Photo Credit: Album / Alamy
Set within London’s Jamaican immigrant community, Babylon tells the story of Blue, a talented young sound system DJ struggling against racism, unemployment, and police harassment. As tensions rise both within his community and in British society, music becomes a powerful form of resistance and self-expression. Widely regarded as one of the most important films exploring Black British identity, Babylon remains a compelling portrait of reggae culture in the United Kingdom.
FILM DETAILS
RELEASE DATE: March 8, 2019
RUNTIME: 1h 35m
GENRE: Drama
STARRING: Brinsley Forde, Karl Howman, Trevor Laird
DIRECTOR: Franco Rosso
SCREENPLAY: Franco Rosso
STORY: Franco Rosso, Martin Stellman
PRODUCERS: Gavrik Losey
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Diversity Music
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Chris Menges
EDITORS: Thomas Schwalm
MUSIC BY: Dennis Bovell
About Franco Rosso
Franco Rosso was the filmmaker behind Babylon, one of the most powerful and uncompromising portrayals of Black British life ever put on screen. Born in Italy and later working in Britain, Rosso brought an outsider’s eye and a documentarian’s sense of realism to a story rooted in the sound system culture, racial tension, and daily struggles facing Black youth in South London at the dawn of the 1980s. With Babylon, he didn’t just make a reggae film, he captured a generation living under pressure, using music as both a means of survival and a form of resistance.
Franco Rosso
What makes Rosso’s work so enduring is the way Babylon feels lived-in rather than performed. Anchored by Brinsley Forde and driven by the pulse of roots reggae and dub, the film remains one of the most honest cinematic reflections of how Jamaican music and culture took root in the UK and became a voice for identity, defiance, and community.
In doing so, Franco Rosso helped create a film that still resonates far beyond its era — not only as a reggae classic, but as essential social cinema.
WATCH:
Babylon
SOUNDTRACK
The soundtrack to Babylon is a powerful roots and dub collection that captures the tension, resistance, and sound system energy of Black British reggae culture at the dawn of the 1980s.
TRACK LIST
“Deliver Me From My Enemies” – Yabby You
“Turn Me Loose” – Michael Prophet
“Free Africa” – Yabby You
“Whap’n Bap’n” – I-Roy
“Thank You for the Many Things You’ve Done” – Cassandra
“Hey Jah Children” – Aswad
“Warrior Charge” – Aswad
“Beefy’s Tune” – Dennis Bovell
“Manhunter” – Dennis Bovell
“Jazterpiece” – Dennis Bovell
