Horace Ové

Directing

Horace Ové

Born — Died

1939-01-01 — 2023-09-16

Place of birth

Trinidad

Known for

Directing

Credits

17 titles

Born in Trinidad in 1939, Sir Horace Ové, CBE was a British director, writer and artist who emerged in the late '60s and throughout the '70s to become one of the leading UK based black independent film-makers. A fact notable for his Guinness World Record for being the first black British film-maker to direct a feature-length film, Pressure (1975). He was knighted in 2022 and passed away in 2023 following a battle with Alzheimer's.

Known for

Skateboard Kings poster
NR

If you’re young, male and you live in the city, how do you prove yourself in the most materially comfortable country on earth? How do you show courage, daring, skill, strength? How do you prove you’re a man? If you’re a Masai Tribesman in Africa you kill a lion. If you’re an Aborigine boy, you go on walkabout, if you live in Dogtown, Los Angeles you ride a skateboard.

Skateboard Kings

1978

A Hole in Babylon poster
8.0

Three black men rob a Knightsbridge Italian restaurant. But when the police are called and the robbery becomes a siege, the men find themselves in a situation out of their control.

A Hole in Babylon

1979

Black and White in Colour poster
10.0

A two part documentary that details the contribution of black and Asian people to television history from the birth of television in 1936 to 1992. Interviewees include: Pearl Connor, Thomas Baptiste, Lenny Henry, Norman Beaton, Horace Ové, Carmen Munroe, and Stuart Hall.

Black and White in Colour

1992

Playing Away poster
6.0

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.

Playing Away

1987

King Carnival poster
NR

An in-depth look at Trinidad and Tobago's carnival through its turbulent history. African and East Indian rhthyms and rituals, combined with the European Mardi Gras celebration, have evolved into the spectacle of "mas" and music that erupts on the streets of Port of Spain on the two days preceding Lent.

King Carnival

1973

Drama Out of a Crisis: A Celebration of Play for Today poster
NR

Marking Play for Today’s 50th anniversary, Drama Out of a Crisis is a compelling exploration of the series, its origins, achievements, controversies and legacies. Featuring a rich and surprising range of archive extracts and original interviews with many who created the series, including producers Kenith Trodd, Margaret Matheson and Richard Eyre, and directors Mike Leigh, David Hare and Ken Loach.

Drama Out of a Crisis: A Celebration of Play for Today

2020

Film credits

Behind the camera

Skateboard Kings poster
NR

If you’re young, male and you live in the city, how do you prove yourself in the most materially comfortable country on earth? How do you show courage, daring, skill, strength? How do you prove you’re a man? If you’re a Masai Tribesman in Africa you kill a lion. If you’re an Aborigine boy, you go on walkabout, if you live in Dogtown, Los Angeles you ride a skateboard.

Skateboard Kings

1978

A Hole in Babylon poster
8.0

Three black men rob a Knightsbridge Italian restaurant. But when the police are called and the robbery becomes a siege, the men find themselves in a situation out of their control.

A Hole in Babylon

1979

A Hole in Babylon poster
8.0

Three black men rob a Knightsbridge Italian restaurant. But when the police are called and the robbery becomes a siege, the men find themselves in a situation out of their control.

A Hole in Babylon

1979

Playing Away poster
6.0

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.

Playing Away

1987

King Carnival poster
NR

An in-depth look at Trinidad and Tobago's carnival through its turbulent history. African and East Indian rhthyms and rituals, combined with the European Mardi Gras celebration, have evolved into the spectacle of "mas" and music that erupts on the streets of Port of Spain on the two days preceding Lent.

King Carnival

1973

Pressure poster
6.5

A British-born younger son of an immigrant family from Trinidad finds himself adrift between two cultures.

Pressure

1976

Pressure poster
6.5

A British-born younger son of an immigrant family from Trinidad finds himself adrift between two cultures.

Pressure

1976

When Love Dies poster
NR

A young man looks back over his unhappy marriage and struggles to come to terms with his wife's suicide.

When Love Dies

1990

James Baldwin Abroad poster
10.0

Showcasing three short films by American writer James Baldwin, wherein he muses about race, sexuality and civil rights, among other topics, in Istanbul, Paris and Great Britain.

James Baldwin Abroad

2023

Baldwin's Nigger poster
7.0

James Baldwin and Dick Gregory discuss the Civil Rights Movement in 1960s Great Britain.

Baldwin's Nigger

1968

The Garland poster
9.0

"These Indian films. They're done to a formula - songs, dance, routines and a lot of sentimental heavy breathing." When her 17-year-old son Roy falls in love with a Muslim girl, and a Bangladeshi butcher seeks help from her husband Raji, Leela realises that the tears and romance of Indian cinema are closer to her own life than she has ever imagined.

The Garland

1981

The Garland poster
9.0

"These Indian films. They're done to a formula - songs, dance, routines and a lot of sentimental heavy breathing." When her 17-year-old son Roy falls in love with a Muslim girl, and a Bangladeshi butcher seeks help from her husband Raji, Leela realises that the tears and romance of Indian cinema are closer to her own life than she has ever imagined.

The Garland

1981

No artwork available
NR

A crucial few hours in the life of a would-be London gangster

Stretch Hunter

1980

Reggae poster
7.0

BBC documentary focusing on a reggae concert held at Wembley Stadium in 1970 featuring the Pyramids, Pioneers, Black Faith, Millie, the Maytals, and Desmond Dekker. Includes interviews with DJ Mike Raven and producer Graham Goodall, who review the history and development of reggae.

Reggae

1971

Reggae poster
7.0

BBC documentary focusing on a reggae concert held at Wembley Stadium in 1970 featuring the Pyramids, Pioneers, Black Faith, Millie, the Maytals, and Desmond Dekker. Includes interviews with DJ Mike Raven and producer Graham Goodall, who review the history and development of reggae.

Reggae

1971