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Ashley Clark

@_ash_clark

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📗 The World of Black Film: A Journey Through Cinematic Blackness in 100 Films out now via @laurencekingpub

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HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY TO ME!

If you had told '90s Streatham teenage me, fresh from having my mind blown by Do The Right Thing, that in a couple of decades and change, @officialspikelee would be endorsing a book I had written—in his own truly inimitable lexical style—I'm not a hundred percent sure that I'd have believed you.

But here we are, and it means the world to me.

I want to thank everyone who's pre-ordered the book, spread the word, said nice things, and generally been supportive and there for me during its creation, which has been an intense process. It's a crazy feeling to actually have it all out of my head and, finally, in the world. The book would not exist without @lizfaber99, who commissioned it, @violettaboxill, who designed it, @mariaelenaveronica, who did the picture research, and @melsdanny, who was project editor. An amazing team at @laurencekingpub, with whom I was fortunate to work.

Bonus third-slide 📸, taken by the very great @jennifertetteh: September 2009, the first time I ever met Spike, in the BFI Southbank green room. Spike was in town for the series "Fight The Power", programmed by @michaelhaydenjnr. I was working as a membership assistant at BFI then, and I remember the press team's generosity in letting me crash the party. Today feels like some kind of full circle moment.

Happy reading!

✊🏾📽📗⚡️🔥 by @_ash_clark

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8 months ago

As anyone who knows me will be aware, it takes a lot to make me smile like a guileless child, but the arrival of an advance copy of my new book, The World of Black Film: A Journey Through Cinematic Blackness in 100 Films (c/o @laurencekingpub), did the trick. I'm so proud of it, and it really does look incredible. For that, I'm so grateful for the ingenious design work of @violettaboxill. It is released on Feb 12 in the UK and worldwide on Feb 17. You can pre-order at the Linktree in my bio, and stay tuned for news about events and screenings in the new year! by @_ash_clark

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a year ago

I am ecstatic to share news of my new book "The World of Black Film: A Journey Through Cinematic Blackness in 100 Films". It is published by @laurencekingpub on February 12, 2026 in the UK, and February 17, 2026 in the US. It is now available for pre-order on both sides of the Atlantic, and you can do so by clicking on the Linktree in my bio. I’m extremely proud of it, and I can’t wait to share it with you all.

I began writing the book in early 2023, but in many ways it feels like something I’ve been working toward for a lot longer. What is it about? Here's a short excerpt from my introduction that goes some way toward explaining:

"It would be interesting, I thought, to develop an introductory survey of Black film throughout history that, while certainly featuring a significant American presence, was genuinely global in scope, and explored how the medium of film has addressed links between Black people around the world, from the reverberations of the transatlantic slave trade and colonialism, to cultural exchange, migration, and intercontinental collaboration. This book should be accessible and inviting to non-experts, and informed by my own subjective experiences as a person who was born in London, England, in the mid-1980s, to a Black Jamaican-British father and a white Scottish-Irish mother, then moved to America to live in 2014. It should also serve as a culmination of sorts to my first decade and a half of professionally advocating for and presenting Black cinema."

You'll be hearing a lot more about this (beautifully designed!) book from me in the coming months, but for now I want to offer my thanks and appreciation to some essential collaborators. I’ve been fortunate to work alongside a great team composed of:

@lizfaber99 – commissioning editor
@violettaboxill – designer
@melsdanny – project editor
@mariaelenaveronica – picture researcher

I am endlessly grateful to John Akomfrah for providing an eloquent, personal foreword that brought a tear to my eye, and to legends @officialspikelee, @dash_julie, @mahamatsaleh.haroun & @markcousinsfilm for providing generous cover quotes.

Thanks to everyone who's ever read, supported or shared my work! ✊🏽❤️ by @_ash_clark

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a year ago

🚨THE WORLD OF BLACK FILM FALL EVENTS UPDATE!🚨

On Thursday 29 Oct, 8.20 at @filmforumnyc, I'll be introducing a screening of Perry Henzell's The Harder They Come [🇯🇲] ahead of a signing.

On Saturday 7 Nov, I'll be heading to @sagharborcinema to introduce Med Hondo's West Indies [🇲🇷🇫🇷🇩🇿] at the venue's Festival of Preservation, and sign some books. Afternoon screening, exact timing TBD.

Then it's on to Philly for an in-store talk and signing at the 1708 Chestnut Street branch of @bnphillypa at 3pm on Sunday 8 Nov.

The following day, Monday 9 Nov, it's a long-awaited collaboration with the amazing folks at @cinespeak: a screening of Julie Dash's Daughters of the Dust [🇺🇸] at @twolocals, followed by a conversation with the great Stephanye Watts of @bereelblackcinemaclub, and a signing. 6.30pm start.

Last but not least, I've put together a series for @ybca entitled The World of Black Film: Revolutions, with 2pm Saturday matinee screenings of eight classic films, starting on Saturday 14 Nov, and running into January. The films are: West Indies, Touki Bouki [🇸🇳], Black Girl [🇸🇳], The Woman With the Knife [🇨🇮], Sambizanga [🇦🇴], Mortu Nega [🇬🇼], Pressure [🇬🇧], and Burning An Illusion [🇬🇧]. I won't be in San Francisco for this program, but my spirit certainly will be, as will my book!

