He begins with the place of cricket in his family history, in his childhood and schooling in Trinidad, and in the social stratification of West Indian society. James subject is cricket and its role in his own life and in the history of the West Indies and England. But it was not until a few years later, when my friend Barrie Gavin (himself a prolific and very good filmmaker of mainly music documentaries as well as another cricket enthusiast) became the editor of BBC One’s flagship arts series “Omnibus”, that the documentary was finally commissioned. Beyond a Boundary blends personal memoir, social history, and sports commentary. We talked about a lot, but mainly about cricket (which I also played), and immediately I knew I must try and make a film with him about it. What I didn’t know in the 1970s when I first met him was that he was married to Selma James, who I then knew, not as the forceful and provocative feminist campaigner for which she became well-known, but as an interesting person I often talked with on the phone and to whom I sent all my BBC filmed interviews to be brilliantly and quickly transcribed, often to be returned with her opinions of the speakers scribbled in the margins! So it was a wonderful surprise when it was Selma who opened the door on my first visit to meet CLR.
And CLR James one of the most remarkable people I’ve had the pleasure and privelege of meeting, learning from and, most gratifyingly, making two films with. "For me “Beyond A Boundary” remains not just a book about cricket, but the most brilliant and original book about sport ever written.
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