Small Axe

Created and directed by Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave), the anthology series SMALL AXE tells personal stories about London's West Indian community from the late-1960's to mid-1980's. The title is derived from a Jamaican proverb which has resonance throughout the Caribbean, "if you are the big tree, we are the small axe". Small Axe is also the title of a Bob Marley song from The Wailers' 1973 album Burnin'. It means that relatively marginal or small voices of dissent can successfully challenge more powerful voices. Steve McQueen says: "I felt these stories needed to be shared. I wanted to re-live, re-evaluate and investigate the journeys that my parents and the first generation of West Indians went on to deliver me here today calling myself a Black British person.