Documentary film-maker and political activist best known for Blacks Britannica and Occupied Palestine
The Oscar-nominated documentary-maker and political activist David Koff, who has died aged 74, was remarkable in that his work made waves on four continents. Best known in Britain for his film Blacks Britannica (1978), which portrayed the UK as a profoundly racist society, he also caused controversy with his trilogy about colonialism and its after-effects in Africa, his documentary Occupied Palestine (1981) – which led to a bomb threat at its premiere – and his more recent exposés of the plight of migrant workers in the Us.
A tall, striking, figure with a pony-tail and beard, he was a familiar sight on picket lines and demonstrations throughout California. Behind the calm and genial manner was a steely resolve. His films, like his politics, were concerned with the underdog, the immigrant or the dispossessed – people who Koff felt did not have a voice.
The Oscar-nominated documentary-maker and political activist David Koff, who has died aged 74, was remarkable in that his work made waves on four continents. Best known in Britain for his film Blacks Britannica (1978), which portrayed the UK as a profoundly racist society, he also caused controversy with his trilogy about colonialism and its after-effects in Africa, his documentary Occupied Palestine (1981) – which led to a bomb threat at its premiere – and his more recent exposés of the plight of migrant workers in the Us.
A tall, striking, figure with a pony-tail and beard, he was a familiar sight on picket lines and demonstrations throughout California. Behind the calm and genial manner was a steely resolve. His films, like his politics, were concerned with the underdog, the immigrant or the dispossessed – people who Koff felt did not have a voice.
- 3/14/2014
- by Duncan Campbell
- The Guardian - Film News
David Koff's documentary Occupied Palestine caused a storm in the 1980s. What will today's audiences make of it? The film-maker relives a life of controversy
David Koff is remembering what happened at the premiere of his film Occupied Palestine in San Francisco in 1981. "There were probably 1,000 people in the audience," he recalls. "Ten minutes after the film started, there was an announcement: 'There's been a bomb threat – please evacuate the building.' The police and fire department were called. There was a remarkable atmosphere in the cinema when the film finally went ahead."
Koff, now 73, is an American documentary film-maker, writer, union organiser and activist. He grew up in California, graduated in political science from Stanford University, then worked in Sierra Leone, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and London before returning to the Us. His documentary-making career has never lacked controversy. In the early 1970s, with the assistance of colleague Anthony Howarth...
David Koff is remembering what happened at the premiere of his film Occupied Palestine in San Francisco in 1981. "There were probably 1,000 people in the audience," he recalls. "Ten minutes after the film started, there was an announcement: 'There's been a bomb threat – please evacuate the building.' The police and fire department were called. There was a remarkable atmosphere in the cinema when the film finally went ahead."
Koff, now 73, is an American documentary film-maker, writer, union organiser and activist. He grew up in California, graduated in political science from Stanford University, then worked in Sierra Leone, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and London before returning to the Us. His documentary-making career has never lacked controversy. In the early 1970s, with the assistance of colleague Anthony Howarth...
- 5/1/2013
- by Duncan Campbell
- The Guardian - Film News
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