Project Detail

8 Bar - The Evolution of Grime

Synopsis

From its DIY collaborative origins in London council estates and pirate radio, via its intricate musical influences, to a complicated emergence into the mainstream, this immersive and exciting documentary tracks the evolution of Grime music. With extraordinary access to the key originators, producers and musicians from the subculture, as well as behind the scenes footage and a wealth of archive, the film combines a nuanced overview of the genre with a vivid sense of its socio-political context and impact across three decades of rocky UK history and reactionary politics.
Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2021 - Create - World premiere

Details

Year
2021
Type of project
Features
Running time
93 min
Director
Ewen Spencer 1st Feature
Producer
Aleksandra Bilic, Jamie Clark, David Upshal

Categories

Production Status

Production Company

BBC Storyville

Sales Company

Gunpowder and Sky

280 Mare Street
London E8 1HE

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

See also

You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.

The Recce The Recce

Director: Daniel Mann

Year: 2026

Drawing on a location test filmed in Uganda and an email exchange with the scout, this short film captures cinema’s ties to land and its entanglement with colonial imaginaries, binding the fiction of filmmaking with state-building. Official Selection Berlin International Film Festival 2026 - Forum Expanded - World premiere

Children No More: "Were and Are Gone" Children No More: "Were and Are Gone"

Director: Hilla Medalia

Year: 2025

Israeli peace activists hold silent vigils in Tel Aviv, displaying photos of Gaza's young victims. Despite facing public backlash, their wordless demonstrations powerfully highlight war's human cost. Official Selection DOC NYC 2025 Academy Awards 2026 - Best Documentary Short Film - Nomination

Chuuraa Chuuraa

Director: Evgenia Arbugaeva

Year: 2026

In the remote Siberian Arctic, an Indigenous Sakha scientist descends into the depths of the melting permafrost. Searching for an ancient creature, he makes his way through the dangerous, claustrophobic caves to the mythical realm of the Underworld. Official Selection Berlin International Film Festival 2026 - World premiere