Burning an Illusion at the Nouvel Odéon

Recognized as one of the first films to offer an authentic voice to black British women, Burning an Illusion will be screened on Tuesday, October 29 at the Nouvel Odéon. The screening will be followed by a discussion with Onyeka Igwe and Abiba Coulibaly, exploring June Givanni's archive and its impact on Afro-British cinematic memory.

CinéMansa opens its new cycle at the Nouvel Odéon with a screening of Burning an Illusion (Menelik Shabazz, 1981). One of the first feature-length fiction films directed by a black British filmmaker, the film marks a milestone in the representation of Afro-Caribbean communities in Britain.

Through the journey of Pat, an independent young woman, Burning an Illusion recounts a quest for sentimental and political emancipation, in a London riven by racism, social tensions and disenchantment. "It's a story of love, disillusionment, growth and autonomy," wrote critic Tiffjones (2023).

This session will be followed by a discussion with two guests: Onyeka Igwe, an artist and researcher whose work explores how colonial memory is inscribed in bodies and spaces. Winner of the Foundwork Artist Prize (2021), she is currently exhibiting at Tate Britain and has just published June Givanni: The Making of a Pan-African Cinema Archive (2025). Alongside her, Abiba Coulibaly, a programmer with a critical geography background and co-founder of Atlas Cinema and Brixton Community Cinema, will discuss the circulations between cinema, archives and public spaces, from a pan-African perspective.

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