African Odysseys

An HIV+ mother has a chance to turn her life around when she's offered a market stall, in Leanne Welham's extraordinary drama.

A fostered Nigerian boy growing up in Essex loses all sense of identity and joins a racist skinhead gang. Actor Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Oz, Lost) directs this powerful drama based on his own, extraordinary upbringing.

An impoverished Miami preacher is lured into terrorism by the FBI, in the latest explosive satire from comedy genius Chris Morris.

Budding writer Ayanna’s life is transformed over the course of one hot Harlem summer, when a handsome and mysterious stranger walks into her life.

Aretha Franklin, at the height of her powers, returns to the music which nurtured her prodigious talent.

Unravelling the aftermath of a police killing of a black man - and how it affects the lives of three separate individuals. With John David Washington (BlacKkKlansman).

In his thrilling directorial debut, Idris Elba brings to life Victor Headley’s cult crime novel.

A mild-mannered call centre operator whizzes up the corporate ladder after he discovers a unique ability to adopt a "white voice" in writer-director Boots Riley's breathlessly inventive satire.

Spike Lee's stunning crime drama tells the stranger-than-fiction true story of an African-American police officer who infiltrated the KKK in the 1970s.

After being released from prison, a young African American woman goes in search of her father.

Cynthia Erivo gives a show-stopping turn as the American revolutionary anti-slavery heroine Harriet Tubman in Kasi Lemmons' biopic.

While on probation, a man begins to re-evaluate his relationship with his volatile best friend, in this electrifying Sundance hit.

Stunning revelations and captivating reminiscences paint a picture of the extraordinary life of singer Whitney Houston, in this in-depth portrait by acclaimed filmmaker Kevin MacDonald (Touching the Void, Marley).

Paul Laverty (I, Daniel Blake) scripts this inspiring biopic of Carlos Acosta, and his journey from a run-down Havana neighborhood to becoming the first black principal dancer of The Royal Ballet.

Grace Jones is laid bare in this intimate and electrifying insight into the fascinating world of a pop-cultural phenomenon.

Satirical horror and astute social commentary combine in Jordan Peele’s seat-gripping suspense thriller, starring Daniel Kaaluuya.

The story of how one of the 20th century's most important artists emerged from the post-punk, b-boy and graffiti scenes of late '70s New York.

Documentary titan Nick Broomfield turns his gaze to the troubled pop star whose sensational voice masked an inner identity crisis.

Nancy Buirski's vital documentary revisits an unjustly forgotten chapter of American history; the story of an immensely brave woman who refused to be silenced.

Australian director Warwick Thornton (Samson and Delilah) brings a vital Indigenous perspective and great cinematic vision to this powerful, revisionist Western, with Sam Neill and Bryan Brown.

John Boyega excels as the security guard caught up in a violent conflagration during the riots of 1967, in Kathryn Bigelow's blistering thriller.

Street-smart Hackney comedy about three friends whose unexpected cash windfall funds the mother of all parties; from the talents behind YouTube hit Mandem on the Wall.

This smart, sophisticated, Sundance-nominated romance follows the first date of a couple who would go on to change the world – Barack and Michelle Obama.

Raoul Peck’s penetrating and acclaimed documentary reconstructs an unfinished manuscript by James Baldwin, chronicler of America’s Civil Rights Movement.

The remarkable story of Jesse Owens, the grandson of a slave whose athletic feats defied Nazi ideology at the 1936 Olympics.

Amma Assante (Belle) directs this impassioned drama starring David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike depicting an interracial romance that changed the world.

Winner of the 2017 Oscar for Best Picture (eventually!), Barry Jenkins’ intoxicating drama follows the furtive life of a gay black boy through 80s Miami.

This urgent, impassioned documentary follows a new generation of Black activists as they fight for social and political change in London and beyond.

After being released from prison following a murder charge, Sam Peel (Noel Clarke) attempts to reboot his life and seek redemption.

A decade after the release of Adulthood, Sam (Noel Clarke) is trying to keep his family safe while simmering old grudges threaten to resurface.

In the wake of the London riots, teenager Jamie (Letitia Wright) finds herself at a crossroads; until music offers an unexpected path to salvation.

Spike Lee’s bold and vivacious hip-hop musical restages an ancient Greek battle-of-the-sexes in 21st-century Chicago.

Star-crossed lovers from rival street gangs conduct an illicit affair in this pulsating urban romance.