It's been an incredible year of touring this book and I've been absolutely blown away by peoples' support and engagement. I'm looking forward to this last leg, seeing some of you around, and meeting some new people. Links/further info in the LinkTree in my bio.

🌎👊🏾📽 by @_ash_clark

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5 days ago

"In my ideal world films such as mine will be seen widely, universally, all over the place in cinemas."

Mike Leigh discusses TENDER LOVING CARE, collaboration, and community in an extensive, career-spanning #NYFF64 conversation with @_ash_clark.

Watch the full talk, supported by @Deadline, on @filmlinc's YouTube channel. taken in Film at Lincoln Center by @_ash_clark

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13 days ago

I am extremely grateful to, in the past week and change, have spent some quality time with two of the greatest filmmaker-artists on the planet: Mike Leigh and Abderrahmane Sissako. I want to thank @devikagirgayi and the NYFF talks team for inviting me to moderate a long and searching public conversation with Mike on the occasion of the NYC premiere of his new film, Tender Loving Care. Mike is now 83, a fact which did not compromise his wit, energy, and generosity in conversation with both myself and the audience. If TLC does prove to be his last film - something I don't really want to think about - it will go down as one of the great final works, with a career's worth of compassion, anger at social injustice, and delicate human observation sublimated into two quite spectacular closing shots/sequences. A few days previous, Abderrahmane stopped by the office, and did not flinch when I thrust a copy of my book (featuring an essay on his masterpiece Timbuktu) into his hands. An impossibly graceful, thoughtful, and stylish man.

Once again, my aversion to posting pics with famous people has proven little more than a fabrication, but these moments feel worthy of documentation, and it really is an honor to get to encounter the people whose work drives you to do what you do professionally. by @_ash_clark

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14 days ago

For Black History Month, we are spotlighting The World of Black Film, an expansive journey through the filmmakers and films that have shaped Black cinema across more than 30 countries and over 100+ years. 🎞️

Films featured:
- Hallelujah (1929) (USA)
- Black Orpheus (France/Brazil/Italy)
- The Woman with the Knife (Ivory Coast)
- Sambizanga (Angola)
- Burning and Illusion (UK)
- Who Killed Captain Alex? (Uganda)
- Blitz (UK)

🎥 With a foreword by Sir John Akomfrah, CBE RA, The World of Black Film is essential reading for film lovers and anyone interested in the history of black cinema.

Find out more about The World of Black Film via the link in bio.

#BlackHistoryMonth #TheWorldOfBlackFilm #BlackCinema #BlackFilm #CinemaHistory @_ash_clark by @_ash_clark

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14 days ago

It's always a thrill to be featured in a beautifully designed print magazine -- especially these days! So a big thanks to @everything_political for the spotlight, and to the wonderful @cadylang for the thoughtful, generative questions about The World of Black Film. by @_ash_clark

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a month ago

Saturday 9/19! Join us for a sunset screening of Black Orpheus (1959) in Brower Park. 💃🏿

The Office of Councilmember Chi Osse @cmchiosse , Field Meridians, and Ashley Clark @_ash_clark celebrate the publication of The World of Black Film: A Journey Through Cinematic Blackness in 100 Films, a thought-provoking survey of important and influential Black films from around the globe.

Winner of both the Academy Award for best foreign-language film and the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or, Marcel Camus’ Black Orpheus (Orfeu negro) brings the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice to the twentieth-century madness of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. With its eye-popping photography and ravishing, epochal soundtrack, Black Orpheus (1959) was an international cultural event, and it kicked off the bossa nova craze that set hi-fis across America spinning.

RSVP for a chance to win a copy of Ashley’s book, The World of Black Film.

Come early to participate in a Roda de Samba Workshop with Groove Brasil Collective!

6;30PM Doors Open
7:00PM Workshop
8:00PM Screening

RSVP at the 🔗in bio and in stories! taken in Brower Park by @_ash_clark

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a month ago

July 1 screening of School Daze at @ifccenter.

"Spike, let's talk about the theme of education, which has been so important throughout your career. You are, of course, a professor at NYU."
"A what?"
"... 😥... a... 😥 ... a *tenured* professor at NYU"
"That's right!"

What is a Q&A without an interviewee who keeps a moderator on their toes?

P.S. Was lovely to see School Daze again on the big screen. A strange, vivid, dreamlike ride; totally singular stuff. And congrats to @indiecollect on its Declaration of Independents series.

📸: @teqminsky by @_ash_clark

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2 months ago

New @nts_radio show on the way: Links Intuition, in which I take you on a journey through some of my favorite sounds, where each song is connected to the next in an idiosyncratic, surprising, or thuddingly obvious way. Broadcast is 8am ET/1pm GMT on Wednesday 26 Aug, and it'll be archived and available for catch-up shortly thereafter. First public outing for my "Jürgen Klopp's erotic translator" voice. If you enjoy it: tell a friend.

📸: @photojuice by @_ash_clark

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2 months ago

Have you listened to the last episode with @_ash_clark? We talk about his new book, The World of Black Film, as well as the film Daughters of the Dust. Listen to Books Up Close now wherever you get podcasts! 📚 by @_ash_clark

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2 months ago