Annotated Filmography
Black is— Black Ain't a Personal Journey through Black Identity. Prod., dir., and eds. Marlon T. Riggs, Nicole Atkinson, and Christiane Badgley. DVD. San Francisco: California Newsreel, 1995. This film jumps into the middle of explosive debates over Black identity. It is a film every African American should see, ponder and discuss. An online facilitator guide is available for this title. Color.xv
Borom Sarret/Black Girl. Writ., and dir. Ousmane Sembene. VHS. Armonk: Cine Magnetics Video, 1964. The first film makes excellent satirical points on the class divide, focusing on one taxi cart driver. It is a 20-minute film and it is excellent. B&W.xvi The second film is a 60 minutes tragedy of colonization.
Claudine. Dir. John Berry, Prod. Hannah Weinstein. DVD. Beverly Hills: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2002. This movie was released right smack in the middle of the classic "Blaxploitation" era but is a definite departure from that genre. It is a movie about a single Black woman and her family sticking together through life's obstacles. Color.
Color Purple, The. Prod., and dir. Steven Spielberg. VHS. Burbank: Warner Bros., 1991. This film follows the life of Celie, a young black girl growing up in the early 1900's. The first time we see Celie, she is 14 - and pregnant - by her father. We stay with her for the next 30 years of her tough life. Color.
Daughters of the Dust. Prod., writ., and dir. Julie Dash. VHS. New York: Kino International, 1999. Story of a large African-American family as they prepare to move North from the Sea Islands off the coast of Georgia at the dawn of the 20th century. Color.
Duke is Tops, The/ Bronze Venus, The. Dir. William L. Nolte, Writ. Phil Dunham. USA: Million Dollar Production, Inc., 1938. The film was one of a number of low budgeted musicals made in the 1930s and 1940s for the African-American market. The casts and production teams of these films were almost all black, and the music reflected current tastes in jazz and rhythm and blues. B&W.
Fathers. Prod. Magicworks. VHS. San Francisco: California Newsreel, 2000. Each of these three films offers a critical look at the relationships between fathers and their children in contemporary Africa. In The father, the patriarch in question is ultimately the military dictatorship, which terrorized Ethiopia in the '70s and '80s. Surrender shows the traditional face of paternal tyranny, a father controlling his son's life. A Barber's Wisdom shows a modern father who compromises his children in his relentless pursuit of money. Color.
Green Pastures, The. Dir. Marc Connelly and William Keighley. VHS. Burbank: Warner Bros., 1936. The film portrays episodes from the Old Testament as seen through the eyes of an African-American child, who interprets The Bible in terms familiar to her. All of the Biblical characters were played by African-American actors, even God. Heaven is set on what looks like a southern plantation. B&W.
Hyenas. Writ., and dir. Djibril Diop Mambéty. DVD. Senegal: Kino Video, 1992. A once-prosperous Senegalese village has been falling further into poverty year by year until the village's elders are reduced to selling town possessions to pay debts. Linguère, a former resident and local beauty, now very rich, returns to this, the village of her birth. The elders hope that she will be a benefactor to the village. The plot takes a magnificent and unexpected twist bringing human folly and cynicism into sharp focus. This is a film adaptation of Friedhrich Durrėnmatt's play, The Visit. Color.
Imitation of Life. Dir.Douglas Sirk, Edit, Milton Carruth. VHS. Universal City: MCA Universal Home Video, 2001. It is a remake of the 1934 version of the film. The story was considerably altered so that the black housekeeper helps her white employer achieve fame as an actress instead of an entrepreneur. Color.
Imitation of Life. Dir. John M. Stahl, Prod. Carl Laemmle, Writ. Fannie Hurst. VHS. Universal City: Universal Home Video, 1998. The film was released by Universal Pictures on November 26, 1934, and later re-issued in 1936. This film marked the first time in cinema history that a black woman's problems were given significant emotional weight in a major Hollywood motion picture. B&W.
Killer of Sheep. Dir. Charles Burnett. VHS. New York: Third World Newsreel, 1978. The film depicts the culture of urban African-Americans. It is considered an alternative to "Blaxploitation" films. B&W.
Keita: The Heritage of the Griot. Director: Dani Kouyaté. DVD. San Francisco: California Newsreel, 1994. Keita makes the case for an "Afrocentric" education, where African tradition, not imported Western curricula is the necessary starting point for African development. Accompanying this film in the classroom, use the epic of old Mali, Sundiata.
La Petite Vendeuse de Soleil/ The Little girl who Sold The Sun. Prod., and dir. Djibril Diop Mambéty, Ed., Silvia Voser. VHS. San Francisco: California Newsreel, 1999. This is a dramatic story of a young disabled girl who survives by selling newspapers in Senegal. A wonderful film, students will enjoy it. The language spoken is Wolof with English subtitles. B&W.
Mama Africa. Dir. Bridget Pickering, Ngozi Onwurah, and Zulfah Otto-Sallies. DVD. New York: Wellspring Media, Inc., 2002. There are three African shorts included. The introductory narration and between each short is done by Queen Latifah. There is excellent ethical topic material for any classroom that students will be able to relate to and discuss. Color.
Scar of Shame. Dir. Frank Perugini. VHS. Philadelphia: Colored Players Film Corp., 1926. The film is one of the earliest examples of race movies, in which an entirely Black cast (with the aid of white filmmakers) performed a feature film specifically for a black audience. The story shows lower-class characters and servants as having darker skin tones while the well-read intellectuals in the film are somewhat lighter (special lighting was used to make their skin even "whiter" than usual). B&W.
Symbol of the Unconquered. Prod., writ., and dir. Oscar Micheaux. Charlotte: Micheaux Film Corp., 1920. Racists learn that the land a Black family owns lies over a vast oil field, and threaten his life when he refuses to sell. This film was created in an answer to D.W. Griffith's 1915 film, Birth of a Nation. B&W.
Within Our Gates. Prod., writ., and dir. Oscar Micheaux. Micheaux Book and Film Corp., 1920. Abandoned by her fiancé, an educated Black woman with a shocking past dedicates herself to helping a near bankrupt school for impoverished Black youths. B&W.
Xala/ The Curse. Dir., and writ. Ousmane Sembene. DVD. New York: New York Films, 2005. In a mythical African country, a rich, self-made businessman and member of the post-colonial, ruling elite takes on a third wife to show the world his wealth, only to be stricken by a curse resulting in impotency. His efforts at getting cured lead to disastrous yet comical results. Color.
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