A filmmaker releasing a documentary about Bristol’s Afrikan-Caribbean legends of martial arts on Windrush Day says he believes in the importance of celebrating members of his community. Clive Smith, 64, moved with his family to the UK from Jamaica aged two in 1962 and worked in the arts while recording his British-Caribbean community on film and later releasing several award-winning documentaries.
He is launching his latest project showcasing significant figures in Bristol’s Afrikan-Caribbean martial arts scene in the 1960s at Bristol Museum, in time for the 75th anniversary of the arrival of HMT Empire Windrush on the UK’s shores. The documentary features interviews with several men who went on to become UK and world class martial arts champions, who discuss their reasons for pursuing martial arts and the obstacles they encountered.
Mr Smith told the PA news agency that the documentary, Bristol’s Afrikan-Caribbean Legends of Martial Arts, is “based on how many of my generation and those before had to take up martial arts to protect ourselves from the discrimination, the racism, and all that we were facing growing up, especially as youngsters”.
