Hailed as Britain's first black feature film, Pressure is a hard-hitting, honest document of the plight of disenchanted black youths in 1970s London.

Set in 1970s London, it tells the story of Tony, a bright school-leaver, son of West Indian immigrants, who finds himself torn between his parents' church-going conformity and his brother's Black Power militancy.

As his initially high hopes are repeatedly dashed – he cannot find work anywhere, potential employers treat him with suspicion because of his colour – his sense of alienation grows. In a bid to find a sense of belonging, he joins his black friends who, estranged from their submissive parents, seek a sense of purpose in the streets and in chases with the police. An angry but sincere and balanced film, Pressure deals with the identity struggles that children of immigrants have to face and Horace Ové makes the most of his combination of professional actors and local non-actors from the streets of London.

The Working Class Film Festival

Friday 8 - Sunday 10 May 2026 sees the inaugural Working Class Film Festival take place at Showroom Cinema. The festival aims to highlight the talent of a wide and underrepresented demographic within the film industry; with only 8% of people working within the creative sector being born into a working class family.

Explore The Working Class Film Festival

Director Horace Ové
Year 1976
Duration 2h 6m
Language English
Cast Herbert Norville, Oscar James, Frank Singuineau