Black directors: Their defining films and impact on the industry
Celebrating the Black film director visionaries behind the lens who have challenged narratives, redefined genres, and transformed the landscape of cinema.
Black movie directors have always been at the forefront of the film scene, whether we’re talking about the golden age of cinema or more modern movie-making. But everyone knows Black filmmakers don’t always get the recognition they deserve, so here’s a shout-out to the best of the best.
Pioneers and early filmmakers
1. Charles Burnett (born 1944)
Charles Burnett is one of the earliest Black film directors on this list. He made his mark with experimental masterpieces like “Killer of Sheep” (1978) and “To Sleep with Anger” (1990). Despite long having been considered one of the greatest American filmmakers, Burnett’s movies are sorely underappreciated outside of the film school crowd. However, his work has been recognized by experts and critics with prizes like the MacArthur “Genius” Grant and the Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts.
2. Julie Dash (born 1952)
As the first African-American woman to have a feature film receive a wide theatrical release, Julie Dash is not only a certified trailblazer but also a highly decorated filmmaker. Two of her most impactful movies, “Illusions” (1982) and “Daughters of the Dust” (1991), have even been preserved by the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry for their significant contributions to American culture. Dash’s films are a must-see for anyone who wants to appreciate the long and diverse history of Black women in film.
3. Haile Gerima (born 1946)
Any list of top Black filmmakers would be incomplete without Haile Gerima. This groundbreaking Ethiopian director has lived and worked in the United States for decades. His best-known movies include “Ashes and Embers” (1982) and “Sankofa” (1993), which address the terrors of war and slavery, respectively, from the perspectives of Black characters. Fun fact: Gerima went to film school at UCLA with Charles Burnett, and the two have been friends ever since. Along with Julie Dash and other famous Black directors, they’re considered part of the L.A. Rebellion movement, which challenged conventional notions of what constitutes cinema and who could create it.
4. F. Gary Gray (born 1969)
If experimental filmmaking isn’t really your thing, you might prefer the work of F. Gary Gray, the cinematic mind behind crowd-pleasing movies like cult classic “Friday” (1995) and “Set It Off” (1996). Gray’s illustrious career began with shooting classic ’90s music videos, including Ice Cube’s “It Was a Good Day” and TLC’s “Waterfalls,” so you’re probably already familiar with at least a bit of his work. This Black film pioneer is still leading the box office with hits like “The Fate of the Furious” (2017) and “Straight Outta Compton” (2015).
5. Spike Lee (born 1957)
Like F. Gary Gray, Spike Lee is a long-reigning king of Black cinema. Lee might be one of the most famous names on this list of Black filmmakers. His work has defined the last few decades of Black cinema, with “Do the Right Thing” (1989), “Malcolm X” (1992), “Bamboozled” (2000) and “BlacKkKlansman” (2018). Lee’s stories usually revolve around ordinary Black folks in extraordinary situations and always deal with race from an inventive perspective.
6. Kasi Lemmons (born 1961)
Not all Black film directors limit their work to themes of race and identity. Kasi Lemmons has directed some of the most important movies about race ever made, from her debut “Eve’s Bayou” (1997) to the far more recent “Harriet” (2019). But as an actress, Lemmons has explored other narratives, playing Ardelia Mapp in “The Silence of the Lambs” (1991) and even appearing in American TV mainstays like “Walker, Texas Ranger” and “Murder, She Wrote.”
7. Gordon Parks (1912-2006)
Gordon Parks kicked off his career as a photojournalist, capturing the gritty reality of poverty and discrimination in the United States. Now he’s remembered for cementing the so-called blaxploitation genre with classics like “Shaft” (1971) and “Shaft’s Big Score” (1972). He even got his son into the genre. Gordon Parks Jr. directed “Super Fly” (1972) and three other films before tragically passing away in a plane crash in 1979.
8. John Singleton (1968-2019)
At just 24 years old, John Singleton was the youngest person and first Black person nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director, for his debut film “Boyz n the Hood” (1991). If you’ve seen any Black drama films from the 1990s, you’ve almost certainly run into this LA-born filmmaker. He also created “Poetic Justice” (1993) and “Baby Boy” (2001). Singleton’s nuanced portrayals of Black masculinity not only defined an era but opened doors to the film industry for numerous Black musicians, including Ice Cube, Janet Jackson and Tupac Shakur.
