Criterion Deep-Dive: 29 Films Celebrating Black History Month! (Part One of Two)
Highlighting 29 Films by Black Directors from The Criterion Collection & The Criterion Channel
My husband and I are both lifelong film buffs, and in recent months we have been immersed in a deep-dive into the treasures of The Criterion Collection and The Criterion Channel. Cinematic gems from Criterion’s abundance of critically-acclaimed films (on both Blu-ray and streaming) have frequently been at the top of our viewing queue, especially after discovering the consistently high quality of curated content available on The Criterion Channel (which has become one of our favorite paid streaming services).
And now February is here! In honor of Black History Month, we felt this month was the perfect time to celebrate the achievements made by Black directors. So, we’ve delved into the Criterion catalog to bring you 29 renowned films by Black directors that are currently available via The Criterion Collection (Blu-ray & DVD) and/or The Criterion Channel (streaming). One great film for each day of Black History Month! Part One is below. Check back in two weeks for Part Two!
29 Critically-Acclaimed Films by Black Directors from The Criterion Collection & The Criterion Channel: Part One of Two (in alphabetical order)
Atlantics (2019) – directed by Mati Diop
In 2019, French-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop became the first Black woman to have a film screened in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, where Atlantics won the Grand Prix. Both a ghost story and a romance, Atlantics deftly tackles a host of issues (from the refugee crisis to the power of grief) all with the haunting symbol of the Atlantic Ocean as an ever-present backdrop to the film’s scintillating drama. [Mati Diop’s Atlantics (2019) was previously announced as coming soon to Blu-ray for The Criterion Collection! In the meantime, her original short film, Atlantiques (2009), is included in Five Films by Mati Diop, which is currently streaming on The Criterion Channel]
Black Girl (1966) – directed by Ousmane Sembène
Director and writer Ousmane Sembène has aptly been dubbed “the father of African cinema,” and Black Girl stands proudly as both his first feature film and the first Black African film to garner worldwide attention and acclaim. Moving between Dakar, Senegal and Antibes, France, the film centers around titular heroine Diouna (in an extraordinary performance by Mbissine Thérèse Diop) as she moves to France to work as the nanny for a French couple. A perfect film. [available on Blu-ray & DVD, currently streaming on The Criterion Channel]
Body and Soul (1925) – directed by Oscar Micheaux
Two titans of cinema converge in this 1925 silent classic. Legendary actor and activist Paul Robeson (in his film debut) is directed by none other than pioneering filmmaker Oscar Micheaux, the first prominent Black director in the United States. Micheaux independently directed and produced over 44 silent and sound films, and Body and Soul is one of only three of his silent films to survive. And the great Paul Robeson is utterly captivating here, playing a dual role as two estranged twin brothers. [available as part of a 4-DVD box set - Paul Robeson: Portraits of the Artist]
Editor’s Note: Couldn’t find a trailer from 1925, but here’s our hero, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., introducing Oscar Micheaux on one of my favorite Youtube channels - Black History in Two Minutes (or so):
Daughters of the Dust (1991) – directed by Julie Dash
This is honestly one of my favorite films of all time. A cinematic masterpiece, Daughters of the Dust is the first feature film directed by an African-American woman to receive a wide theatrical release. This poetic, matriarchal tale about three generations of Gullah islanders is also one of the most beautiful, enchanting and profound films ever made. [currently streaming on The Criterion Channel]
Devil in a Blue Dress (1995) – directed by Carl Franklin
Denzel Washington shines as hard-boiled detective “Easy” Rawlins in this underrated neo-noir thriller. Based upon the mystery novel by Walter Mosley (who was also an associate producer on the film), director Carl Franklin expertly captures the tone of Mosley’s retro vision of 1948 Los Angeles. [available on Blu-ray]
Do the Right Thing (1989) – directed by Spike Lee
I’ve never been to Brooklyn, but I can still feel the heat of that hot summer day depicted in Spike Lee’s 1989 cinematic tour de force. After a discussion with Robert De Niro about a 1986 hate crime committed outside a pizza parlor in New York City, Lee wrote the screenplay in just two weeks. Controversial upon its initial release, Do the Right Thing is now generally considered one of the most important films of the decade. [available on Blu-ray & DVD]
A Dry White Season (1989) – directed by Euzhan Palcy
