FIRE IN BABYLON Releasing in India 7th Sept 2012

FIRE IN BABYLON Releasing in India 7th Sept 2012

 Directed by Stevan Riley

Produced by Charles Steel and John Battsek

Executive Producers Ben Goldsmith and Ben Elliot

 

From the Oscar winning producers of One Day in September and The Last King of Scotland, comes the hotly anticipated FIRE IN BABYLON. Charting the glorious supremacy of the West Indies cricket team throughout the late ‘70s and ‘80s FIRE IN BABYLON proves the bat and ball were more effective than gunfire in the battle against racial injustice and the struggle for black rights.

 

In a turbulent era of apartheid in South Africa; race-riots in England and civil unrest in the Caribbean, the West Indian cricketers struck a wonderfully defiant blow at the forces of white prejudice world-wide. Told from a West Indian perspective, in their own words, this story celebrates the emancipation of a people through sport, whilst painting a fascinating picture of this extraordinary era of sporting dominance and its roots in politics, pride, anti-colonial fury and music.

 With Caribbean flair, fearless spirit and a thumping reggae beat, they hijacked the genteel game of the privileged elite and replayed it on their own terms.

FIRE IN BABYLON is not only a story, it is a celebration of a significant and most glorious period in sporting history, where a series of small Caribbean islands, “with a combined population of Sydney [Stevan Riley, Director]” united on the field as one entity to fight against racial injustice, through the sport of cricket.

Directed by Stevan Riley (Blue Blood), produced by Charles Steel (the BAFTA-winning The Last King of Scotland) and John Battsek (the Oscar-winning One Day In September), with Ben Goldsmith and Ben Elliot as executive producers, FIRE IN BABYLON boasts a dynamic archive of classic music by the likes of Bob Marley and the Wailers, Gregory Issacs, Faithless and Horace Andy.

 

Premiered at the BFI London Film Festival in October, the BIFA* nominated FIRE IN BABYLON brings all the passion and drama of the West Indies’ cricketing heyday to the big screen.

 

“From the ancient Greek Olympiads to the present day, never has a team reigned so supreme for so long.”

–  Stevan Riley, Director

SYNOPSIS : A display of dominance at the highest level – longer than any team in the history of sport – in a game previously reserved for the privileged elite, their symbolic declaration was clear: people of colour will not be dictated to – on a cricket ground or in any other field of life.

Recounting the defiant and symbolic dominance of the West Indies cricket team throughout the late 1970s and 80s, FIRE IN BABYLON charts the events, which led to the rise of the West Indian cricketers becoming a fearsome and all conquering force to be reckoned with, striking a wonderfully defiant blow at the forces of white prejudice world-wide, inspiring a generation still struggling to emerge from racial discrimination.

FIRE IN BABYLON is told completely from a West Indian perspective, featuring a host of some of the legendary and revered players of the time and significant names from Caribbean culture including Sir Viv Richards, Michael Holding, Sir Clive Lloyd and Bunny Wailer, against a soundtrack of vibrant and classic music by the likes of Bob Marley and the Wailers, Gregory Issacs, Faithless and Horace Andy.