Defiance | Riz Ahmed’s company set for Channel 4 documentary about the Asian Community and National Front

The plight of Britain’s Asian community during 1976 and 1981 is set to be the focus of a new documentary “Defiance,” set to screen on Channel 4 later this year and produced by Riz Ahmed’s Left Handed Films, alongside BAFTA-winning production company Rogan Productions.

The three-hour docu-series will investigate a campaign of violence and murder within the Asian community from the mid seventies into the early eighties, during a time that the National Front’s activity became more prominent in the United Kingdom. 

Through the use of archive footage and new testimony from key figures at the time, the ground-breaking documentary highlights the series of events including the Southall riots, the death of Blair Peach, the “Battle for Brick Lane” and the story around the Bradford 12 - a group of Asian individuals who looked to protect their community from the racist attacks but were ultimately arrested by the police for their efforts.

Channel 4 promises that “these timely films will lift the lid on a period in recent British history, in which the violence and injustice – as well as the extraordinary courage of those who confronted it – resonates through the decades.”

Speaking about the documentary, Riz Ahmed and Allie Moore of Left Handed Films said: “The British Asian civil rights movement is a forgotten piece of history. The Southall Riots, the death of Blair Peach, and the story of the Bradford 12 all continue to shape Britain.” 

“These are stories of bravery in the face of violence, and a refusal to let prejudice go unchallenged - they could not be more timely. We’re excited to be working with an incredible team to grip audiences and stretch our idea of who the United Kingdom is as a nation."

Head of Specialist Factual for Channel 4, Shaminder Nahal said: “I couldn’t be more excited to have been able to commission this series, which feels like it will be the first of its kind. At a moment when we have a British Asian Prime Minister and an Asian First Minister in Scotland, it is incredibly powerful to be able to tell the stories of everyday British Asians fighting to make their way in this country and to be heard.”

The three-part docu-series, “Defiance,” is set for release on Channel 4 later in 2024