Visioning, Contesting and Revisioning Trinidad’s 1970 Black Power Revolt in Independent Documentary Film

Abstract

After 50 years, what can we learn about Trinidad’s historic 1970 Black Power revolt from independent documentaries? The work produced by independent Caribbean documentary filmmakers viewed through the theoretical lenses of Third Cinema aim to be revolutionary in their choices of source material, cinematic approach and subject matter. Their usually revisionist perspectives and decolonising discourses, often challenge and/or supplement traditional written histories of Caribbean resistance to produce new histories. By examining three independent documentaries which provide representations of the historic 1970 Black Power uprising in Trinidad, this paper considered the contribution of Caribbean independent documentaries to historical memory. Employing differing cinematographic and narrative styles, these films provide counter-hegemonic perspectives on this watershed event in Caribbean history. Their representations provide rich opportunities for the interrogation of marginality, national identity and the struggle for inclusion, which underpin the identity politics of the nation.