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8 Rare and Underrated Black Films to Watch Now.

Memory is a selection of images, some elusive, others imprinted indelibly on the brain. -Eve’s Bayou

By LPublished 3 years ago 4 min read
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8 Rare and Underrated Black Films to Watch Now.
Photo by Eric TERRADE on Unsplash

Ask someone’s favorite black film and popular answers will be Black Panther, Malcolm X. or worst of all The Help, While they are fine movies minus The Help. A world of great black films waits to be consumed!

The truth is black filmmakers have been working for a very long time and only a fraction of those films make it to the point of mass public consumption.

Additionally, quite a few black films have been lost. Fortunately some underrated and rare titles are available.

These Films may appear more banal or normal. Therein lies their beauty and importance. These cinematic endeavors are needed to interrupt the steady stream of traumtic and one note films.. They showcase the humanity of black characters.

Cinematic depiction of all the nuances of black life important. These black films are a great way to expand thoughts on black life and black cinema/art!

Losing Ground is a 1982 film written and directed by Kathleen Collins. It is the first feature-length drama directed by an African American woman since the 1920s and won First Prize at the Figueroa International Film Festival in Portugal. I was fortunate to see Losing Ground at BAM and it is a beautiful film. It is a portrayal of the complexities of relationships and being an artist. It offers a glimpse of black life that is hard to find on screens. Losing Ground is available to view online at Criterion Collection.

The Weekend is a wry, romantic comedy, written and directed by Stella Meghie. It is an easily digestible film. Black characters in this film exist as fully formed, nuanced humans navigating relationships. The Weekend is available on HULU, Amazon Prime Video, EPIX NOW and YouTube.

Stomping at the Savoy follows four black women as they try to achieve their dreams during the Harlem renaissance. Norma Miller was an American Lindy hop dancer, choreographer, actress, author, and comedian known as the "Queen of Swing.” She was an original dancer at the real life Savoy ballroom. She choreographed the dances in this made for TV film and won an Emmy for her work.

Sugar Cane Alley is another great film I was able to see at BAM. The film portrays people on the Caribbean island of Martinique. The film shows their struggles post slavery when their freedoms are not close to being absolute. The films director Euzhan Palcy was born in Martinique and the films subjects are treated with dignity and allowed to be human. While they struggle, this is not a struggle film. This is truly a beautiful work of art as well as a historical document. Sugar Cane Alley is available for rent on Vimeo.

Eve’s Bayou is a gorgeous portrayal of African American southern life. Written and directed by Kasi Lemmons. This film has scenes of black children simple being. The scenery is stunning. The viewer is welcomed to a world of well fleshed out characters who bring their individual brand of humanity to the screen. Eve’s Bayou is available on Amazon Prime Video, HULU, Sling, etc

Daughters of The Dust is more than a movie. It is a cultural experience! The film follows a Gullah family on the South Carolina coast. The cinematography in this film is captivating. Daughters of The Dust written, directed and produced by Julie Dash and is the first feature film directed by an African-American woman distributed theatrically in the United States. Daughters of The Dust is available for rent on Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, iTunes and YouTube.

Cane River is poetry in motion! A very charming film with beautiful scenery and a forbidden romance between two different socio-economic classes. This rare film was unseen for 36 years until it’s rediscovery in 2018. It’s a romantic film with some references to the very real history of Cane River in Louisiana where it was filmed. Cane River is available on Criterion Collection.

The Exile is the earliest surviving sound film by an African American filmmaker. Director Oscar Micheaux brought 44 black films to the screen. He was the first major Black director to write, direct, and produce feature length films. He trried to portray a various aspects of black life which was a hard task starting in the early 1900s. This film is worth watching if only for the rare treat of seeing black people on the screen in that time period. The Exile and a few of Oscar Micheaux works are available on Criterion Chanel.

Representation is important and more importantly self representation. These film are testaments to the beauty of the layered artistry of black film by black creators. Cinema magic can happen when artists are allowed to tell their stories!

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About the Creator

L

“By hell there is nothing you can do that you want and by heaven you are going to do it anyway”

Anne Spencer

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