- Menelik Shabazz was an award-winning film director, producer, and writer. Born in St. John, Barbados in 1954, he arrived in the UK at age six.
From an early age, he watched mobile cinema in his village in Barbados, but didn't entertain the idea of making films until age 18. This was when he was introduced to the first portable video technology whilst studying at North London College. This revolutionary technology, the Sony port-a-pack, demystified filmmaking and made the filmmaking process accessible. He enrolled at the London International Film School.
Shabazz was best known for his acclaimed debut feature Burning an Illusion (1981), which won the Grand Prix at the Amien International Film Festival in 1982. The film also won the lead actress, Cassie Macfarlane, the Evening Standard Award for 'Promising Actress' (1982). Burning An Illusion was only the second feature film by a black director produced in the UK.
The film continues to be shown today on media courses at Universities and Colleges and has become a cult classic.
- IMDb mini biography by: Marva Jackson Lord
- Came to England at age six.
- Changed his name from Thomas Braithwaite to Menelik Shabazz after reading Malcolm X's book "On Afro-American History". "Menelik" came from the Ethiopian emperor Menelik II and "Shabazz" was the surname that Malcolm X adopted following his departure from the Nation of Islam.
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