Ashley Clark

HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY TO ME! If you had told '90s Streatham teenage me, fresh from having my mind blown by Do The Right Thing, that in a couple of decades and change, @officialspikelee would be endorsing a book I had written—in his own truly inimitable lexical style—I'm not a hundred percent sure that I'd have believed you. But here we are, and it means the world to me. I want to thank everyone who's pre-ordered the book, spread the word, said nice things, and generally been supportive and there for me during its creation, which has been an intense process. It's a crazy feeling to actually have it all out of my head and, finally, in the world. The book would not exist without @lizfaber99 , who commissioned it, @violettaboxill , who designed it, @mariaelenaveronica , who did the picture research, and @melsdanny , who was project editor. An amazing team at @laurencekingpub , with whom I was fortunate to work. Bonus third-slide 📸, taken by the very great @jennifertetteh : September 2009, the first time I ever met Spike, in the BFI Southbank green room. Spike was in town for the series "Fight The Power", programmed by @michaelhaydenjnr . I was working as a membership assistant at BFI then, and I remember the press team's generosity in letting me crash the party. Today feels like some kind of full circle moment. Happy reading! ✊🏾📽📗⚡️🔥

As anyone who knows me will be aware, it takes a lot to make me smile like a guileless child, but the arrival of an advance copy of my new book, The World of Black Film: A Journey Through Cinematic Blackness in 100 Films (c/o @laurencekingpub ), did the trick. I'm so proud of it, and it really does look incredible. For that, I'm so grateful for the ingenious design work of @violettaboxill . It is released on Feb 12 in the UK and worldwide on Feb 17. You can pre-order at the Linktree in my bio, and stay tuned for news about events and screenings in the new year!

I am ecstatic to share news of my new book "The World of Black Film: A Journey Through Cinematic Blackness in 100 Films". It is published by @laurencekingpub on February 12, 2026 in the UK, and February 17, 2026 in the US. It is now available for pre-order on both sides of the Atlantic, and you can do so by clicking on the Linktree in my bio. I’m extremely proud of it, and I can’t wait to share it with you all. I began writing the book in early 2023, but in many ways it feels like something I’ve been working toward for a lot longer. What is it about? Here's a short excerpt from my introduction that goes some way toward explaining: "It would be interesting, I thought, to develop an introductory survey of Black film throughout history that, while certainly featuring a significant American presence, was genuinely global in scope, and explored how the medium of film has addressed links between Black people around the world, from the reverberations of the transatlantic slave trade and colonialism, to cultural exchange, migration, and intercontinental collaboration. This book should be accessible and inviting to non-experts, and informed by my own subjective experiences as a person who was born in London, England, in the mid-1980s, to a Black Jamaican-British father and a white Scottish-Irish mother, then moved to America to live in 2014. It should also serve as a culmination of sorts to my first decade and a half of professionally advocating for and presenting Black cinema." You'll be hearing a lot more about this (beautifully designed!) book from me in the coming months, but for now I want to offer my thanks and appreciation to some essential collaborators. I’ve been fortunate to work alongside a great team composed of: @lizfaber99 – commissioning editor @violettaboxill – designer @melsdanny – project editor @mariaelenaveronica – picture researcher I am endlessly grateful to John Akomfrah for providing an eloquent, personal foreword that brought a tear to my eye, and to legends @officialspikelee , @dash_julie , @mahamatsaleh.haroun & @markcousinsfilm for providing generous cover quotes. Thanks to everyone who's ever read, supported or shared my work! ✊🏽❤️

Through the Visa Sharing the Screen programme, @visaca and TIFF hosted an intimate creator mixer with writer, film programmer and @criterioncollection curatorial director @_ash_clark this weekend. Following the mixer, emerging curators, writers, and creatives came together for a special screening of THIS IS NOT A BURIAL, IT’S A RESURRECTION to celebrate the release of Clark’s collection, The World of Black Film: A Journey Through Cinematic Blackness in 100 Films. The Visa Sharing the Screen programme expands access to TIFF screenings, talks, and events for community audiences. Learn more at the link in bio. #VisaSharingTheScreen #VISATIFF

I'm excited and proud to have a new long essay, "Torrents of Fire, Torrents of Blood", included in our forthcoming @criterioncollection Blu-ray of what I consider to be one of the greatest films ever made: West Indies: The Fugitive Slaves of Liberty (1979), directed by Med Hondo 🇲🇷🇫🇷. This edition hits the streets in June, and I can't recommend it strongly enough!

