All Outputs (16)

Between the Ears: The Emperor and the Pianola (2022)
Digital Artefact

Short description:

In this captivating Between the Ears, Professor Shawn Sobers uncovers the fascinating story of Emperor Haile Selassie I and his pianola as told through the music of the time, (based on Sobers' original research).

Long descrip... Read More about Between the Ears: The Emperor and the Pianola.

Blood Sugar - Newstead Abbey, Nottinghamshire - A slavery connected history (2018)
Digital Artefact

This film has been made by the Nottingham based Slave Trade Legacies (STL) group with Dr Shawn Naphtali Sobers, based on a poem by Michelle 'Mother' Hubbard. STL is a mainly African Caribbean group working to gain acknowledgement of the contribution... Read More about Blood Sugar - Newstead Abbey, Nottinghamshire - A slavery connected history.

SS Mendi (2014)
Digital Artefact

This film commemorates the fate of the SS Mendi, transporting South African Labour Corps troops to join the WW1 war efforts on the front lines in France. On 21 February 1917, just twelve miles off the coast of the Isle of Wight from leaving Cape Town... Read More about SS Mendi.

Being a man (2014)
Digital Artefact

Before being approached to make this film I had heard of muscular dystrophy, but the name Duchenne was new to me. On reading up about the condition, and listening to the audio interviews with the 20 men who talked to the researchers, I was struck by... Read More about Being a man.

Nothing Matters Everything Matters (2013)
Digital Artefact

Something has happened to set Tim Andrews on a different path. Formerly a lawyer, he has dedicated himself to portrait photography, having been photographed by over 240 artists for his 'Over The Hill' project. Deviating from photography, I pitched an... Read More about Nothing Matters Everything Matters.

Plan China (2009)
Digital Artefact

In 2007 I visited Guangzhou, China for 10 days as Filmmaker-in-Residence with a group of young people and three other support workers, on a research trip exploring creative life and education in the city.

The resulting 21 minute film was screened... Read More about Plan China.

Lafrance’s Story: Inside Out (2008)
Digital Artefact

Short documentary for BBC 1's 'Inside Out' magazine programme, exploring the story of Lafrance Gordon, and how he has overcome suffering from a stroke by challenging himself to physical tests. This film charts his climbing of the highest peak in Sout... Read More about Lafrance’s Story: Inside Out.

Unfinished Business (2007)
Digital Artefact

In 2007 I Directed this film for Firstborn Creatives, for BBC1 (West). It explores how the city of Bristol has dealt with coming to terms with its historical links with the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, in the year of the bicentenary of the passing of... Read More about Unfinished Business.

Barbados to Bath (2007)
Digital Artefact

30 minute documentary exploring the story of how the city of Bath came to be home to one of the oldest Caribbean steel band orchestras in the UK.

Under the Bridge (2000)
Digital Artefact

This documentary explores Bristol’s historical links with the slave trade, and the feelings in the city relating to this past. It charts local protests, the opening of Pero's Bridge my Paul Boateng MP, and the city's first museum exhibition dedicate... Read More about Under the Bridge.

Footsteps of the Emperor (1999)
Digital Artefact

50 min Documentary about Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I’s time living in the city of Bath in exile from 1936 - 1941, during Mussolini's invasion of Abyssinia.

Directer and Producer - Shawn Sobers
Presenter - Benjamin Zephaniah
Executive Prod... Read More about Footsteps of the Emperor.

Eazy Riderz: A short film about boys, bikes, inner city life and crime (1998)
Digital Artefact

Short documentary telling the story of a group of young men who go from stealing bikes, to changing their lives to be more constructive with their activities with bikes and their building friendships.

Director - Marie James
Producers - Femi Kolad... Read More about Eazy Riderz: A short film about boys, bikes, inner city life and crime.

No Change? Youth homelessness in Bristol - an undercurrents documentary (1998)
Digital Artefact

30 minute documentary exploring the issue of youth homelessness in Bristol, and what can be done to avoid it.

Director - Shawn Sobers
Presenter - Eleni Kyriacou
Producer - Steve Cole

Transmitted on ITV West, 1998

Out of the mouth of babes: 6-11 years olds reflect on learning Black historical narratives
Digital Artefact

Working with children from Hannah More Primary School, Bristol, I brought together their reflections of working on an intensive week long Black history project with a groups of local artists. UWE BA Photography students documented the activities of t... Read More about Out of the mouth of babes: 6-11 years olds reflect on learning Black historical narratives.

7 days after 47 (Nothing Matters Everything Matters, part 2)
Digital Artefact

Commissioned by Kosar Contemporary Gallery, Sobers revisited his 2013 film 'Nothing Matters Everything Matters' with Tim Andrews, and made a new film of his own inner thoughts and feelings, at the event of turning 47 years old. Made structured around... Read More about 7 days after 47 (Nothing Matters Everything Matters, part 2).

Stories of Hidden Presence in Bath City
Digital Artefact

A collaborative research project exploring the presence of Black people in Bath city in the Georgian era. Young people from Black Families Education Support Group conducted research with Bath Record Office, and commissioned me to visualize their find... Read More about Stories of Hidden Presence in Bath City.