See LA HAINE Live at the Royal Festival Hall, presented by the Southbank Centre and BFI. Critically acclaimed upon its release in 1995, Mathieu Kassovitz’s visceral drama, exploring social tensions and fraught race relations in the neglected suburbs of Paris, feels more potent and relevant than ever.
The film follows three friends – Vincent Cassel as the gun-touting Vinz, Hubert Koundé as level-headed Hubert and Saïd Taghmaoui as the quick-smart Saïd – as they negotiate their community’s dramatic unravelling, exposing the deep veins of inequality that France still grapples with today.
The re-scored soundtrack will be performed live alongside scenes from the film by Steve Chandra Savale, Jamil Jammaz Ahmed and Brian Fairbairn – respectively guitar, bass and drums of legendary Asian Dub Foundation. First performed at the Barbican in 2001, David Bowie invited the group to perform the work as part of his Meltdown curation at the Southbank Centre in 2002.
La Haine Live Soundtrack by Asian Dub Foundation, Sun 19th Jan 2025, 6pm, Royal Festival Hall
Age restrictions: 15+ Presented by the Southbank Centre and BFI. TICKETS. All images courtesy British Film Institute.
Film history
Directed by Mathieu Kassovitz, La Haine has had an extraordinary impact on the world of cinema since its release 30 years ago. La Haine became an instant box office success for its stark visual imagery, gritty black and white cinematography and its willingness to shine a light on the social deprivation within the French banlieues. At only 27, Kassovitz won best screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival in recognition of his powerful, personal story that brought to the forefront racism and police brutality in France.
The film follows three friends – Vincent Cassel as the gun-touting Vinz, Hubert Koundé as level-headed Hubert and Saïd Taghmaoui as the quick-smart Saïd – as they negotiate their community’s dramatic unravelling following the killing of a local man by French police.
About Asian Dub Foundation
The screening of the film will be accompanied by a live performance of a re-scored soundtrack from Steve Chandra Savale, Jamil Jammaz Ahmed and Brian Fairbairn – respectively guitar, bass and drums of legendary Asian Dub Foundation.
First performed at the Barbican in 2001 to widespread critical acclaim, their reimagined soundtrack returns to the Southbank Centre 23 years after David Bowie invited the group to perform the work as part of his Meltdown curation at the Southbank Centre in 2002.
Formed in 1993 from a community music workshop in East London, Asian Dub Foundation fuse Punk, Dance, Rap and Reggae to create fast-paced, politically charged music that shares the raw and uncompromising nature of La Haine. Renowned for their raucous live performances, Asian Dub Foundation have performed 1000s of shows across the globe and collaborated with a host of international stars including Radiohead, Sinead O’Connor and Iggy Pop.
They achieved widespread success in the late 1990s and early 2000s, touring with Primal Scream and the Beastie Boys, being nominated for a Mercury Prize in 1998 and performing on Glastonbury’s Pyramid stage in 2000. Their 32 year career features 9 studio albums, 7 compilations and remix albums and a UK number one single featuring comedian Stewart Lee.
