Opening and Closing Events

In 1981 a fire broke out at a house in New Cross. Thirteen young black people died and the political events that followed would have a dramatic effect on our understanding of what it means to be Black and British.

Inspired by that story, Surge is a poetic exploration of what came after – the resistance, activism and changing notions of the state, the body and the city, narrated by the ghosts of the fire. Rooted in the area’s local history, this is a show that imaginatively blends the personal and the political, tracing a line from Thatcherism, the colour bar and the National Front to our current age of Brexit, Grenfell and May.

Join Jay Bernard, winner of the 2017 Ted Hughes Award, as they explore this important history using poetry, archive film and audio.

Produced by Speaking Volumes Live Literature Productions.

Followed by a conversation with Jay about their work and the themes explored.

14+ accompanied by an adult.

Before the performance, join us for a drink at our opening reception, from 18.45 in the CCA Atrium, generously sponsored by Drygate Brewing Co.

Document is excited to present the European Premiere of Nguyen Trinh Thi’s Fifth Cinema, introduced by Dr Philippa Lovatt.

Fifth Cinema begins with a quiet statement: “I am a filmmaker, as you know.” That text and what follows, by Maori filmmaker Barry Barclay, who coined the term ‘Fourth Cinema’ to distinguish Indigenous cinema from the established ‘First, Second, and Third Cinema’ framework, provides structure to Nguyen’s hybrid essay film that moves on multiple cinematic and topical terrains. Eschewing voice in favour of the written word and juxtaposing moving images of the filmmaker’s own daughter with archival images of Vietnamese women seen through the lens of the “ship’s officers”, the film slowly leads the viewer through a narrative of colonialism, indigeneity and cinematic limitations in representation.

Before we head into the last screening of Document 2019, we invite ticket holders to join us for a drink in CCA’s Atrium from 19.15, generously sponsored by Drygate Brewing Co.