Black History Month
Please join us throughout Black History Month and beyond in watching some of these feature films directed by Film Fatales members…
Ailey directed by Jamila Wignot
Alvin Ailey was a visionary artist who found salvation through dance. An immersive portrait told in his own words and through the creation of a new commission inspired by his life, Ailey fully profiles this brilliant and enigmatic man who—when confronted by a world that refused to embrace him—was determined to build one that would.
Albany Road directed by Christine Swanson
A New York executive is forced to share a rental car with her ex-fiancé’s mother, only to discover that the mother is hiding a major secret.
Alma’s Rainbow directed by Ayoka Chenzira
Rainbow attends a strict parochial school, studies dance, and lives with her strait-laced mother Alma, who runs a hair salon in the parlor of their home and disapproves of her daughter’s newfound interest in boys. When Alma’s free-spirited sister Ruby returns from Paris after a ten-year absence, the sisters clash over what constitutes the “proper” direction for Rainbow’s life.
Black Barbie: The Documentary directed by Lagueria Davis
Black Barbie celebrates the momentous impact three Black women at Mattel had on the evolution of the Barbie brand as we know it. Through these charismatic insiders’ stories, the documentary tells the story of how the first Black Barbie came to be in 1980, examining the importance of representation and how dolls can be crucial to the formation of identity and imagination.
Black Girls directed by B. Monét
Black Girls follows six women who transcend beyond adversity to become advocates in their community.
Black in Space: Breaking the Color Barrier directed by Laurens Grant
The race to get to space is long over, but buried in time is the revelatory story of the world’s first black astronauts. For many Americans, the 20th-century Space Race was a Cold War competition over rocketry and technological feats, but the world’s two superpowers were also engaged in another high-stakes race – one whose impact is still being felt today.
For All Humankind directed by Laurens Grant
A deep dive into space exploration means for society by comparing the parallel events of 1969 and 2020.
James Brown: Say It Loud directed by Deborah Riley Draper
JAMES BROWN: SAY IT LOUD traces the incredible trajectory of Brown’s life and his words, songs, style and moves that inspired musical revolutions and molded a nation’s view of Black Pride and Black masculinity.
Jinn directed by Nijla Mu’min
Summer is a carefree teenager whose world is turned upside down when her mother abruptly converts to Islam and becomes a different person. At first resistant to the faith, Summer begins to reevaluate her identity while falling for a Muslim classmate. As she and Tahir build a connection based on laughter, curiosity, and beef pepperoni, a budding sexual attraction ignites, causing a major conflict between physical desire and piety.
Just Another Girl on the I.R.T. directed by Leslie Harris
Chantel, a spirited Brooklyn teenager, dreams of escaping life in the projects to go to college and eventually become a doctor.
How It Feels To Be Free directed by Yoruba Richen
The inspiring story of how six iconic African American female entertainers – Lena Horne, Abbey Lincoln, Nina Simone, Diahann Carroll, Cicely Tyson and Pam Grier – challenged an entertainment industry deeply complicit in perpetuating racist stereotypes, and transformed themselves and their audiences in the process.
Little Richard: I Am Everything directed by Lisa Cortés
This documentary tells the story of the Black queer origins of rock ‘n’ roll, exploding the whitewashed canon of American pop music to reveal the innovator – the originator – Richard Penniman. Through a wealth of archive and performance that brings us into Richard’s complicated inner world, the film unspools the icon’s life story with all its switchbacks and contradictions. In interviews with family, musicians, and cutting-edge Black and queer scholars, the film reveals how Richard created an art form for ultimate self-expression, yet what he gave to the world he was never able to give to himself.
Marian Anderson: The Whole World In Her Hands directed by Rita Coburn
Discover an international singer who captivated royalty in Europe and defied the conscience of 1939 America. Watch rare archival footage and hear audio recordings exploring her life and career from the Metropolitan Opera to the State Department.
