Tribeca Film is proud to present the US Theatrical release of FIRE IN BABYLON, a documentary directed by Stevan Riley. FIRE IN BABYLON had its North American Premiere at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival, screened at AFI Silverdocs and was just released in the UK to critical acclaim and enthusiastic audience reaction. The film will open in New York at reRun Gastropub Theater on Friday, July 22, and is currently available on Video-On-Demand through August 25, in more than 40 million homes, as well as on iTunes, Amazon Instant Video.
5th Test England v West Indies at The Oval 1976 Michael Holding celebrates the dismissal of Tony Greig from "Fire in Babylon" distributed by Tribeca Film. Photo Credit- Patrick Eagar
FIRE IN BABYLON celebrates the emancipation of a people through the sport of cricket and tells the captivating story of the glorious domination of the West Indian cricket team, who, with a combination of phenomenal skill and fearless spirit, became the one of the greatest teams in sports history.
Set in the turbulent era of apartheid in South Africa, race-riots in England, and civil unrest in the Caribbean, told in the words of legendary and revered players of the time, including Sir Viv Richards, Michael Holding, and Sir Clive Lloyd, FIRE IN BABYLON illustrates how this exceptional team fundamentally changed the sport forever. With their mastery of ‘fast-bowling’ with pitches that sometimes reached a deadly 90 miles per hour, they hijacked the genteel game of the privileged elite and played it on their own terms.
With impressive archival footage and a robust soundtrack that includes the likes of Bob Marley and the Wailers, Gregory Issacs, Faithless and Horace Andy, FIRE IN BABYLON celebrates the emancipation of a people through sport, whilst painting a fascinating picture of this extraordinary era of sporting dominance and its roots in politics, pride, anti-colonial fury and music.
Directed by Stevan Riley (Blue Blood), produced by Charles Steel (the BAFTA-winning The Last King of Scotland) and John Battsek (the Oscar-winning One Day In September), with Ben Goldsmith and Ben Elliot as executive producers, FIRE IN BABYLON charts the glorious supremacy of the West Indies cricket team throughout the late ‘70s and ‘80s FIRE IN BABYLON proves the bat and ball were more effective than gunfire in the battle against racial injustice and the struggle for black rights.