"My father made the first Black Power film in 1971. But more than a decade earlier, you have Orfeu Negro, which showed people of colour with three-dimensional humanity. It didn't take on race issues, and this was revolutionary. In America, we were making films that were very conscious of class and race and struggle. The film ignores the whole race question. It shows people having a self-sufficient life that doesn't depend on a white person giving them their rights. My goodness, what a wonderful piece of cinema. I first saw it as a kid and it made quite an impression - so lush and colourful and rich. It shaped my vision and still holds up." —Mario Van Peebles