Menelik Shabazz’s pioneering first feature, shot around the communities of Notting Hill and Ladbroke Grove, Burning an Illusion marked a coming of age for Black British cinema.
A love story that traces the emotional and political growth of a young Black couple in Thatcher's London, it was the first British film to give a central voice to a Black woman, charting her journey to emotional maturity, emancipation and political awakening.
Pat Williams is a London girl with a caring family, her own flat and a job that she enjoys, who looks forward to settling down to a comfortable married life. Her dream is shattered when she meets Del, a charming but vaguely discontented toolmaker, who soon moves in and then loses his job causing them both to challenge their assumptions about each other and their aspirations.
Becoming increasingly frustrated with her life and with her lazy, demanding boyfriend, with the help of friends, Pat seeks something better.