Director Rubika Shah takes on the Rock Against Racism movement. A response to a country deeply divided over immigration in 1970s Britain - where punk is also exploding - the movement began from music photographer Red Saunders’ outrage of a racist speech by Eric Clapton. Writing a letter to the music press calling for rock to be a force against racism, Saunders is flooded with responses: teaming up with like-minded creatives Roger Huddle, Kate Webb, Syd Shelton and Australian graphic designer Ruth Gregory, Rock Against Racism (RAR) is created. Despite aggression from the National Front, RAR spread virally across the UK and the world, becoming a grassroots youth movement that culminated in a 100,000+ person march and concert where The Clash famously performed a raucous rendition of White Riot.
Blending contemporary interviews with archive footage, WHITE RIOT illuminares how music changed the world - and how a generation challenged the status quo.