Check Out These Actors and Directors Working the Big Screen This Fall

Mahershala Ali; Ava DuVernay; Kevin Hart
**Frazer Harrison/Getty Images; Amanda Edwards/WireImage; Jason Merritt/Getty Images**

Happy October, folks!

A few hours into the month, and things are shaping up nicely for black filmgoers.

One of the most buzzed-about releases is Nate Parker’s The Birth of a Nation, the harrowing film about Nat Turner's rebellion, focusing on themes of freedom and resistance. But if you’re not into Parker, the rumors surrounding him or another slave film, you’ve got options. Can you say “Ava DuVernay”?

Yes, you've heard correctly. The 13th, a documentary directed by Ava DuVernay, focuses on the criminalization of blacks in America and is set to premiere Oct. 7. For the dramatist, there’s Moonlight, a film by Barry Jenkins that explores themes of love, identity and masculinity.

For those who need a bit of levity in their lives, there’s Kevin Hart: What Now?—which is essentially 90 minutes of Hart and his stand-up shenanigans. Where's the popcorn? Guaranteed to be a classic in a black-comedic-stand-up kind of way. For the Madea fan, assuming that they still exist, there’s Boo! A Madea Halloween! Yes, really. No judgment.

Did you know that a documentary about the incomparable Maya Angelou, which was co-directed by Rita Coburn Whack, a black woman, will be released this month? Indeed, the film is set to hit theaters Oct. 14.

Here are some of the black film folks you can enjoy in front of and behind the camera this October.

Felice León is multimedia editor at The Root.