Bandung File

Last updated
Bandung File
GenreDocumentary and current affairs
Presented by Darcus Howe, Gita Sahgal and John Buckley
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes92
Production
Executive producersGreg Lanning, David Cohen, Roger Thomas
Editor Darcus Howe. Tariq Ali
Running time60 minutes
Original release
Network Channel 4
Release12 September 1985 (1985-09-12) 
13 August 1991 (1991-08-13)

Bandung File was a UK series of documentary and current affairs television programmes that aired on Channel 4 between 1985 and 1991, [1] made by Bandung Productions with Darcus Howe and Tariq Ali as joint series editors. [2] Presenters of the show were Howe, Gita Sahgal and John Buckley. [2] Bandung File featured topics from an Afro-Asian perspective and with particular relevance to the UK's ethnic minorities.

Background

Bandung File was commissioned by Farrukh Dhondy in his role as Commissioning Editor for Multicultural Programming from 1984 to 1997. [3] The programme's name derived from the 1955 Bandung Conference held in Indonesia, the first large-scale meeting between newly independent Asian and African states. [4] [5]

Bandung File featured news and investigative documentaries from the Third World and the black and Asian populations of Britain, with an Afro-Asian perspective and of particular relevance for Britain's ethnic minorities. [6] [7]

Tariq Ali has said: "The whole thing about Bandung File is that we did it in a way which unified the West Indian and South Asian communities, while looking outwardly as well; 50% of the viewers were white and 50% non-white, our philosophy was that white people also needed to be educated." [5]

References

  1. "The Bandung File". IMDb . Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  2. 1 2 Vahimagi, Tise. "Bandung File (1985-91)". ScreenOnline. British Film Institute . Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  3. Dhondy, Farrukh (11 March 2020). "What Channel 4 had to do". Second Sight. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  4. "Final Communiqué of the Asian-African conference of Bandung (24 April 1955)" (PDF). Centre Virtuel de la Connaissance sur l'Europe. 3 January 2017.
  5. 1 2 Bakare, Lanre (3 February 2026). "Tariq Ali claims BFI has frozen him out of multicultural TV season". The Guardian . Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  6. Dhondy, Farrukh (22 March 2024). "Haiti is the face of total anarchy: Why West Indies did not federate". Deccan Chronicle . Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  7. Rowbotham, Sheila (15 April 2025). "You Can't Please All – review". Red Pepper . Retrieved 4 February 2026.