Toni, an eleven year-old tomboy, finds a new purpose when an epidemic of seizures strikes her dance class, in this riveting and psychological character portrait from filmmaker Anna Rose Holmer.

David Oyelowo’s stunning performance as Martin Luther King Jr. adorns this gripping account of the campaign that changed the course of American civil rights.

Five stories of forbidden desire, courageously collected to tell the hidden truths of LGBT life in Kenya.

Kim Longinotto’s inspirational documentary about Brenda, a Chicagoan charity worker who helps vulnerable prostitutes leave the industry.

Jamie Foxx won an Oscar for his extraordinary performance as Ray Charles, in a film that revived the potency of the musical biopic.

OutKast’s André Benjamin stars as Jimi Hendrix on the cusp of greatness, honing his act in Swinging London, in this revealing and alternative take on the rock biopic.

Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender star in Steve McQueen’s fearless, Oscar-winning story of a free man who’s sold into slavery.

This moving documentary shines a spotlight on the backing singers behind some of the great musical hits of the 21st century.

A former child soldier in Congo, now living in London, witnesses a crime and is drawn into a violent world he'd hoped to leave behind.

Disturbing but deeply stylish South African drama about a teacher who becomes obsessed with an under-age pupil in his class, with tragic consequences.

A documentary charting twelve years in the career of Savile Row tailor Ozwald Boateng.

Set in a Deep South delta, Zeitlin’s feature debut takes a child’s eye view of poverty, adult apathy and ecological crisis. Hallucinatory fare

Gregory’s Doran’s innovative Shakespeare interpretation transplants the action to post-independence Africa.

Thandie Newton and Chiwetel Ejiofor star in the acclaimed adaption of the Orange Prize-winning novel.

John Akomfrah mixes archive material, literary and musical quotations and newly shot silent footage in a wry, rapt meditation on memory and migration.

Inspiring true story of a Kenyan man who returned to school aged 84. With Oliver Litondo and Naomie Harris.

An ensemble cast including Janet Jackson and Whoopi Goldberg bring to life Ntozake Shange's extraordinary 1975 play about the experiences of black women.

Idris Elba’s kickstarted his Hollywood film career as a mechanic trying to win back his kids’ custody, in this melodrama from black auteur Tyler Perry.

A high-flying black professional finally finds the man of her dreams, only for her family to disapprove because he’s a white guy.

The legendary Don Letts directs this reggae romance about a rasta musician whose affair with a gospel-singing preacher’s daughter causes a stir in Kingston.

A portrait of Rastafarians living in Tottenham at the start of the new millennium.

David Oyelowo makes his first feature film role as one of posse of DJs who enrage a local drug baron after stealing his dog.

Malcolm D. Lee set the standard for middle-class black comedy with this smart, chic feature about a best man whose indiscreet novel scuppers the wedding plans.

Neeta and her crew rise to dancehall fame in North West London's Caribbean community, in the first Black British musical.

Animated awakening: a young black man in an oppressive urban environment finds a new outlook by embracing his African roots

Samuel L. Jackson stars in this seething slice of Southern Gothic, about the travails of a Louisiana family bedevilled by infidelity, incest and witchcraft.

Tupac Shakur’s penultimate film is his most impressive; a darkly humorous drama in which he takes a daring role as a heroin addict.

Whoopi Goldberg plays an investment banker forced to invent a male superior in this unjustly forgotten, feminist workplace satire.

What do you do when a Hollywood star makes a film in your neighbourhood? Nick his chair, of course!

A ferocious dystopian nightmare, this was the first film directed by a Black British woman to receive a UK theatrical release.

A sweet tale about a young girl who moves to London after 11 years living with her Jamaican grandmother.

The first black recruit in his squad, rookie cop J.J. Johnson (Michael Boatman) struggles to adapt to life on the force, in this thrilling drama from acclaimed director Charles Burnett (Killer of Sheep).

The Hughes brothers' lean, powerful and unflinching look at the mean streets of the urban ghetto.

Rap legends Ice Cube and Ice-T share a screen for the first time as gang members facing off against firemen hunting for a stash of gold.

When a young black wide-boy rescues a rich white girl from a heroin overdose – and falls for her – he’s drawn into a world of high-class crime.

Moving drama about three close friends forever tied to a dark secret from their teenage past.

Experimental monologue about the trauma of racial harassment and self-hate that accompanies growing up mixed-race in Britain.

The women of Rastafari talk about their relationship to the movement’s development.

