What if Bridgerton told the truth about who got erased from British history?
Commissioned by the BBC & BFI, CLASH is a short experimental documentary critiquing Britain's obsession with period dramas, and how they erase the diverse reality of Britain today. This film - part parody, part candid interview - is a response to Humphrey Jennings' 1942 'LISTEN TO BRITAIN', a documentary used to propel a myth of national unity. CLASH, through the perspectives of underrepresented queer people of colour, critiques the myths we still tell ourselves on screen. Through candid interviews and staged period-drama sequences with our subjects - involving a hobby horse race in East London - our film explores the issues surrounding nostalgic heritage cinema, and how it erases the diverse landscape of Britain today.
Direction
Al-Kadhi's surgical satire— every corset stings with intention.
Editing
Jarring cuts between soft-focus fantasy and unfiltered testimony.
Director
Amrou Al-Kadhi
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Humphrey Jennings' 'Listen to Britain' was WWII propaganda masquerading as art; CLASH exposes how Britain still uses that same soft-focus nationalism to exclude.
The hobby horse race references traditional British folk ritual—reclaiming 'authentic' heritage from the very people who weaponize it.
GB
US
