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The Guardian article 3rd February 2026 by Lanre Bakare reports on how legendary campaigner Tariq Ali, 82, was left out of a BFI review of a series he created. Full article HERE

The Bandung File TV series is a major part of Black British history. The BFI recently programmed several screenings of the unique show but did not even tell Ali they were doing it far less invite him to discuss his own show.

The Bandung File had several other creators/contributors/researchers including Leila Hussein Howe (widow to Darcus Howe who presented the show) Farrukh Dhondy and Professor Gus John. All of whom were contributors to African Odysseys since 2007.

• None of them were informed of the season.
• None of them were asked which episodes or clips to show
• None of them were approached to discuss something they were creators of and experts on.

These Black and Asian elders, veterans of anti-racist activism were excluded from discussing work they created at a time when their lives were threatened.

The explanation offered by the BFI for this exclusion is rubbish. The BFI works six months in advance. The concept that they would print and put online a whole schedule of films and events but not mention to the creators they were doing so until just before screening, is not just unprofessional but ridiculous. A sixth former in media studies would know this.

The BFI clearly had no intention of having them speak about the content they created or the politics behind it. They intended to give it their own spin due to their atrocious record on race issues.

This  is the third race scandal in 18 months at the BFI. Faisal Querishi’s situation was so bad the BFI had to apologise to him as reported in the Guardian October 2024 HERE. 

Querishi will be discussing his experience at a public seminar about BFI racism on April 10th HERE The discrimination is institutional and goes to the top.

The Bandung File situation, is of course connected to this petition and the cancellation of the 20-year-old African Odysseys educational, anti-racist, film programme by; Stuart Brown, Ben Roberts and Jason Wood with the approval of BFI Chair Jay Hunt.

By way of comparison David Somerset, co-founder of African Odysseys, had programmed a whole day on the Bandung File and Darcus Howe in 2021. As a professional, with 30 years experience of Black film culture , he already knew and reached out in advance  to the very same people the BFI just excluded and had them on stage discussing their work alongside Tamara Howe (daughter of Darcus Howe) Pat Younge and Dotun Adebayo. The contrast in respect, treatment and honest is self evident.

The session can be seen in this video HERE Notice that African Odysseys put on the event in the biggest cinema, 450 seats, on a Saturday. The present regime relegates the content to the smallest cinema on a Monday.

It must be pointed out that the £120 million BFI told African Odysseys it had 'no money' to film African Odysseys question and answer sessions, so David Somerset got his brother to come in and film the event. Otherwise this historical record would not exist. This is the attitude the BFI has to Black history.

The BFI chose to get rid of Somerset, delete his post and throw his 20 years of successful programming and community engagement out of the window despite appeals from people like;  Leila Hussein Howe, Rudolph Walker, Adjoah Andoh, Donna Kroll, Indra Ove, Frances Anne Solomon, Judge Peter Herbert, Professor Paul Gilroy, Professor Cecil Gutzmore, Professor Imruh Bakari, Professor Deidre Osborne, Professor David Dabydeen, Professor Hakim Adi, Professor Gus John, Professor Elizbeth Anionwu, Professor Patrick Vernon and many more.

Contrast this 'deafness' to public perspective with what BFI CEO Ben Roberts wrote in 2020, the year of George Floyd..

I took on the role of Chief Executive in February with a commitment to colleagues and our Board that I would put us on a path of radical change. This will mean dismantling the biases and hierarchies that are present within the BFI, and doubling-down on our duty as a public organisation to represent and welcome the perspective of all audiences and filmmakers: through our people, our programmes and collections, and the work we fund.

This February 2026 behaviour crosses over from disrespectful to contemptuous considering it was the same BFI that :

• Refused to meet with Professor Gus John to discuss the future of African Odysseys after Professor John wrote his open letter to Roberts dated 1st October 2024 HERE
• Cancelled a January 2025 meeting to discuss the future of African Odysseys with AO Steering Committee members and Professor Gus John with only two hours notice. HERE  That decision was made with the full support of senior managers Stuart Brown and Jason Wood after they ignored the community for three months.
• Refused to listen to 18,000 people who wanted the highly regarded African Odysseys programme to continue despite claims of ‘inclusion’  and ‘valuing the global majority’ A bizarre situation for a tax-payer funded venue when cinema audiences are declining.
• Still refuses, after 18 months, despite BFI 'inclusion' and  ‘transparency’, to answer these 8 questions

1.            Who is responsible for the restructure?

2.            Who decided not to conduct a Race Equality Impact Assessment, and what are their qualifications? When was that decision made?

3.            Why does BFI Flare have eight times more staff than African Odysseys?

4.            Why has Flare received a BFI-produced trailer annually for 10 years, while African Odysseys has been denied one for 17 years?

5.            What is the budget for African Odysseys?

6.            What is the racial composition of BFI’s Sight & Sound staff by rank and length of service?

7.            Why has Sight & Sound excluded African Odysseys for 17 years despite its significance?

8.            Was ‘What If’ informed about the Steering Committee the 2020 and 2023 complaints of racial discrimination to CEO Ben Roberts when they were involved with diversity training of BFI staff?

This is another 2020  quote from BFI CEO Ben Roberts

At the BFI, we are united against racism but we have not been actively antiracist. We know there are some longstanding and endemic issues within the organisation which can harm people and undermine our values. Whilst we are not alone in confronting this truth, it is crucial that we have uncomfortable conversations not just with each other, but also with those who have been marginalised or ignored…

..But – we need to embody the change we want to see, and be accountable as a public institution, looking like and reflecting the public we serve.

These  words must be compared with the actions of the last 18 months.

African Odysseys celebrates 20 years of existence in 2026 with 21 events all over London as can be seen HERE. Please continue to sign and share the petition and all of these updates