African Odysseys

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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).

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

Rick Elgood and the legendary Don Letts direct this reggae romance about a rasta musician whose affair with a gospel-singing preacher’s daughter causes a stir in Kingston.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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