Movies

Next in our series of Black-directed film is the 1969 bildungsroman The Learning Tree by Gordon Parks. Parks was an artistic polyglot - poet, composer, director, photographer; he based this film of Black youth in 1920’s Kansas off his own semi-autobiographical novel. Run time: 107 minutes.

The third film in our series is the poetic Daughters of the Dust about generational change within the Gulla culture (an ethnic group off the coast of South Carolina). From 1991 and directed by Julie Dash it was the first theatrically released film directed by a Black woman and remains a distinctive work of art…

Last, but certainly not least, is Jordan Peele’s masterful creepfest Get Out from 2017. Super genre literate, smart and conscious, darn-near formally perfect, and a true roller coaster ride; this film will make you laugh, shriek, squirm, and think! Not all is as it seems when Chris visits his white girlfriend’s family in Upstate New…

Disney's first movie to feature an African American heroine, Tiana. The New Orleans-set story is a spin on the classic fairy tale about the princess who finds true love. Rated G. Runtime: 97 minutes

Are you KENough for the final film in our Great Motion Pictures Directed by Women series? Greta Gerwig’s Barbie (2023) was many things: an absurdist phantasmagoria, a cultural moment, a Mattel-tie-in popular-toy picture, and (perhaps most surprising of all) a truly righteous hail mary of feminist discourse! Perfectly cast, impeccably designed, whip-smart and arrestingly hilarious.…

An animated Disney musical set in Colombia and featuring Mirabel Madrigal (voiced by Stephanie Beatriz), the youngest granddaughter in a family that protects their enchanted village with the magical powers they've had for two generations. PG/99 minutes 

This May, we're celebrating the art of animation in a new film series! First up is Walt Disney's Pinocchio, a groundbreaking achievement in animation in 1940 and a still unrivaled masterpiece of the form. This enduring fantasy classic has transported viewers of all ages for generations. Just watch out for that whale! Runtime: 88 minutes,…

The next film in our Masterworks of Animation series is 1995's Ghost in the Shell. An early anime export and a seminal piece of cyberpunk fiction, Mamoru Ishii's Ghost in the Shell frequently takes top slots in best-of-animation lists. Like most great cyborg lit, the sci-fi opus concerns itself with existential questions about what it…