Dir. Bashart Malik
2022 | 70 mins | UK
English

Ras Judah, Cleo Lake, Peter Courtier, Lawrence Hoo

I am Judah, a cinematic documentary film about an Easton community elder ‘Ras’ Judah Adunbi.

In 2017, police mistook Ras Judah for a crime suspect and was brutally tasered in the face while he was walking his dog. The officer who discharged the taser was found not guilty at criminal trial and in September 2018 was also cleared of misconduct.

If it wasn’t for Ras Judah Adunbi’s neighbour, Tom Cherry, we might never have known what really happened. Tom was there to record the incident on his phone in January 2017, so the story, capturing this moment, also begs questions about how we respect, even notice other people in a modern, diverse, multiracial city.

Millions watched the phone footage on mainstream news reports and over social media causing international outrage. He was tasered while standing up for his legal right to not give his name when stopped.

Ras Judah is a beloved and highly-respected elder in his community in Bristol. The whole community remains shocked and unsettled by how he was treated.

A twist to the story is that this was not the first or the last time that Ras Judah has been a victim of police harassment and violence and so-called ‘mistaken identity’. Ras Judah is determined to speak the uncensored truth of what has happened to him, not only for himself but for all the other victims of these types of injustices.

I am Judah will bring the full story to light of a man who throughout his life has had to fight.

(I Am Judah poem, written by Lawrence Hoo)

This screening will be followed by a discussion with Ras Judah & Director Bashart Malik in attendance.

VENUE: EXETER PHOENIX, STUDIO 74

*Subject to a £1.50 ticketing system charge. We don’t charge this to make a profit. Find out more >>