (1973),
directed by Franco Rosso.
Ové has done much innovative work in television.
He directed episodes of the ground-breaking series
Empire Road (1978–9), which for the first time
addressed Britain’s multicultural society and The
Latchkey Children (1978-9), the first multi-racial
children’s drama. As the British Film Institute
states in 100 Years of Cinema: “Horace Ové is
undoubtedly a pioneer in Black British history
and his work provides a perspective on the Black
experience in Britain”.
Ové has also directed drama on stage, including
Lindsay Barrett’s Blackblast (the first play performed
at the ICA written by a Black writer, staged by
a Black director and featuring an all-Black cast),
the Swamp Dwellers by Nobel Prize-winner Wole
Soyinka and The Lion by Michael Abbensetts.
Horace Ové has also worked extensively as a
photographer, exhibiting across the world over
many years.