The film director, producer and activist Henry Martin, who has died aged 70, following a long illness, created a groundbreaking body of work depicting black British life, highlighting the structural inequalities and racism, but also the effervescent creativity and shared experiences that allowed black communities to thrive.

Martin began his career through the independent production company Kuumba Black Arts, which he founded with Menelik Shabazz and Imruh Bakari in the late 1970s. In Grove Carnival, a short documentary broadcast by Channel 4 in 1981, he captured the unique creative expressions of the Caribbean immigrant community of Ladbroke Grove, west London, allowing viewers to experience the intensity of its steel-pan bands and costumed masquerades, as well as the multicultural character of the carnival audience.