Black Filmmakers Spotlight: Resources and Links

With the start of Black History Month, Film at Lincoln Center is proud to re-launch our month-long initiative that celebrates, showcases, and honors the extraordinary Black filmmakers and artists who have helped shape cinema and the larger cultural landscape. Throughout February, we’ll be sharing resources and engagement tools dedicated to putting the focus on Black voices from around the globe.

February Programming

Free Event: To Mr. Poitier, with Love | February 15, 7pm, Walter Reade Theater

Free Screening Honoring Sidney Poitier: To Sir With Love followed by a conversation about the legacy of Sidney Poitier and the figure of the Black movie star with scholars Racquel Gates, Michael Gillespie, and Samantha Sheppard, moderated by filmmaker and critic Tayler Montague. RSVP for free here.

Intimate Apparel | New Opera at Lincoln Center Theater

Click here for more details.

Social Sources

• “Filmmaker Spotlight” shines a light on exemplary directors.
  • Charles Burnett
  • Oscar Micheaux
  • Fanta Régina Nacro
  • Spike Lee
  • Ava DuVernay
  • Med Hondo
  • Barry Jenkins
  • Ephraim Asili
• “Film in Focus” presents notable works.
  • Camera d’Afrique
  • This is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection
  • In My Genes
  • Shorts by Akosua Adoma Owusu
  • Stones in the Sun
  • Strong Island
  • Time
• “From the Archives” features critical conversation starters from previous FLC filmmaker Q&As.
  • Woodie King, Jr. on The Long Night
  • Jessie Maple and Leroy Patton on Twice As Nice & Will

• Our “Community Corner” section on Twitter and Instagram offers a space for online dialogues with the FLC community.
  • What film from a Black director would you like more people to see?
  • What is your favorite Black love story in cinema?
  • What is your favorite documentary exploring Black history?

Filmmaker Conversations on Race and Black History

Explore our archive of interviews and Q&As with filmmakers including Spike Lee, Ava DuVernay, Steve McQueen, Barry Jenkins, Sam Pollard, Dee Rees, Yance Ford, and more discussing their films as they relate to the subject of race in America and the Black experience. 

Explore the playlist below or on YouTube.

Film Comment

Explore the Film Comment archives for additional reading, podcasts, and film criticism:

• Cutting Edge – Editor Joi McMillon on her approach to editing
• FC Podcast: Barry Jenkins on The Underground Railroad
• FC Podcast: Spike Lee’s Documentaries
• Close to Life: – Blair McClendon on Bill Gunn
• FC Podcast: The Maverick Movies of Melvin Van Peebles
• Last Exit – Kelli Weston on Zola
• FC Podcast: Wendell B. Harris on Chameleon Street
• Spike Lee interview on Do the Right Thing
• Julie Dash interview on 25 years of Daughters of the Dust
• Interview with Mbissine Thérèse Diop on Black Girl
• Tell It Like It Is: Black Independents in New York
• Anarchic Visions: Djibril Diop Mambéty
• Shedding Some Light – Barry Jenkins on films that inspired Moonlight
• Queer & Now & Then: 1991 – Michael Koresky on Marlon Riggs and Tongues Untied 

Offer Support Beyond Film at Lincoln Center

Support Black-led organizations and filmmaking initiatives:

• Upside Film Festival
• Seen Journal
• Harlem Film House
• Black Girl Film School
• Black Women Directors
• Brown Girls Doc Mafia
• The Black TV & Film Collective
• Black Film Space
• Black Documentary Collective
• ImageNation Cinema Foundation

Check back for more to come!