One Hand Don't Clap + history of calypso discussion

Twelve30 Collective and Kiln Cinema present a celebration of calypso for Black History Month, featuring a newly restored documentary and a discussion on the history of calypso in the UK with Nicole-Rachelle Moore, Curator of Caribbean Collections at the British Library.

If you know calypso music, One Hand Don’t Clap is the film for you. If you don’t know calypso music, this documentary will make you a fan. Step onto the streets of Trinidad in 1986, where the Calypso Monarch will be crowned as part of the annual carnival in a winner-take-all competition. Two of the liveliest souls in calypso – Lord Kitchener and Calypso Rose – share the heart of this beautiful music across the generations. There’s some incredible live performances that will have you grooving in the stalls, and some very funny recollections on a life led by the rhythm of the steel drum. Hit that pan and come and join us for the film and a discussion of how the music of Trinidad and Tobago became a world phenomenon and a prominent part of British culture with Nicole-Rachelle Moore!

Nicole-Rachelle Moore is a writer, educator and the Curator of Caribbean Collections at the British Library. She has led courses on Andrea Levy and Toni Morrison, worked closely with the George Padmore Institute and is a member of New Beacon Books. She co-edited Dream To Change the World on the life of John La Rose and contributed to In Search of Mami Wata: Narratives and Images of African Water Spirits (2020).

Presented as part of Cinema Rediscovered on Tour, a Watershed project. With support from BFI awarding funds from The National Lottery and MUBI.