Memoirs of a Black Girl directed by Thato Mwosa
Aisha Johnson, a young black girl who epitomizes “black girl magic,” is one of four city-wide finalists for a prestigious college scholarship. In order to win the award, Aisha must outperform the other candidates. Under normal circumstances, these things would prove easy for Aisha, whose academic history has shown nothing but excellence. But these aren’t normal circumstances. When Aisha’s world is turned upside down, she must learn not only to navigate the challenging obstacles but to survive while keeping her eyes on the prize.
Miss Juneteenth directed by Channing Godfrey
A former beauty queen and single mom prepares her rebellious teenage daughter for the “Miss Juneteenth” pageant.
Neptune Frost directed by Anisia Uzeyman and Saul Williams
In the hilltops of Burundi, a group of escaped coltan miners form an anti-colonialist computer hacker collective. From their camp in an otherworldly e-waste dump, they attempt a takeover of the authoritarian regime exploiting the region’s natural resources – and its people. When an intersex runaway and an escaped coltan miner find each other through cosmic forces, their connection sparks glitches within the greater divine circuitry.
One Life to Blossom directed by Alexandrina Andre
One Life to Blossom follows the life of black transgender activist Blossom C. Brown when she undergoes her dream of getting face feminization surgery all within a year before making nationwide headlines at the 2019 CNN LBGTQ+ Town Hall.
Phat Girlz directed by Nnegest Likké
Jazmin Biltmore is a smart-mouthed, plus-sized, aspiring fashion designer and department store employee. She struggles with self-image in a world where “thin is in,” until she meets someone while on vacation who shows her a whole new perspective.
Red Pill directed by Tonya Pinkins
Cassandra is a black American woman fearful for the fate of her country in the next election. Election weekend 2020, she reluctantly accompanies her best friend Rocky, land preserver activist and his wife Emelia, her roommate Lily, friend Nick and partner Bobby to canvas in newly blue Virginia. As the friends arrive at their “Super-Host” housing, they encounter signs that point to possible trouble and before the weekend is over their fight for the country becomes a fight for their lives.
Solace directed by Tchaiko Omawale
A 17 year-old orphan is shipped off to her estranged grandmother and she plots her escape while navigating a foreign environment, new friendships and a hidden eating disorder.
Stand directed by Joslyn Rose Lyons
Stand explores the personal and professional struggles of Abdul-Rauf, from being bullied as a child due to his Tourette’s syndrome to becoming a target of hate speech and Islamophobia during his basketball career. The documentary film features exclusive interviews with several basketball and entertainment stars including Stephen Curry, Steve Kerr, Shaquille O’Neal, Jalen Rose, Mahershala Ali and Ice Cube.
Subjects of Desire directed by Jennifer Holness
Subjects of Desire explores the cultural shift in North American beauty standards towards embracing Black female aesthetics and features while exposing the deliberate and often dangerous portrayals of Black women in the media. From society’s new fixation on the ‘booty’, fuller lips, the dramatic rise of spray tanned skin, ethnic hairstyles, and athletic bodies, some argue that Black women are having a beauty moment. But others, primarily Black women, argue that traditional Black features and attributes are seen as more desirable when they are on White women.
The Cost of Inheritance directed by Yoruba Richen
Building on key issues of diversity and democracy; slavery and its aftermath; and socio-economic indicators, this documentary puts real people and their family histories into the reparations debate. Personal stories, expert interviews and rich archival materials underscored by evocative music, weaves a narrative around the issue of reparations today so many years after the historical understanding of the end of slavery in America.
Unapologetic directed by Ashley O’Shay
Meet Janaé and Bella, two fierce abolitionists whose upbringing and experiences shape their activism and views on Black liberation. Through their lens, Unapologetic provides an inside look into the ongoing movement work that transformed Chicago, from the police murder of Rekia Boyd to the election of mayor Lori Lightfoot.
Uprooted directed by Avril Speaks
When Keith Warren, a Black man, was found hanging in the woods of Silver Spring, MD, police ruled it a suicide. For 35 years, the family attempted to find the truth, and his sister, Sherri Warren, now has one goal — to get his death certificate changed.
