Small Axe (2020)

Directed by

Steve McQueen

Genre

anthology series, drama television series

Country

United Kingdom

Length

1 season, 5 episodes

Rated

TV-MA

Rating

6.8 of 10 from 93 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

Five separate films each follow West Indian immigrants in London across the 1960s to 1980s. They show personal struggles with racism, community, and identity.

poignantintimatehistoricalreflectiveearnestcharacter-drivensoberinghopeful

What happens

Small Axe is a British anthology film series, created and directed by Steve McQueen. The anthology consists of five films that tell distinct stories about the lives of West Indian immigrants in London from the 1960s to the 1980s. Two episodes of the series were selected into the 2020 Cannes Film Festival. The series premiered on 15 November 2020 on BBC One in the United Kingdom and on 20 November 2020 on Amazon Prime Video in the United States. The title references a proverb – "Small axe fall big tree" or "If you are the big tree, we are the small axe" – that was popularised by Bob Marley in his 1973 song "Small Axe". (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

More like this

• Play for Today (2025)
• Lovers Rock (2020)
• Can't Get You Out of My Head: An Emotional History of the Modern World (2021)
• It's a Sin (2021)
• Patrick Melrose (2018)
• City '68 (1967)
• Black Mirror (2011)
• The Duchess (2020)