Shadows Fall North

52 Blocks: Show and Prove

2007

As beautiful and sleek as it is deadly, 52 Blocks merits special conservation efforts as the United States' only existing native martial culture, as it is indeed, the jazz of the martial arts world. Across the African diaspora, there are manifestations of African-derived warrior-dances, capoeira in brazil, mani in Cuba, ladja in Martinique, pinge in Haiti- yet the US offshoot has remained esoteric, because it was suppressed throughout slavery, Reconstruction and Jim Crow and then obscured in the criminal justice system. The history, interviews and training of the martial arts style that created Breakdance and boxing greats like Mike Tyson.

Beneath Camp Ian

Ian loves camp. 2011 marks his seventh year at William Lawrence Camp in New Hampshire, USA. After many summers as a camper, 2011 was his first year as a full camp counselor. Ian's love and enthusiasm for his summer retreat are unrivaled. How will he adapt to the demands of his new role?

Midnight Ramble

1994 · ★ 7.3

A documentary chronicling the pioneering efforts of black filmmaker William D. Foster in the early years of the industry and Oscar Micheaux's controversial impact on the subsequent "race movies".

Follow the Drinking Gourd

2019

FOLLOW THE DRINKING GOURD is a feature documentary about the Black food justice movement. Family-friendly, funny, and moving, this 60-minute film connects the legacy of slavery, land loss, and climate change to our fight for food security.

Malcolm X

1992 · ★ 7.6

A tribute to the controversial black activist and leader of the struggle for black liberation. He hit bottom during his imprisonment in the '50s, he became a Black Muslim and then a leader in the Nation of Islam. His assassination in 1965 left a legacy of self-determination and racial pride.

Memórias da Chibata

2006

Juca, a black kid, sees his friends and his mother being hit by his stepfather, without being able to do anything against it, but when he knows that he is the great-grandson of João Cândido, the leader of the sailors rebellion against the chibata hits adopted by Brazilian Navy till 1910, he takes an extreme attitude towards changing the course of his life.

Spartacus

1960 · ★ 7.5

The rebellious Thracian Spartacus, born and raised a slave, is sold to Gladiator trainer Batiatus. After weeks of being trained to kill for the arena, Spartacus turns on his owners and leads the other slaves in rebellion. As the rebels move from town to town, their numbers swell as escaped slaves join their ranks. Under the leadership of Spartacus, they make their way to southern Italy, where they will cross the sea and return to their homes.

Apocalypto

2006 · ★ 7.7

Set in the Mayan civilization, when a man's idyllic presence is brutally disrupted by a violent invading force, he is taken on a perilous journey to a world ruled by fear and oppression where a harrowing end awaits him. Through a twist of fate and spurred by the power of his love for his woman and his family he will make a desperate break to return home and to ultimately save his way of life.

The Warrior

2001 · ★ 7

In 1375, China was in chaos between Yuan Dynasty and Ming Dynasty. Coryo (an ancient kingdom of Korea then) sent a delegation of many diplomats, soldiers and a silent slave to make peace with the new Chinese government. However, this delegation got charged as spies and sent in exile to a remote desert.

The Myth of the Black Woman

2023 · ★ 8

The Myth of the Black Woman is a feature-length documentary that examines the imagery of black women in the media, from the 18th century black slave to Michelle Obama. It is an investigation into how stereotypes originate from slavery and still affect the lives of black women in Quebec. These stereotypes include Jezebel (the seductress, the femme fatale); Mammie (the obese woman, the asexual mother figure) and Sapphire (the angry, ambitious and arrogant black woman). This story will be told by black women on whom stereotypes have a high impact, through interviews with fascinating experts, and through archival footage from centuries past to the present.

That World Is Gone: Race and Displacement in a Southern Town

2010

Kathy's family left on a Saturday morning in 1965. The rumble of bulldozers echoed through the neighborhood, and her block was empty. Federally-funded urban renewal had arrived in Charlottesville, scattering dozens of families like Kathy's. The once-vibrant African American community, built by formerly enslaved men and women who had secured a long-denied piece of the American dream, disappeared.

Stonebreakers

2022 · ★ 7

In a year of uprisings and political unrest, Stonebreakers documents the fights around monuments in the United States and explores the shifting landscapes of the nation's historical memory.