Wikipedia

Black Film Archive

Not to be confused with Indiana University Bloomington § Black Film Center/Archive.

Black Film Archive is an online database of Black films[1] released from 1898–1999 that are available to view via streaming platforms. The site was launched by Maya Cade in 2021.

Black Film Archive
Type of site
Film database
Available inEnglish
Country of originUnited States
Founder(s)Maya Cade
URLblackfilmarchive.com
Launched26 August 2021; 3 years ago (2021-08-26)

History

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Black Film Archive is a curated database of Black films released between 1898 and 1999 that are currently streaming on online platforms like YouTube, Netflix, and Tubi.[2] Some of the films are free to view due to public domain laws.[2] The site is inclusive of approximately 250 Black films as of its August 26, 2021 launch.[3] The films range in genre and are organized by decade.[2]

Maya Cade, the site's creator, is an American screenwriter and an audience editor for The Criterion Collection. The genesis for Black Film Archive came in June 2020, after Cade posted a viral Twitter thread of classic Black films amid the George Floyd protests, to provide solace and comfort to others.[4][5] She then began to research and assemble a database of Black films. She focused on historical selections in part because she has felt disconnected from modern Black cinema.[3] Cade intentionally limited the database to movies released up to 1979 because film studios heavily invested in Black cinema until the commercial failure of 1978's The Wiz.[2]

One of her goals for the archive was to introduce cinephiles to unfamiliar and alternative depictions of Black people and Black culture "whether people agree with the portrayals or not."[5] In putting together the archive, she selected films oriented to Black audiences and those with Black leads or Black production teams.[2] Part of her selection process was to determine whether people "need" a particular film and what it offers.[3] Certain films could not be included because they are not currently streaming, such as Killer of Sheep.[6]

Selections

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Some of the site's selections include:

In an interview with The New York Times, Cade cited these selections as her favorite films of each decade from the 1920s to the 1970s:[8]

Accolades

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Maya Cade has received the following awards and nominations:

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Black films" refers to films oriented to Black audiences and those with Black leads or Black production teams
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Metz, Nina (2021-09-02). "Newly launched Black Film Archive provides history and context to more than 200 Black films made from 1915 to 1979 that are currently streaming". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  3. ^ a b c Blay, Zeba (2021-09-29). "Maya Cade's Black Film Archive is just the beginning". Andscape. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  4. ^ "Maya Cade, Creator Of The Black Film Archive, On Making Black Cinema More Accessible". NPR.org. 2021-09-08. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  5. ^ a b c d Jackson, Nate (2021-09-19). "Black Film Archive revives an ignored history of cinema through streaming". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  6. ^ Minow, