This should have been the year that black directors dominated the Oscars. In 2013 several black filmmakers produced and directed well-crafted films that examine black life. Of that group, three in particular—Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave), Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station) and Lee Daniels (The Butler)—created films of historic significance, each of which explores a…

(The Root) — Like an incurable and recurring infection, blackface just never seems to go away. This disease rages throughout the nation and in other places around the world. What is it about blackface? What is it that attracts people to do it? Could blackface be the equivalent of smoking crack for some people? You know that…

You probably already have it, use it and, especially in this economy, love it. But you might not know that “it” is the thing that could change the game for independent black moviemakers. It is VOD, or Video on Demand, a system that plays movies from your set-top box and is changing the way Hollywood…