black filmmakers
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Sundance 2021: A List of Black Movies to Watch While You’re in the (Virtual) White Mountains
I’m salty. As The Root’s Staff entertainment writer, one of the most exciting aspects of my job is being able to travel to a lot of cool places. In fact, the Sundance Film Festival typically kicks off the year of traveling shenanigans within my beat. In 2020, I flew to Park City, Utah to cover…
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Jordan Peele Wants to Get Out of a Career in Front of the Camera, He Confirms at Georgia Runoff Fundraiser
February will mark exactly 4 years since the theatrical release of Get Out, Jordan Peele’s directorial debut, which had a unique take on racism in America. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Peele joined Bradley Whitford, who co-starred in his psychological horror hit for a Democratic fundraiser on Sunday night for Tuesday’s Georgia runoff election, facilitated…
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Academy Dialogues Exclusive Clip: Ava DuVernay Has a Rare Discussion About Craft With Julie Dash and Euzhan Palcy
If you’ve been keeping up with our ongoing coverage so far, you may know that The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has been releasing regular panel sessions called Academy Dialogues as part of its equity and inclusion initiative Academy Aperture 2025. Next up, we have an all-Black female filmmaker panel titled Academy Dialogues:…
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Steve McQueen Says Black Brits Influence All of British Culture and That Black Talent Should Be Able to Make 'Crappy' Films, Too
Steve McQueen is pretty damn passionate when it comes to Black creators. In a recent interview with Esquire UK, McQueen discussed the impact of Black British people on the totality of British culture and the creative freedom of Black talent, while promoting his film anthology series Small Axe. When it comes to cultural appropriation (and…
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Urbanworld Film Festival 2020 Braved a New (Virtual) World, Winners Announced
Another year, another Urbanworld Film Festival wrapped! This year marked the 24th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival and this year’s theme was, “A Brave New (Virtual) World.” This year’s Urbanworld festival ambassador was show creator and director Justin Simien (Dear White People, Bad Hair), and this five-day virtual event featured other major names such as Stacey…
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The March on Washington Film Festival Goes Virtual in 2020, Keeping Our Stories at the Center
Like many film festivals, the March on Washington Film Festival (MOWFF) is typically held in a physical location (in MOWFF’s case, Washington D.C.) but in 2020, everyone is all about the pivot to virtual. The 8th annual MOWFF is doing the same this year, hosting more than 20 events over seven days, including documentaries, panel…
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Tyler Perry Presents: A Billionaire
Tyler Perry is the family that pays. On Tuesday, Forbes announced that it estimates the Hollywood mogul’s net worth is $1 billion and stated that he was on a “clear path to future membership in The Forbes 400.” The finance site breaks down his cash and investments ($300 million), stake in BET+ ($60 million), his…
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Reel Pieces: Mudbound Director Dee Rees to Join 92nd Street Y's Racial Justice-Themed Online Film Course
With months of quarantine now behind us (and who knows how many more to go), hopefully, you’ve been indulging in some online education as well as entertainment—and starting on Sunday, New York City’s famed 92nd Street Y debuts an online course that offers both. Continuing its popular online film course, Reel Pieces Remote: Classic Films…
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Frankly My Dear, We Don't Give a Damn About These Woke Gestures If We Don't See Systemic Change in Hollywood
Hollywood is riding the woke train—without making any necessary stops along the journey to do the real work. Earlier in the month, we mentioned the emptiness of symbolic gestures in the form of Black boxes. Well, it seems like those black boxes are still continuing to cover up the bigger picture in yet other ways.…
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First-Look: In Apple TV+'s Dear…, Spike Lee Talks Hiring Black Filmmakers So Hollywood Looked 'More Like America'
During these times of trials and tribulation, some people especially turn to sources of inspiration. With Apple TV+’s upcoming docuseries Dear…, hopefully, audiences can get a little bit of that. From the press release about the series and a particular spotlight on Oscar-winner Spike Lee’s episode: One person’s story can change the world. From Emmy-winning…