For much of Hollywood’s history, Black women were limited to narrow, often demeaning roles and excluded from positions of creative control. This Black History Month, we pay homage to three trailblazing directors who challenged those boundaries with raw, revealing films that proved to the industry and audiences alike that they belong in the director’s chair
One of the first feature films directed by an African American woman, Kathleen Collins’s Losing Ground tells the story of a marriage between two remarkable people, both at a crossroads in their lives. Applying a deft comic touch to a deeply personal exploration of love, race, and gender, Collins crafts a charming, complex tale of personal discovery that, after decades of neglect, has reemerged as a still-fresh landmark of independent cinema.
Learn MoreA treasure of 1990s DIY filmmaking, Cauleen Smith’s Drylongso embeds an incisive look at racial injustice within a lovingly handmade buddy movie/murder mystery/romance. Capturing the vibrant community spirit of Oakland in the nineties, Smith crafts both a rare cinematic celebration of Black female creativity and a moving elegy for a generation of lost African American men.
Learn MoreA landmark of independent cinema, Compensation is Zeinabu irene Davis’s moving, ambitious portrait of the struggles of Deaf African Americans and the complexities of loving relationships at the bookends of the twentieth century. The film remains a groundbreaking story of inclusion and visibility that bears witness to the social forces and prejudices that stand in the way of love.
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