Spotlight
Wondering which films to watch? Spotlight presents thematically grouped, must see films, hand-picked by Fandor's curators.
Black American Cinema
Fandor celebrates Black History Month with a collection of films that represent a truly unique American experience.
From documentaries on unsung heroes to exciting and well-crafted narratives featuring prolific African-American directors, this spotlight is extensive yet still barely scratches the surface on the diversity and availability of black films. But it's a start.
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Selected Films
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Black Roots
Lionel Rogosin took the fight for equality to his homeland with his astonishing fourth feature BLACK ROOTS. The extraordinary cast, including Reverend Frederick Douglass Kirkpatrick, attorney and feminist activist Florynce "Flo" Kennedy, musicians Jim Collier, Wende Smith, Larry Johnson and...Watch Movie
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Solomon Northup's Odyssey
To be a free man and a man with a trade, was a lot to be proud of for a Black man in 19th Century America. Solomon Northup was such a man. Then, one fateful day, his good life and all his dreams came to a crashing halt. Solomon Northup was kidnapped and carried off into...Watch Movie
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The Watermelon Woman
Cheryl Dunye's debut feature is as controversial as it is sexy and funny. Cheryl is a twenty-something black lesbian working as a clerk in a video store while struggling to make a documentary about Fae Richards, an obscure black actress from the 1930's. Cheryl is surprised to...Watch Movie
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A Band Called Death
Punk before punk existed, three teenage brothers in the early '70s formed a band in their spare bedroom, began playing a few local gigs and even pressed a single in the hopes of getting signed. But this was the era of Motown and emerging disco. Record companies found Death's...Watch Movie
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The Jena 6
Jena, LA: in a small town in Louisiana, six families are fighting for their sons' lives. Two nooses are left as a warning to black students trying to integrate their playground, fights break out across town, a white man pulls a shotgun on black students, someone burns down most of their school,...Watch Movie
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Whitewash
When Helene Angel walks home from school with her older brother she is attacked by a street gang and painted white. The effect on Helene and her family is devastating. Helene locks herself in her room, her brother blames himself for not having successfully defended his sister, and the media...Watch Movie
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An Oversimplification of Her Beauty
With arresting insight, vulnerability and a delightful sense of humor, AN OVERSIMPLIFICATION OF HER BEAUTY utilizes a mix of live action and animation to capture the relationship between Terence (Nance) and a lovely young woman (Namik Minter) as it teeters on the divide...Watch Movie
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Welcome to Pine Hill
WELCOME TO PINE HILL is an extension of Miller’s earlier short film PRINCE/WILLIAM about an unexpected encounter surrounding a lost dog. Blurring the line between documentary and fiction, PINE HILL follows that short’s protagonist Shannon, a reformed drug dealer who is now an...Watch Movie
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Little Brown Boy
For his follow-up to MY JOSEPHINE, Barry Jenkins turned to an issue closer to his Florida home in the early 2000s: the spate of young black boys being tried as adults for the gunshot deaths of other kids. But this is no crime drama. There is no trial in this short film and the...Watch Movie
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The Bad Bunch
Violence and racial tension punctuate this fast moving study of prejudice and discrimination. THE BAD BUNCH is the story of a black gang who run the streets of Watts. It is also the story of Jim (played by director/screenwriter Greydon Clark), a white man who tries to befriend them. Prejudice...Watch Movie
