Young Soul Rebels
This early film by Isaac Julien takes us to 1977 London and follows the investigation into the murder of a black homosexual.
YOUNG SOUL REBELS is set at the time of Elisabeth II’s silver jubilee. Caz and Chris work as deejays at a pirate station. In England, punk is the new musical trend, but Caz and Chris spin black-oriented disco and soul music. When their friend TJ is murdered, Caz in particular is hugely upset. The murder causes tension in Caz and Chris’ friendship. While Caz starts a new relationship with white punk Billibud, Chris is arrested for TJ's murder.
In YOUNG SOUL REBELS, Isaac Julien portrays the interaction between cultural youth movements of the late 1970s – skinheads, punks and soulboys – and the social, political and cultural tensions between different groups. The film was selected for the Semaine de la Critique in Cannes and has often been compared to Stephen Frears’ MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE, a film focusing on racial and political tensions in Margaret Thatcher’s England.