Independent. Avant-Garde. Cult. Underground. Sticks and stones.


Black cinema for college courses/libraries



If you are teaching film or video at a college, whether history or theory or production, here is some Black cinema beyond the mainstream. This is a starter list to get things going. Once you begin the research, you’ll find a whole universe.


Indie and avant cinema - films and videos, shorts and features and art projects. Most of these are educational sale prices, of course colleges are going through tough budget times, but these filmmakers are worth the extra effort. Many should be on Kanopy too.





Info on the L.A. Rebellion filmmakers, starting in the 60s and 70s, including Charles Burnett, Larry Clark, Julie Dash, Zeinabu Irene Davis, Haile Gerima, Billy Woodberry and more:


Milestone Films
Bless Their Little Hearts (Woodberry)
Killer of Sheep (Burnett)
My Brother’s Wedding (Burnett)
Losing Ground (Kathleen Collins, recently rediscovered by audiences)


Julie Dash
Praise House (short)
Daughters of the Dust


Zeinabu Irene Davis
Compensation
Her doc on the LA Rebellion film scene:


Haile Gerima’s bookstore and cafe with DVDs available




some distributors =


Grasshopper Film 
Khalik Allah 
Black Mother


Kevin Jerome Everson
Erie


Akosua Adoma Owusu
Multiple shorts


Leilah Weinraub
Shakedown


Billy Woodberry
And When I Die I Won’t Stay Dead


more from Grasshopper on African-American studies


Video Databank
Ephraim Asili
multiple films


Kevin Jerome Everson
multiple films


First Run Features
Cheryl Dunye
The Watermelon Woman
multiple shorts


Thomas Allen Harris
Through A Lens, Darkly





And more filmmakers


Rodney Evans
multiple films


William Greaves
Symbiopsychotaxiplasm


Wendell B. Harris Jr.
Chameleon Street is getting restored now, new release announcement soon


Kahlil Joseph


Kalup Linzy
multiple films


Terence Nance
An Oversimplification Of Her Beauty


Marlon Riggs
Tongues Untied and more


Dee Rees
Pariah


RaMell Ross
Hale County This Morning, This Evening


____


BAM series on Black female directors


Black Cinema has always been here