Trailblazers in modern cinema
1. Ryan Coogler (born 1986)
Ryan Coogler directed the smash hit superhero movie “Black Panther” (2018), which is still the highest-grossing film by a Black director in history. Coogler is also behind the “Creed” series of boxing films starring Michael B. Jordan, but his oeuvre isn’t all popcorn flicks. His directorial debut was the heart-wrenching critical darling “Fruitvale Station” (2013).
2. Mati Diop (born 1982)
Mati Diop is a Senegalese movie director and actress hailing from Paris, France. She made film history in 2019 when her debut feature film “Atlantics” (2019) became the first movie from a Black female director to compete for the prestigious Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. “Atlantics” is a supernatural romance, but this well-rounded filmmaker has also released a documentary called “Dahomey” (2024) about stolen Beninese artifacts.
3. Ava DuVernay (born 1972)
Ava DuVernay is probably the most prominent Black filmmaker of any gender in the entertainment industry right now. She’s been earning plaudits for her work since her career began. Her second movie, “Middle of Nowhere” (2012), won the director’s prize at the Sundance Film Festival. She was the first Black woman to receive the award. She continued making history with “Selma” (2014), the Martin Luther King Jr. biopic that made her the first Black woman to be nominated for Best Director at the Golden Globes. Even with these historic wins under her belt, the director shows no signs of stopping. She’s ventured into the documentary genre with the Netflix original “13th” (2016) and TV with “Queen Sugar” (2016) and “When They See Us” (2019).
4. Barry Jenkins (born 1979)
Barry Jenkins has been a mainstay of the indie film scene since his debut “Medicine for Melancholy” (2008) was nominated for Best First Feature at the Independent Spirit Awards. Nearly ten years later, Jenkins reached a much larger audience with the acclaimed drama “Moonlight” (2016), winner of Best Picture at that year’s Academy Awards. Jenkins continues to earn critical acclaim and audience praise with adaptations of seminal Black authors like James Baldwin (“If Beale Street Could Talk”) and Colson Whitehead (“The Underground Railroad”).
5. Steve McQueen (born 1969)
Steve McQueen made history with “12 Years a Slave” (2013), an adaptation of Solomon Northup’s memoir of the same name. This groundbreaking film made McQueen the first Black person to receive the Academy Award for Best Picture. It also provided actress Lupita Nyong’O a breakthrough role that would become her first Oscar-winning performance. This London-born director is also the only person to win both an Oscar and the Turner Prize, Britain’s highest honor for visual artists.
6. Jordan Peele (born 1979)
If you prefer genre films over dramas and biopics, you’ll definitely want to get familiar with Jordan Peele. The multitalented Black creator started out producing sketch comedy for Comedy Central and now directs movies that earn comparisons to all-time greats like Alfred Hitchcock and Steven Spielberg. Fans of horror and adventure films, or biting commentary of all kinds, are bound to be entertained by Peele’s films “Get Out” (2017), “Us” (2019) and “Nope” (2022).
7. Dee Rees (born 1977)
If “Moonlight” left you craving more Black queer storytelling, get to know Dee Rees. Rees is an out-and-proud lesbian whose coming-of-age drama “Pariah” (2011) was selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2022. The Nashville native also directed the HBO biopic “Bessie” (2015), about legendary queer blues singer Bessie Smith, and Netflix’s “Mudbound” (2017), an adaptation of Hillary Jordan’s novel of the same name.
Honoring the legacy of Black filmmaking
This list of famous Black filmmakers includes enough of their works to build a personal crash course in the history of Black cinema, but it doesn’t come close to covering the immense contributions of Black people worldwide to the world of film. There are plenty of other influential Black directors, like Nia DaCosta, Justin Simien, Albert and Allen Hughes and so many more.
Not done brushing up on the best in Black filmmaking? Check out the archives to learn more about established and up-and-coming Black directors and filmmakers.
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