By Imara Ikhumen
There is a subjective nature to my use of the word “underrated”. I don’t technically have an accurate perspective on what everyone knows. Still, in film school, in theaters, and in general film conversation, it seems that most people have not heard of these movements*, and even fewer people have been exposed to their histories. The following film movements may be less well-known by the general public, but that does not reflect their importance to the film world and to society itself. If you do decide to explore any of these further, I encourage you to share them with your friends and loved ones. Let’s increase visibility of Black and African cinema.
*{For those who are unsure: A film movement is a collection of films and filmmakers who are connected by the usage of the same themes, inspirations, storytelling methods, and often, their goal behind the filmmaking. Movements usually have a distinguishable time period because they are heavily influenced by the societal era that precedes them.}
The LA Rebellion
The LA Rebellion is a film movement that originated at UCLA. Coming off of the intensity of the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, and the Watts Uprising, students of color at UCLA who came into the newly invented Ethno-Communications division of the Film & TV program began to fight back in their own artistic fashion. Drawing inspiration from the Latin American Third Cinema Movement, these young filmmakers sought to change the way that black people were portrayed on screen, sometimes incorporating experimental or ancestral (ex: oral tradition) methods of storytelling.
Time period: ~ Late 60s to Late 80s
Notable films/directors: Killer of Sheep (1978), Ashes & Embers (1982), A Different Image (1982); Julie Dash, Haile Gerima, Charles Burnett.
Source: https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/la-rebellion/story-la-rebellion
New Jack Cinema
The average person has heard of at least a few New Jack Cinema films, but probably most have not heard the term. It’s even difficult to find information about it on Google. New Jack Cinema is often referred to as the hip-hop gangster genre (or “hood movies”) from the late 80s to mid 90s. The blaxploitation era produced many iconic classics, but it also got it’s exploitative reputation because many of the films about black people and black communities were written and directed by white men for studio profit. The New Jack Cinema movement saw black filmmakers telling their own stories about poverty, violence, and will to survive, through the use of hip-hop/rap music; sometimes even casting timely rappers as the stars. Many of these films were partially inspired by classic gangster films like Scarface. Spike Lee was also a huge figure in New Jack Cinema, opting to call attention to community struggles through a more comedic, yet critical lens.
Time period: Late 80s to mid 90s
Notable films: Do the Right Thing (1989), New Jack City (1991), Boyz N the Hood (1991), Juice (1992), Menace II Society (1993) New Jersey Drive (1995).
Post-colonial Burkina Faso Cinema (“Burkina Faso’s Golden Age”)
Burkina Faso is a country in West Africa that was colonized by France from the late 1890s until 1960. Before 1960, there were no films made by local Burkinabé. All were made by colonizers. At this point, most if not all films were educational or ethnographical. In the early 1970, national distribution for films was increased by the Société Nationale Voltaïque du Cinéma, creating the foundation for a real film industry in Burkina Faso. Films like Tilai or “The Law”, written and directed by one of the most famous Burkinabê filmmakers, Idrissa Ouedraogo, concern themes of balancing societal laws with personal desire and individuality.
Time period: Early 1980s – 1990s
Notable films/directors: Silmandé – Tourbillon (1998); Fanta Régina Nacro, Idrissa Ouédraogo, Gaston Kaboré.
Source: https://www.cinemaescapist.com/2018/05/closer-look-burkinabe-cinema/
Post-colonial Mozambican Cinema
After Mozambique achieved independence from Portugal in 1975, the new president, Samora Machel established the National Film Institute (INC) in an effort to increase the strength of the nation. As a result, the film industry began to blossom quite quickly. With help from Brazil leaders of the Cinema Novo movement, INC set up training programs to usher in a new generation of filmmakers. During colonial times, film was mostly for the purpose of showreel and documentary. This new era started with the first feature film to come out of Mozambique, Mueda: memória e massacre (1979) (“Mueda: Memory and Massacre), directed by Ruy Guerra. Though it began in the late 70s, Mozambican Cinema has become even more prolific in the 21st century.
Time period: Late 1970s-present
Notable films/directors: Virgem Margarida (2013) (“Virgin Margarida”), O Gotejar da Luz (2002) (“Light Drops”), The Train of Salt and Sugar (2016).
Source: https://www.cinemaescapist.com/2018/05/closer-look-mozambican-cinema/
Black Race Pictures of the Silent Era
When we think of the Silent Era of film, it’s easy to default to Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton, mainly remembering the white contributors to black and white films. But as I have mentioned in other articles, there actually have been black people using film to speak out against oppression and negative portrayals of POC in early Hollywood since the beginning of film itself. William Foster and Oscar Micheaux were the first and some of the main early black filmmakers, but there were also Eloyce and James Gist who used film to make religious pieces for their church. Both short films and features came out of this period.
Time period: Late 1910s to Late 1920s
Notable films/directors: The Railroad Porter (1913), Mercy the Mummy Mumbled (1918), Regeneration (1923), Eleven P.M. (1928) ; Oscar Micheaux, Eloyce and James Gist.
Source: https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/black-voices-silent-cinema
Black Westerns of the Civil Rights Era
Admittedly, this does not perfectly fit the definition of a film movement. However, Black Western is a frequently overlooked genre. While it can be offensive or off-putting to some viewers for the usage of certain imagery and terminology that would now be recognized as slurs, it is also an important genre in black cinematic history because, during the period when westerns were popular among white Americans, black people were still being excluded from representation on screen. Black people have always deserved and needed to see ourselves in pictures as heroes and main characters. We deserve to have it confirmed in film that we are able to fit into the same stories as white characters if we want to, and we can put a spin on them too. Black Westerns successfully proved that. Even though I am focusing on the genre in the 60s and 70s, it originated in the 1930s. It is worth noting that during both of Black Western’s peak periods, many of these films were directed by white filmmakers.
Time period: Mid 60s to 70s
Notable black directors: Richard C. Kahn, Sidney Poitier, Gordon Parks, Gordon Parks Jr.
Source: https://www.criterionchannel.com/black-westerns
African Third Cinema
Third Cinema is actually a Latin American movement that began in the late 1960s. Third Cinema filmmakers shared common themes of protest against capitalism, colonialism, and the Hollywood model of filmmaking. Naturally, these themes resonated with filmmakers across the continent of Africa who suffered under similarly oppressive regimes or the remnants of said regimes. It is usually low-budget and politically driven. The essay which birthed Third Cinema stated the idea that for a film to be part of the Third Cinema that “for a film to be part of the Third Cinema the film could not be assimilated by the government”. Having in many cases been denied resources to get involved in the film industry under colonialism, this was something that many African filmmakers from Mozambique, Mauritania, Senegal, Chad, and other countries embraced thoroughly.
Time period: Late 70s to Early 2000s
Notable films/directors: Daratt (2006) (“Dry Season”); Med Hondo (Mauritania), Camilo de Sousa (Mozambique).
The Golden Years of Senegalese Cinema
Many people have heard of Sengalese Cinema in relation to Djibril Diop Mambéty and Ousmane Sembène. They are by far the most well-known filmmakers from the country and were also influenced by Third Cinema. However, there are other filmmakers from Senegal who tend to be overlooked in favor of Mambéty and Sembéne.
Time period: 1970s -1990s
Notable films/directors: Kaddu Beykat (1975); Ben Diogaye Bèye, Valerio Truffa, Safi Faye
