28 Black Films for the 28 Days of Black History Month
A streaming guide for you.
Happy Black History Month! I’ll get straight to it: Here’s a streaming guide I created with you in mind. The you who lovingly asks me for Black film recommendations, the you who happened upon this newsletter, the you who was forwarded this link. This one is for you. This guide is a place to start, to find yourself in, to retreat to, and to rediscover gems.
There is joy, promise, reality, and dreams beyond it in these stories. Please enjoy.
Losing Ground (1982) dir. Kathleen Collins
A soul-stirring, intricate yet personal masterwork that examines the unraveling of a marriage and the discovery of what it means to be Black, a woman, and an artist. Streaming on the Criterion Channel.
Fieldwork Footage (1928) dir. Zora Neale Hurston
This glimpse into Black life through the deep South, recorded by the incomparable Hurston with a 16mm camera, is invaluable. Streaming on the Criterion Channel and on Youtube.
Free Angela and All Political Prisoners (2013) dir. Shola Lynch
With a focus on Angela Davis’ 1970 trial, this documentary mixes archival footage and revolutionary ideas with precision while painting a fuller picture of the activist’s life and constant struggle towards freedom. Streaming on Tubi.
St. Louis Blues (1958) dir. Allen Reisner
This rarely streaming musical-drama features a who’s who of Black stars of the time: Nat King Cole, Eartha Kitt, Cab Calloway, Ruby Dee, and Ella Fitzgerald to name a few. Streaming on the Criterion Channel.
Anna Lucasta (1958) dir. Arnold Laven
Watch Eartha Kitt and Sammy Davis, Jr. sizzle in this 1958 feature about a young woman scraping by after being kicked out of her home. Available on Youtube.
Welcome II the Terrordome (1995) dir. Ngozi Onwurah
This dystopian film depicts a world where Black people are confined to a slum, the terrordome, and examines how everything changes after the police kill a Black boy. The first theatrical release by a Black woman in the UK. Streaming on the Criterion Channel.
Shadows (1959) dir. John Cassavetes
With a hypnotic jazz score and improvised script on a forbidden romance, it’s hard not to fall into this world that has influenced every film since. Streaming on and the Criterion Channel and HBO Max.
Happy Birthday, Marsha! (2018) dirs. Sasha Wortzel and Tourmaline
A short film that showcases iconic trans artist Marsha P. Johnson and her life in the hours before the Stonewall Riots. Streaming on Amazon Prime and Vimeo.
The Learning Tree (1969) dir. Gordon Parks
This landmark motion picture helmed by Parks documents a young boy’s journey into manhood as he wrestles with his ambitions, desires, and frustrations in rural America. Streaming on the Criterion Channel.
Aaron Loves Angela (1975) dir. Gordon Parks, Jr.
Blaxploitation and coming-of-age genres meet in this film that features a forbidden romance in 1970s New York City. Streaming on Amazon Prime, Tubi, and Pluto TV.
Compensation (1999) dir. Zeinabu irene Davis
This wildly innovative first feature from Davis offers a window into two relationships between a deaf woman and hearing man dressed with sign language and silent-film era techniques guarantees an experience unlike anything you’ve ever seen. Streaming on the Criterion Channel.
Eve’s Bayou (1997) dir. Kasi Lemmons
What can be said about this Southern Gothic masterwork that hasn’t been? An urgent, necessary viewing that pulls you in with its first few words: “...The summer I killed my father, I was 10 years old”. Streaming on Amazon Prime.
I Am Somebody (1970) dir. Madeline Anderson
Unparalleled documentarian brings Black women to the center in this crucial 1970 short about the courageous 1969 Charleston hospital workers' strike for union recognition and wage increases. Streaming on the Criterion Channel and Mubi.
Small Axe Collection (2020) dir. Steve McQueen
Every few years there’s a gift so delicious you can’t decide if you want to slowly unwrap it or quickly devour it. This series of five films is this year’s gift that tells euphoric and personal Black stories from the 1960s through the 1980s. Streaming on Amazon Prime.
Black is… Black Ain’t (1994) dir. Marlon Riggs
Riggs’ final film brilliantly captures the explosive conversation happening in the 90s about the diversity in blackness and the effects patriarchal structures have on that identity. Streaming on the Criterion Channel and Kanopy.
Zora is My Name! (1990) dir. Neema Barnette
A teleplay celebration of Zora Neale Hurston’s life penned by and starring Ruby Dee that takes shape in the collection of stories from Zora herself. Available on Youtube.
Afronauts (2014) dir. Nuotama Bodomo
In 1964, a Zambian teacher decides to train the first African crew to beat the Americans to the moon. Streaming on the Criterion Channel.
Wattstax (1973) dir. Mel Stuart
A documentary that covers the electrifying 1972 benefit concert featuring Issac Hayes, The Staples Sisters, and many many others. A sight to be seen. Available on Youtube.
Within Our Gates (1920) dir. Oscar Micheaux
The complex, dark, and moving silent film centers a schoolteacher navigating racial politics and black and white communities as her school is on the brink of bankruptcy. The earliest surviving Black feature film. Streaming on the Criterion Channel, Amazon Prime, and Kanopy.
Bamboozled (2000) dir. Spike Lee
With pressure to boost network ratings, television writer (Damon Wayans at his best) decides to bring back blackface for the new millennium, starring Black people. The results? A stinging satire that demands your attention. Streaming on the Criterion Channel.
Illusions (1982) dir. Julie Dash
Julie Dash’s 1982 short masterfully places a Black woman in a unique circumstance: passing for white while working at a Hollywood studio in the 1940s. In doing so, she offers a gripping historical critique of the old and new Hollywood system. Streaming on the Criterion Channel and Kanopy.
Sister, Sister (1982) dir. John Berry
Written by Maya Angelou, this made-for-TV film focuses on three sisters working through their bond as they decide the fate of their family home. Stars Diahann Caroll, Irene Cara, and Rosalind Cash at their best. Available on Youtube.
Girlhood (2014) dir. Céline Sciamma
Oppressed by her family setting, Marieme embarks on a different life after meeting new friends. A life she hopes will chart a path to freedom. Streaming on Showtime and Kanopy.
Drylongso (1998) dir. Cauleen Smith
A criminally underseen drama that offers a window into a Black teen girl’s lens on empowerment, love, loss, and questioning her very existence. Available on Youtube.
Nationtime (1972) dir. William Greaves
Nationtime offers a front-row seat to the historic 1972 National Black Political Convention and offers perspectives from Corretta Scott King, Dr. Betty Shabazz, Amiri Baraka, Charles Diggs, Isaac Hayes, Richard Roundtree, and more. This essential cultural document is worth your time. Streaming on the Criterion Channel.
Tender (2020) dir. Felicia Pride
This moving short engulfs you with a story of a one-night stand between two women at different stages of their life and keeps you with how it handles the morning after. Streaming on Starz and available on Vimeo.
Carib Gold (1957) dir. Harold Young
Cicely Tyson’s film debut is worth a watch as we all consider her immeasurable legacy. Available on Youtube.
Pariah (2011) dir. Dee Rees
This tight, assured debut from Rees is a beautifully made story about a young queer woman coming into her own. For rent.
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The first edition of my newsletter offers even more Black films. Here.