Earl Cameron CBE in a revealing conversation with broadcaster Samira Ahmed, October 23, 2016

Last month, Screen Nation Foundation, the charitable arm of the Screen Nation Film & TV Awards, launched the UK’s first ever hall of fame honoring individuals of African/Caribbean heritage who have made extraordinary contributions to UK film & television.

Designed as a legacy project, styled both as a celebratory “In Conversation” career talk and a unique online resource to be known as Screen Nation Hall of Frame, the first Induction is a key event of BFI BLACK STAR, the UK’s biggest ever celebration of black screen talent, which kicks off this month and runs through December.

The inaugural inductee is Earl Cameron CBE, acknowledged by many as one of the first African Caribbean screen actors to break the color bar in the UK. The Induction, which took place a week ago, celebrated the incredibly robust career of the 99-year-old multi-talented performer, with an acting career spanning 70 years, starring in over 90 films and TV productions.

As part of the tribute, Mr. Cameron was interviewed and officially inducted as the first member of the Hall of Frame at BFI Southbank, by broadcaster Samira Ahmed, with a rare screening of “Pool of London,” the Ealing Studios classic thriller that launched Mr. Cameron’s career showing after the presentation. That 40-minute conversation has been made available online, and is embedded below.

Charles Thompson MBE, Chairman of Screen Nation Foundation said: ‘’I am proud that the incredible legacy of the extraordinary contributions gifted by these outstanding veteran screen talents to the British film & TV industry can now finally be honored through the Hall of Frame.’’

Screen Nation BlackStar
The launch event marked the start of a series of Hall of Frame Inductions to be held every 6 months over the coming years to honor some of the UK’s longstanding and unfortunately oftentimes under-appreciated veteran black British stars of the screen.

With the constant debate around the lack of diversity across mainstream media channels, Screen Nation intends for the legacy created by these inductions to add value and much needed honor to the British film & television landscape, where the contributions by African Caribbean screen practitioners can finally be fully and consistently acknowledged & recorded for future generations.

Part of BFI BLACK STAR, the event is supported by Film Hub London, managed by Film London and proud to be a partner of the BFI Film Audience Network.

Further information about the Screen Nation Hall of Frame can be found on a dedicated website launching 26th, Sept www.screennation.org.

Below is the 40-minute “In Conversation” segment with Earl Cameron – a revealing chat with broadcaster Samira Ahmed, during which the actor discussed racial prejudice, why he never moved to Hollywood during those very restrictive years (for black actors), his long friendship with Sidney Poitier, and much more. It’s a wonderful conversation, so watch, listen and be enlightened below:

Earl Cameron CBE

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