Spike Lee’s awesome cinematic sucker-punch remains one of the great films about race relations.

Big Audio Dynamite’s Don Letts made his acting debut in this gripping, gritty 1990 drama of dreads, drugs, and music business corruption.

A cricketing comedy of manners exploring white and black stereotypes, from pioneering British filmmaker Horace Ové.

The Guyanese painter returns to his homeland on a “journey to the source of his inspiration”.

The gritty and ground-breaking drama debuted Britain’s first black TV cop, with George William Harris as the CID officer embroiled in a drug war.

Second episode of the provocative detective drama starring George William Harris.

Continuing the gritty and ground-breaking drama featuring Britain’s first black TV detective.

This documentary by Menelik Shabazz (Burning an Illusion) about the response to the New Cross Fire in 1981 prefigures the widespread social unrest later that year.

The concluding episode of the pioneering black detective series.

Radical resistance in the postwar British Caribbean community, from the 1948 Nationality Act to the 1958 Brixton riots.

Richard Pryor plays the everyman who inherits a vast estate with a massive catch: he’ll have to spend $30million in 30 days in order to inherit it all.

NYC becomes Oz in the cult, urban reimagining of the family favourite, featuring an all-African American cast including Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.

Richard Pryor and Harvey Keitel star in Paul Schrader’s great, gritty 1970s drama, one of the rare Hollywood films to tackle American labour.

Richard Pryor sets out on the road to redemption, as an ex-con ferrying a busload of troubled kids on a wild cross-country adventure.

Get Saturday night fever - North London style - with Patti Boulaye and Gerry Sundquist in this bubbly British disco drama.

You'll be delighted to meet Sid Williams and his six children, from Montpelier in Bristol, in this engaging documentary

British racism is discussed in the context of the class struggle in this powerful American documentary.

Vibrant documentary portrait of dub poet and activist Linton Kwesi Johnson, fighting racism with the spoken word on the streets of 1970s Brixton.

Richard Pryor, Bill Duke, Antonio Fargas are among the ensemble cast for the cult comedy set in a California car wash.

Gather around the campfire for one of the all-time great film comedies, Mel Brooks’ inspired and anarchic deconstruction of the cowboy film.

You know Seven Up, but have you heard of Sid's Trilogy? See life through Jamaican-born father Sid's eyes in this 70s doc

A white woman and her young grandson come face to face with a black uprising in Apartheid South Africa, in a tough short film by Stephen Frears.

A young gay couple’s relationship is put to the test as a road trip takes a sinister turn in Lloyd Reckord's daring underground short.

This Week reports from Birmingham and finds that slum housing affects all communities including local Irish, Pakistani and West Indian immigrants.

A fascinating, unsettling study of immigration in 1960s English cities.

Current affairs programme from Birmingham investigating the possible impact that immigration and racial prejudice may have on the upcoming election.

Remarkable interview with Malcolm X, spokesman for the Nation of Islam, about police brutality against black Muslims in LA

John Mills stars as a progressive union leader who is confronted with his own internal prejudices when his daughter brings her West Indian boyfriend home.

A young student with a secret is brutally murdered in this British Academy Award winning thriller about race, sex and jealousy.

Earl Cameron plays a naive Jamaican sailor who's dragged into a botched diamond robbery when trying to help a friend.

A progressive union boss is confronted with his family's prejudices when his daughter brings home her black boyfriend.

Featuring an all-star, all-African-American cast, Cabin in the Sky plays like a gospel reworking of Faust and the Wizard of Oz.

Spencer Williams feverish melodrama about a woman’s flirtation with Satan was independently produced out of Texas with an amateur cast and a budget of $5,000.

Deeply moving mining drama that provided the legendary American singer/actor Paul Robeson with his best British film role.

Oscar Micheaux directs the story of a Harvard graduate whose attempts to establish a rural school runs into opposition from both races.

A black London docker becomes a famous opera singer in this stirring musical drama starring Paul Robeson

By far the best film version of Oscar Hammerstein and Jerome Kern’s landmark stage show.

Paul Robeson made an auspicious film debut in a twin-role, in this key work from pioneering black filmmaker Oscar Micheaux.

Rarely-seen 1930s British musical about two African American travelling minstrels in search of entertainment work.

Oscar Micheaux’s startling silent classic – the earliest surviving feature from an African-American director – presents a fascinating black counterpoint to Griffith’s Birth of a Nation.