'I am Judah' Film Screening

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'I am Judah'

Cell Phone Sousveillance and Police Accountability?

'I am Judah’, a cinematic documentary film about an Easton community elder and former police race relations advisor ‘Ras’ Judah Adunbi, who police tasered in the face in Bristol, UK while he was walking his dog in a case of ‘mistaken identity’. A twist to the story is that this was not the first or the last time that Ras Judah was a victim of police harassment and violence and (purported) 'mistaken identity'. The officer who discharged the taser, was found not guilty at criminal trial and also cleared of misconduct.

If it wasn’t for Judah’s neighbour, Tom Cherry, who filmed the incident, we might never have known what really happened.

Using verbatim script, poetry and cinematography to reinforce a deeply personal narrative, and with input from a policing lawyer Associate Professor Clare Torrible, director Bashart Malik highlights the danger of system failure, a lack of mindfulness and a closing of ranks that led to a violent incident at Ras Judah’s home, and the subsequent unravelling of the trust systems we expect to live by. The film isn’t a documentary expose, but a deeper exploration of the meaning of identity through one man’s eyes, with a completely independent approach. The 'I am Judah' film screening is co-sponsored by the University of Newcastle School of Law and Justice Centre for Law and Social Justice, and the University of Newcastle Centre for the Study of Violence.