White Riot
White Riot explores how punk influenced politics in late-1970s Britain, when a group of artists united to take on the National Front, armed only with a fanzine and a love of music.
From The Clash and Joy Division to The Specials, a host of British bands joined forces in 1978 to counter the rise of the neo-fascist British National Front and increasing racial violence. Under the Rock Against Racism initiative, they staged special concerts and took a decisive stand against marginalisation. Punk rock’s influence on this anti-fascist movement proved to be very effective. With a nod to the aesthetics of fanzine culture and featuring previously unreleased archival concert footage and interviews with activists, the film examines the context in which the movement arose while drawing striking parallels to our current situation. The BNF was defeated politically in 1979, but the struggle against racism is still far from over. (source: www.berlinale.de)