Synopsis
Small Axe (2020), Season 1 — watch online on iFILM. Steve McQueen's anthology gathers five standalone films, each a British drama in its own right. Together they trace London's West Indian community from the late 1960s into the early 1980s, one self-contained story at a time.
It opens with "Mangrove," built around the 1970 court case of activists who clashed with the Metropolitan Police — the trial where a British court first named racial hostility inside the force. After that the register keeps shifting. "Lover's Rock" is almost plotless: a single night at a house party, all reggae and bodies close together. "Red, White and Blue" follows a young man who joins that same police force hoping to change it from within. "Alex Wheatle" and "Education" turn to growing up — a future novelist, and a twelve-year-old quietly pushed into a school for so-called difficult kids. No recurring lead ties it together; shared memory does.
McQueen dedicated the work to George Floyd and other victims of racist violence. Made for the BBC and Amazon, with Letitia Wright in "Mangrove." Best suited to viewers who want auteur cinema over episodic rhythm — five films that each stand alone. Stream Small Axe online on iFILM.
5 episodes
S1·E1Mangrove
The true story of The Mangrove Nine, who clashed with London police in 1970. The trial that followed was the first judicial acknowledgment of behaviour motivated by racial hatred within the Metropolitan Police.
S1·E2Lover's Rock
A single evening at a house party in 1980s West London sets the scene, developing intertwined relationships against a background of violence, romance and music.
S1·E3Red, White and Blue
Spotlights the true story of Leroy Logan, who at a young age saw his father assaulted by two policemen, motivating him to join the Metropolitan Police and change their racist attitudes from within.
S1·E4Alex Wheatle
Alex Wheatle follows the true story of award-winning writer, Alex Wheatle, from a young boy through his early adult years. Having spent his childhood in a mostly white institutional care home with no love or family, he finally finds not only a sense of community for the first time in Brixton, but his identity and ability to grow his passion for music and DJing. When he is thrown in prison during the Brixton Uprising of 1981, he confronts his past and sees a path to healing.
S1·E5Education
The coming of age story of 12-year-old Kingsley, who has a fascination for astronauts and rockets. When Kingsley is pulled to the headmaster's office for being disruptive in class, he discovers he's being sent to a school for those with "special needs." Distracted by working two jobs, his parents are unaware of the unofficial segregation policy at play, preventing many Black children from receiving the education they deserve, until a group of West Indian women take matters into their own hands.
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