Steve McQueen's new anthology series for the BBC will feature Star Wars actor John Boyega and Black Panther actress Letitia Wright.
The show is called Small Axe and will be set within London's west Indian community from the late 1960s to the early '80s. It entails of six hour-long films telling five different stories, with the first told across the opening two episodes.
The title is derived from a Jamaican proverb which has resonance throughout the Caribbean. It states: "If you are the big tree, we are the small axe".
Small Axe is also the title of a Bob Marley song from his 1973 album Catch A Fire. It means that relatively marginal or small voices of dissent can successfully challenge more powerful voices.
Filming for the series - which will also star Malachi Kirby, Shaun Parkes, Rochenda Sandall, Alex Jennings and Jack Lowden - began filming on location in London last Monday, June 24.
McQueen, who most recently directed Widows starring Viola Davis, said: "I felt these stories needed to be shared.
"I wanted to re-live, re-evaluate and investigate the journeys that my parents and the first generation of West Indians went on to deliver me here today calling myself a black British person.
"What's important about our stories is that they are local but at the same time global. I think audiences will identify with the trials, tribulations and joy of our characters as well as reflecting on the present environment in which we find ourselves.
"The dynamic nature of the series allows us to confront injustice in the face of adversity hence the proverb Small Axe, 'if you are the big tree, we are the small axe'."
Small Axe will be broadcast on BBC One in 2020.
