Academy Award Winning writer/director John Ridley has created a controversial six-part series called Guerrilla, based on Britain’s black power movement. The show takes place in the 1970s, and has drawn criticism because the lead actress isn’t as a black woman.

At a recent Q&A, audience members questioned Ridley’s decision to cast an Indian woman (actress Freida Pinto) over a black woman alongside stars Idris Elba and Babou Cessay, Screen Daily reports.

An audience member specifically shared that their parents were part of the actual movement in London, and went on to question why there wasn’t a black woman lead character in a story about a black revolution. Makes sense, right?

Although to Ridley’s defense the story is intended to follow an interracial couple that attempts to liberate a political prisoner, are we going to talk about how the only black woman in this film is characterized as an undercover agent for a white racist police officer?

Photo: IMDB

John Ridley responded to these questions by saying that “if there are things that are difficult to understand, accept, rationalize, despite the fact that if you understand the struggles of that time period … those elements are not made up, those are real.”

After further clarification from another audience member regarding the initial question, Ridley’s understanding of the movement came into question when an audience asked, “Why are there no black women at the forefront of the struggle? That doesn’t necessarily accurately reflect what happened in the ‘70s in the U.K.”

Actor Babou Ceesay intervened by asking, “Wow, really? You know this because you read about it?” To which the audience member responded, “No, we know about it because our parents were part of it.”

Perhaps in the episodes to follow, a clearer picture will be depicted for the director’s casting decisions.

The British drama series is set to launch on Showtime Networks and Sky Atlantic this April 16.

babou cessay

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