Marlon Brando came out of retirement to appear in this powerful denunciation of apartheid, joining a stellar cast including Donald Sutherland, Zakes Mokae and Susan Sarandon. Born in Martinique, Euzhan Palcy became the first Black woman to direct a major Hollywood studio film, as well as the only Black filmmaker to succeed in making an American feature film protesting apartheid during the 27 years of Nelson Mandela’s imprisonment. [available on Blu-ray & DVD]
Drylongso (1998) – directed by Cauleen Smith
Armed with a Polaroid camera, Pica Sullivan is a gifted young art student in Oakland whose photographs and handmade public shrines are documenting the loss of Black men in her community. And just like her eye-catching shrines, which are cobbled together from the scraps of whatever raw materials Pica can find, this brilliant indie film likewise has a handcrafted, DIY quality that manages to enhance the film’s poignant message. [available on Blu-ray & DVD, currently streaming on The Criterion Channel]
Eve's Bayou (1997) – directed by Kasi Lemmons
What a cast! Acting legends Samuel L. Jackson, Lynn Whitfield, Diahann Carroll and Debbi Morgan are the featured ensemble, alongside star Jurnee Smollett in her breakout role as Eve Batiste. The directorial debut of Kasi Lemmons, this Southern Gothic coming-of-age family drama, tinged with elements of magical realism, has scenes so potent that they still linger in my memory years after my first viewing. [available on Blu-ray]
Eyimofe (This Is My Desire) (2020) – directed by Arie Esiri and Chuko Esiri
The opening image is a tangled mass of interconnected electrical wires that look like they’re about to explode. The first lines of the film are a radio broadcast decrying the fact that Nigerian senators are paid more than the president of the United States. Thus begins this compelling portrait of Lagos, directed by twin brothers Arie and Chuko Esiri. In this character-driven neo-realist drama, we meet two struggling protagonists as they yearn to escape this city where currency is king and everything is a financial transaction. [available on Blu-ray & DVD, currently streaming on The Criterion Channel]
Farewell Amor (2020) – directed by Ekwa Msangi
Can a family stay together after living apart? What are the consequences of separation? In this riveting emotional tale of the contemporary immigrant experience, Tanzanian-American filmmaker Ekwa Msangi relates the different perspectives of father Walter (Ntare Mwine), mother Esther (Zainab Jah) and daughter Sylvia (Jayme Lawson), an Angolan family reunited for the first time in New York, where Walter has been working for the past 17 years. Three top-notch performances are combined with a flawless script, impeccable cinematography and a sensational soundtrack. [available on Blu-ray & DVD, currently streaming on The Criterion Channel]
Faya Dayi (2021) – directed by Jessica Beshir
A visual poem. A dreamlike reverie. A trance, a dance of smoke, shadows and light. This lyrical documentary by Mexican-Ethiopian director Jessica Beshir explores the complexities surrounding khat, a psychoactive plant which plays an important role in Ethiopia’s economy and culture. A decade in the making, every single frame of this black-and-white tableau is perfectly composed. Sheer aesthetic arrest. [available on Blu-ray & DVD, currently streaming on The Criterion Channel]
The Learning Tree (1969) – directed by Gordon Parks
Artistic polymath Gordon Parks wrote, directed, produced and even composed the entire musical score to this groundbreaking film based on his 1963 semi-autobiographical novel. One of the very first films to be chosen for preservation by the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” (The Learning Tree is undoubtedly all three), this moving account of Black teenagers growing up in 1920s Kansas is also the first film by a Black director for a major Hollywood studio. [available on Blu-ray & DVD]
Losing Ground (1982) – directed by Kathleen Collins
Overlooked for decades, Losing Ground never saw a theatrical release during its director’s lifetime. Kathleen Collins was a multi-talented filmmaker, author, playwright, poet, philosopher, activist and educator, who sadly died in 1988 at the age of 46. Restored and re-released in 2015 by her daughter Nina Lorez Collins (who has since edited her mother’s previously unpublished and equally impressive short stories), Losing Ground is now recognized as a massive achievement. In spite of its modest budget and lack of institutional support, the film’s nuanced portrayal of the complicated relationship between a philosophy professor and her painter husband is a luminous meditation on art, ideas, freedom, and the nature of cinema itself. [currently streaming on The Criterion Channel]
Check back in two weeks for the rest of the list! And if you’d like to celebrate Black History Month through the lens of contemporary art, have a look at my article from last February:
