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Every Cook Can Govern: The life, impact & works of C.L.R. James

Every Cook Can Govern: The life, impact & works of C.L.R. James is the first feature length documentary to explore the life, writings and politics of the great Trinidadian born revolutionary C.L.R. James, who died in Brixton in London in 1989. The film interweaves exclusive, never-before-seen footage of C.L.R. James with unique testimony from those he knew and the world’s most eminent scholars of James’ life, works and politics. From colonialism to cricket, from slavery to Shakespeare and from Marxism to the movies this unique production lifts the lid on the life of a tireless, fearless and uncompromising revolutionary.

  • Ceri Dingle
    Director
    Sylvia Pankhurst: Everything is possible
  • Rob Harris
    Director
  • Marisa Pereira
    Producer
  • Fraser Myers
    Producer
  • Vivita Sequeira
    Producer
  • Dr Christian Hogsbjerg
    Key Cast
  • Professor Selwyn R Cudjoe
    Key Cast
  • Dr Roy McCree
    Key Cast
  • Darcus Howe
    Key Cast
  • Dr Andrew Smith
    Key Cast
  • Paul Buhle
    Key Cast
  • Professor Robert A Hill
    Key Cast
  • Dr Barrie Collins
    Key Cast
  • Alan Hudson
    Key Cast
  • James Heartfield
    Key Cast
  • Dr Rachel Douglas
    Key Cast
  • Professor Robin Kelley
    Key Cast
  • Dr Tom Wareham
    Key Cast
  • Selma James
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    2 hours 1 minute
  • Completion Date:
    March 31, 2016
  • Production Budget:
    95,000 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom, United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    HD 1080p + SD DVCAM
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival
    Port of Spain
    Trinidad and Tobago
    September 24, 2016
    Carribean Premiere
  • Pan African Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
    February 12, 2017
    North American Premiere
Distribution Information
  • WORLDwrite
    Country: United Kingdom
    Rights: Video / Disc
Director Biography - Ceri Dingle, Rob Harris

As the originator and director of the much-commented-upon charity WORLDwrite, Ceri has toured young people across the globe, from the heart of the Amazon rainforest to Hiroshima, Japan. She is a regular contributor to UK radio debates. Ceri moved into film 16 years ago, and established an award winning film facility for the charity and pioneered the Citizen TV station WORLDbytes, providing free film training for young people and an online news channel. Ceri has produced and edited over 1000 videos working with young volunteer learners. She has directed 11 feature documentaries including the Pricking Missionary Position Series, which challenges Western prescriptions for our peers in the poorest parts of the world and a much acclaimed documentary on east end heroine and suffragette Sylvia Pankhurst. The films she has directed are all truly collaborative affairs involving hundreds of volunteers.

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Director Statement

Five years in the making with over 200 volunteers, our C.L.R. James film film provides a great insight into the life of a 24/7 revolutionary in the 20th century, what it means to stand by your principles to the very end and to fearlessly question received wisdom and tirelessly campaign for a better world. We aimed to do justice too, to C.L.R. James conviction that every cook can govern.