10 Must-See Black Films That You’ve Probably Never Heard Of
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There has recently been a drought of movies being made that are positive images of African Americans reaching mainstream movie theaters. Some of these films don’t even make it straight to DVD. These films are critically acclaimed and award winning, yet they often find it hard to find proper distribution deals through major studios.
Luckily, black-oriented film festivals have made a considerable rise in popularity of the past few years. Having a new venue for African American arts is truly a great thing and should definitely be supported. All of the hard work that goes into making a film is wasted if you never have the opportunity to show what you have created to the world or at the least an audience of your peers. Below are a list of must-see quality black films that you’ve probably never heard of:
Dark Tide
A Thousand Words
In The Hive (aka The Discarded Boyz)
Things Fall Apart
Bolden!
Mama I Want To Sing
Black Water Transit
Pastor Brown
Winnie
Frankie and Alice
I am a life long fan of the arts and I would love to see more examples of well-crafted, black helmed cinema making it to the big screen. A few of the films have made it to theaters, television or DVD recently including A Thousand Words, Mama I Want To Sing, and Things Fall Apart. There are some truly interesting films on this list with excellent premises that haven’t been frequently done. I hope to see some of these films pop up on my local marquee or on the shelves of retailers. For more info on these films please visit: http://www.blackfilm.com/read/2011/08/ten-black-films-that-may-never-be-released-in-theaters-or-on-dvd/
If you’ve watched any of the listed “must-see” black films, please leave a comment about them below.
Malcolm Morrow, a Your Black World Network contributor, is a senior, criminal justice major at The University of Southern Miss.
mama I want to sing was terrible!
Films and books that are not made with big investments by major producers often get lost in the shuffle…or they don’t get the publicity that would make them top sellers. Thus, we often miss out on good material, educational programs, and films that enlighten. There have been many films made about Black people in slavery, but DJANGO UNCHAINED made it to the box offices across the country due to the producers and investors.
The same thing happens with books. One thing that hurts Black people is that they don’t know enough about their own history and culture….how we arrived to the place we are today. And history has much to teach us. Our ancestors left many wise words and lessons for us that can show us the way to solve problems. Some recommended BLACK HISTORY books are: * LIBERTY’S LEGACY…… and ‘AMAZING ANCESTORS’
In the Hive was great and a must see for all our young brother and sisters.