Babylon is a 1980 British drama directed by Frando Rosso. It is an incendiary portrait of racial tension and police Brutality set in Brixton, London. The film is partly based on Bovell’s false imprisonment for running a Jamaicn sound system, Sufferer’s Hi Fi, in the mid-1970s.
Babylon was filmed on the streets of Deptord and Brixton in London. The story centres on sound system culture and hones in on themes of police brutality, racism, poverty, and disillusionment with lack of opportunities.
Babylon was filmed on a six-week shooting schedule, entirely on location in South London and the West End. Even the production headquarters were in Deptford. The set was totally closed to visitors, including journalists, because of the film's sensitive subject matter and the fact that shooting was taking place in an area of London where there was racial tension.
The cast of actors were carefully chosen, with the help of casting director Sheila Trezise, Franco Rosso, and Martin Stellman, who all already had many contacts within the black community. The vast majority of actors were West Indian migrants living around the Detford, Lewisham, Peckham and Croydon areas.
