The BEST episodes directed by Jaimie D'cruz
#1 - The Hip Hop World News
BBC Documentaries - Season 2016 - Episode 281
Embarking on an immersive authored journey, Rodney P reveals a fascinating alternative version of reality as seen from the perspective of a culture which was created in the black and Latino ghettos of 1970s New York, and has since evolved into a world-dominating cultural powerhouse. Whether it's chronicling life on the streets or offering a surprising twist on global events, hip-hop has given a voice to the powerless and dispossessed while also acting as a platform for ideas, opinions and sometimes controversial theories to be shared amongst its millions of followers. Looking at big issues such as power, conspiracy, education and money, Rodney meets iconic figures like Public Enemy's Chuck D, Def Jam's Russell Simmons, who created the template for the hip-hop mogul, and New York rapper Rakim, agreed by many to be the greatest MC of all time. Rodney's journey also gets to grips with contentious issues like police brutality, extreme language and the role of women in a culture some see as misogynistic, to provide a fascinating take on what the world really looks like with a hip-hop state of mind. As Rodney explores the important issues and powerful ideas through the lens of hip-hop, he learns more about the culture he himself has been part of for almost four decades while showing those who have never quite understood (and may even have dismissed it) just how surprising and rich that culture really is.
#2 - Lawful Killing: Mark Duggan
BBC Documentaries - Season 2016 - Episode 364
Lawful Killing is a 90-minute documentary with dramatic reconstructions of the police shooting of Mark Duggan in Tottenham in August 2011. The incident triggered the worst riots in living memory, with the impact extending far beyond the Duggan family and the community of Tottenham. Significant elements of what actually happened that day in August 2011 remain unclear, despite a Coroner’s Inquest and a lengthy IPCC Investigation. This documentary recounts in forensic detail the events surrounding the death of Mark Duggan, with exclusive testimony from a number of key participants. It uses a combination of personal testimony, evidential footage, dramatised reconstruction based on verbatim Inquest transcripts, and witness and expert interviews. Many of the events of the day remain in dispute, and the film accurately portrays the differing points of view of the family and friends of Duggan; the police officers involved in the operation and those tasked with investigating it subsequently. By setting out to present a 360-degree version of all of the main accounts of what happened on that day, this film asks the audience to make up their own minds about an event which continues to resonate more than five years after it occurred.