Bradford 12 Documentary 'Rebellion' Premieres at London Film Festival

Ken Fero and Tariq Mehmood co-directed Rebellion, a documentary about 12 young South Asian men tried on terrorism charges in 1980s Bradford for preparing to defend their community. The film, from Migrant Media, will have its world premiere at the 70th BFI London Film Festival on Oct. 14. Fero discusses the project's relevance amid rising far-right politics and its more than 30-year development.

Rebellion is a documentary from Migrant Media, a radical filmmaking collective focused on race, class and resistance. Co-directors Ken Fero and Tariq Mehmood trace the early-1980s case of the Bradford 12, young South Asian men prosecuted on terrorism charges after preparing to protect their community from a racist assault. Mehmood was among the defendants. The film premieres at the 70th BFI London Film Festival on Oct. 14.

Fero first learned of the Bradford 12 in 1991 while working on Britain’s Black Legacy, a project about UK self-defense against racist attacks. The idea stayed with him for decades before production began, with the filmmakers waiting as UK politics shifted and far-right activity grew. They eventually spent three or four years making the documentary.

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