Babylon draws its story from the reggae and sound system culture of London in the late 1970s and early 80s. The film also provides a unique insight into British politics during the Thatcher era. The film follows a young Black British reggae DJ played by Brinsley Ford, actor and vocalist of the reggae band Aswad. He tries to run a sound system in London with his friends. Despite great ambitions for the project, he encounters many obstacles along the way: racism, police brutality, workplace discrimination, and personal problems. The soundtrack is compiled by reggae producer Dennis Bovell and the film features a series of epic scenes with dub music by himself and artists such as Yabby U, Jah Shaka, Johnny Clark, I-Roy, and Aswad. The film addresses controversial topics of its time such as British racism and police brutality, but is equally about the timeless aesthetics of dub, the poetics of bass, and how aesthetic experiences can create alternative collective formations and alternative ways of being in the world.

The research project "Word, Sound and Power: The Lyrical Making of African Diaspora Futures" at the Department of Literature, Area Studies and European Languages at the University of Oslo is led by researcher Louisa Olufsen Layne. The project studies how writers and artists from the African diaspora have challenged the boundaries between literature, music, and visions of the future.

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Fear Eats the Soul (1974, Rainer Werner Fassbinder), Kunstnernes Hus Cinema has a special focus on xenophobia, racism, and discrimination. Through the film series "Fear Eats the Soul," we look at how migration and migration experiences have been portrayed in film over the past decades, and particularly at the diversity of expressions addressing this theme.