Maureen Blackwood

Maureen Blackwood (born 30 July 1960) is a British filmmaker and founding member of Sankofa Film and Video Collective – a collective dedicated to promoting and producing black films by black directors. Her films consist of experimental narrative and documentary works that examine black life in Britain from a variety of perspectives.

Life and career Born in London, England, to Jamaican parents, Blackwood attended City and Islington College in London, followed by the University of Westminster (then Polytechnic of Central London), at which she obtained a degree in Media studies.

One of her tutors introduced her to an African-American man who worked at the British Film Institute named Jim Pines. He in turn introduced her to Isaac Julien, Martina Attille, Nadine Marsh-Edwards and Robert Crusz, with whom she founded Sankofa Film and Video Collective in 1983.

Her only feature is The Passion of Remembrance (1987), co-written and co-directed with Julien. She followed this up with the narrative shorts Perfect Image? (1988) and Home away from Home (1993), and the documentary A Family Called Abrew (1992). Home away from Home was an official selection for Critics' Week at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival.

She was a young member of the Camden Black Sisters, and used stories of older members in the film The Passion of Remembrance.

In 2003, she graduated from a year-long Script Development Executive Training Initiative backed by UK Film Council. She then went on to work as a Script Development Executive for several companies, including Forest Whitaker's Spirit Dance UK.

Credited as Mo Blackwood, she co-wrote the feature-length screenplay Shop of Dreams (2005) for the Estonian production company Exit Films.

In 2005, she was selected to take part in a ten-day workshop with the Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami. Blackwood's short film Lift Stories from the workshop was one of four films selected by Channel Four to screen as part of 3 Minute Wonder.

Filmography The Passion of Remembrance (1987) Perfect Image? (1988) A Family Called Abrew (1992) Home away from Home (1993) Lift Stories (2005)