FWL Celebrates Black History Month
Cinema could not have been possible with the vast array of voices, cultures and histories that have intertwined to create it, and our catalogue is no exception.
This month, for Black History Month, Films We Like is amplifying uniquely Black voices, stories and narratives. Our #WhatWeLike Films of Black Excellence come from a wide range of documentaries about musicians and artists, political movements and intimate glimpses of family life.
revolution
Revolutionary Black films for your watching pleasure.
Black Panthers (1968)
Starting our collection is one of Agnès Varda's seminal early shorts, BLACK PANTHERS (1968), which turns the camera to an Oakland demonstration against the imprisonment of activist and Black Panther Huey P. Newton. A key event in Black liberation in the United States of America, Varda's empathetic eye allows us to feel the political power in this piece of history.
White Riot (2019)
Rubika Shah's documentary WHITE RIOT follows an important part of Black history in the UK. In Britain in 1976, as punk music exploded, the country became deeply divided over issues of race. Partly in opposition to racist statements made by well-known artists such as Eric Clapton and David Bowie, and partly due to the increasing support of the far-right National Front, whose slogan was "Keep Britain White", Rock Against Racism was established to unite young people who loved punk music in the face of racial discrimination. The musicians came from all pop music genres, something reflected in one of RAR's slogans: "Reggae, soul, rock'n'roll, jazz, funk and punk".
artistry
Films about Black artists who redefined art.
Bolden (2019)
A mythical, non-conventional, and narrative account of New Orleans cornetist Buddy Bolden (1877-1931), the "inventor" of jazz, whose recordings were lost after being committed to a psychiatric hospital at 30 years old.
Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child (2010)
Basquiat was a New York artist active in the late 70s and 80s who radically changed the world of art from conceptual and simple to loud, bold and neo-expressionist. His art was often social commentary on themes such as wealth disparity, class struggles, race, and the Black experience. He tragically passed away from a heroin overdose at 27, but remains one of the most influential 20th century artists in our time. THE RADIANT CHILD is centred on a rare interview that director and friend Tamra Davis shot with Basquiat over twenty years ago.
tunes
Music that originated from the Black community.
Rocksteady: The Roots of Reggae (2009)
Rocksteady is a music style that developed in Jamaica in the late sixties of the last century and is the ultimate predecessor and foundation of Reggae. This documentary travels back to the roots of Reggae to Kingston, the capital of Jamaica, to celebrate the artists and musicians that created this funky genre of music.
I Am the Blues (2015)
Blues music originated from the American deep south by African-Americans, inspired by traditionally African work songs and spiritual tunes. Frequently associated with the end of slavery and the embracing of the freedom after abolitionism in the United States, Blues music is inextricable from Black history. I AM THE BLUES travels the back roads with the last of the blues legends, on a musical journey through the swamps of the Louisiana Bayou, the juke joints of the Mississippi Delta and Moonshine soaked BBQs in the North Mississippi Hill Country.
community
Snapshots of everyday people in the Black community.
Hale County This Morning, This Evening (2018)
Composed of intimate and unencumbered moments of people in a community, HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING allows the viewer an emotive impression of the Historic South. Photographer and filmmaker RaMell Ross employs nonfiction filmmaking and stereotypical imagery to fill in the gaps between individual black male icons. This poetic film is a lyrical innovation to the form of portraiture that boldly ruptures racist aesthetic frameworks that have historically constricted the expression of Black men on film.
Quest (2017)
Filmed with vérité intimacy for over a decade, QUEST is the moving portrait of an African-American family living in North Philadelphia. Christopher “Quest” Rainey, along with his wife Christine’a, aka “Ma Quest,” open the door to their home music studio, which serves as a creative sanctuary from the strife that grips their neighborhood.
Find out where to watch all of these titles and more in our #WeLikeFilms Collection.
FWL’s #BLACKEXCELLENCE COLLECTION
About Films We Like
Founded by award-winning documentary filmmaker Ron Mann (Grass, Comic Book Confidential, Carmine Street Guitars) Films We Like is a boutique distributor of documentary, independent, and international films in Canada. Recent releases include Drive My Car, The Jump, and Wife of a Spy.