| Bandung File | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Documentary and current affairs |
| Presented by | Darcus Howe, Gita Sahgal and John Buckley |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 92 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Greg Lanning, David Cohen, Roger Thomas |
| Editor | Darcus Howe. Tariq Ali |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | Channel 4 |
| Release | 12 September 1985 – 13 August 1991 |
Bandung File was a UK series of documentary and current affairs television programmes that aired on Channel 4 between 1985 and 1991,[1] made by Bandung Productions with Darcus Howe and Tariq Ali as joint series editors.[2] Presenters of the show were Howe, Gita Sahgal and John Buckley.[2] Bandung File featured topics from an Afro-Asian perspective and with particular relevance to the UK's ethnic minorities.
Background
[edit]Bandung File was commissioned by Farrukh Dhondy in his role as Commissioning Editor for Multicultural Programming from 1984 to 1997.[3] The programme's name derived from the 1955 Bandung Conference held in Indonesia, the first large-scale meeting between newly independent Asian and African states.[4][5]
Bandung File featured news and investigative documentaries from the Third World and the black and Asian populations of Britain, with an Afro-Asian perspective and of particular relevance for Britain's ethnic minorities.[6][7]
Tariq Ali has said: "The whole thing about Bandung File is that we did it in a way which unified the West Indian and South Asian communities, while looking outwardly as well; 50% of the viewers were white and 50% non-white, our philosophy was that white people also needed to be educated."[5]
References
[edit]- ^ "The Bandung File". IMDb. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
- ^ a b Vahimagi, Tise. "Bandung File (1985-91)". ScreenOnline. British Film Institute. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
- ^ Dhondy, Farrukh (11 March 2020). "What Channel 4 had to do". Second Sight. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
- ^ "Final Communiqué of the Asian-African conference of Bandung (24 April 1955)" (PDF). Centre Virtuel de la Connaissance sur l'Europe. 3 January 2017.
- ^ a b Bakare, Lanre (3 February 2026). "Tariq Ali claims BFI has frozen him out of multicultural TV season". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
- ^ Dhondy, Farrukh (22 March 2024). "Haiti is the face of total anarchy: Why West Indies did not federate". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
- ^ Rowbotham, Sheila (15 April 2025). "You Can't Please All – review". Red Pepper. Retrieved 4 February 2026.