A young British woman comes of age questioning her middle-class aspirations and security through marriage. Her realization of her status both in her personal relationship and within a racist society gradually leads her to political enlightenment and the possibility of responding to the problems and pressures she encounters.

|UK|1981|107 mins|drama|English|Menelik Shabazz, dir|

“The illusions being burnt are those of Pat Williams (Cassie McFarlane), an attractive 22-year old Black girl with a steady clerical job, her own little flat in West London, and the aim of settling down to a comfortable lower –middle class married life with Mr. Right. She is shaken out of this by Del, a feckless, disgruntled macho type (played with sullen charm by one of this country’s best Black actors, Victor Romero), who moves in with her uninvited. He expects sex and food on demand and comes to regard the right side of the bed as his private preserve.” Ext The observer

“The film explores first the growing tensions of the affair and then the girl’s gradual realization that her aspirations are simply those that a white world has imposed upon her. Drawn into the world of ‘Africa’ (and the realization of her own cultural background) and also one in which women are not mere chattels, looking for more chattels, she begins to see society more sharply.” Ext The Guardian

“What is so compelling about the film is its Realism. It’s as if he’s gone out onto the streets and photographed exactly what’s happening.” Ext Black Echoes

“Burning an Illusion powerfully evokes young Black lifestyles in the London eighties. It wants to show what it’s like to live in Britain now.” Ext City Limits