The 🌎 of ✊🏾🎥 tour continues in 🇨🇦 with two dates at @tiff_net Lightbox, May 9 and 10. I'll be presenting two of my favorite films in the book: Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese's This Is Not a Burial, It's a Resurrection 🇱🇸 and Souleymane Cissé's Yeelen 🇲🇱. Both absolutely extraordinary big screen experiences. More info in LinkTree in bio. Can't wait!

For the most part, I try to keep it professional and keep the fanboy side of things quiet, but I couldn't resist putting this on the grid. A few months back I had the true pleasure of sitting down with the great, great Irish actor Stephen Rea and interviewing him for our forthcoming @criterioncollection edition of The Crying Game, in which he gives a miraculous performance as an affable, uncomplicated man finding out that he's actually rather complicated after all. A few days prior, I'd caught Stephen in a riveting and very moving performance of Beckett's one man show Krapp's Last Tape. In person, he was understated, wry, and very funny (including one anecdote about filming on Life Is Sweet that I'll keep off the grid!) Our edition, produced by @hootinghowling in collaboration with my incredible Criterion colleagues, features many terrific supplements, not least an *essential* new essay from @willowcatelyn on the legacy and complexity of the film's trans representation. I love this film, and I can't wait to see how it resonates with new audiences in 2026.

With his new book out in the world spanning a journey through Black cinema across the ages, genres and regions, The World of Black Film author and Criterion curatorial director Ashley Clark tells Ella Kemp about curation, discovery and the films he wishes he could have included. Read the full interview on Journal at the link in bio.

#welcomeiitheterrordome has been restored by @criterioncollection and is screening next Monday March 30th @academymuseum Written and Directed by @ngozionwu it is the first theatrically released feature film directed by a Black British woman. I was 17 when I first worked with Ngozi on her short Body Beautiful. Then came this feature. We shot over two years as our crowd-funding gained momentum. It’s the first feature I ever acted in and I loved everything about it. The camaraderie, the building of something with a team, the Ryvita and baked beans catering, the close-to-home Hackney locations, finding a compadre in @valentinenonyela and most crucially: Ngozi’s clarity of vision. I discovered the joy of a film set; whilst making her ‘angry’ film depicting truth-telling tragedy there was of course levity in the making. One comedic memory from the shoot - everyone who had donated was entitled to a set visit. And they all showed up. Many, many people. On particularly harrowing days there was quite a crowd gathered around video village. Ngozi became my mentor and friend. Brava for @criterioncollection for their support of the film. And the early beautiful work of @alwinkuchler Ngozi will be in conversation with @_ash_clark Monday night @academymuseumscreenings

Starting at 5.30pm on Monday March 30, I'll be stationed at the @academymuseum Store to sign copies of my book, and chat. I'm really excited to have the opportunity to do this at such a prestigious venue, and I hope to see some of you there! It all feels like a bit of a dream. I do want to point out that this is a separate event from the screening of @ngozionwu 's Welcome II The Terrordome -- world premiere of a new restoration!! -- which starts at 7.30pm in the Ted Mann Theatre. I'll be introducing that, and chatting with Ngozi afterwards. Tickets at the Academy Museum website, and through the LinkTree in my bio.

🚨L.A. BOOK EVENTS ALERT!🚨 I'm a lucky man because I get to introduce two stunning films in beautiful theaters, and speak to their creators afterwards. On Sunday March 29 at @hammer_museum , I will be presenting Charles Burnett's masterpiece To Sleep With Anger (1990), which will screen from a gorgeous archival 35mm print. Prior to the screening, I will be signing copies of "The World of Black Film", and afterwards it's time for a chat with the very great Burnett. This event is free, and tickets are assigned on a first-come, first-serve basis. On Monday March 30 at @academymuseum , I will be doing a meet-and-greet/book signing at the Academy Bookstore -- this is a separate 🎟, the price of which of course includes the book. Then it is time for the WORLD PREMIERE of a new restoration of Ngozi Onwurah's one-of-a-kind dystopian head-exploder Welcome II The Terrordome (1995). When it's done, Ngozi and I will discuss the film, which really must be seen and heard on the big screen. Full info and tickets at the Hammer and Academy websites, or through links in the LinkTree in my bio. Can't wait!

“The person I had in mind for the book was myself as a 16-year-old,” the critic and programmer Ashley Clark says about his new book 'The World of Black Film: A Journey Through Cinematic Blackness in 100 Films,' an expansive exploration of Black cinema from Zora Neale Hurston to Ryan Coogler. “Nobody's talking about Driving Miss Daisy today," he says, “and everybody still talks about Do The Right Thing.” At the link in bio, Criterion Collection curatorial director @_ash_clark chats with GQ's @raymondangas about his new book and the Academy Awards’ spotty record when it comes to honoring Black cinema. Image courtesy of Warner Bros.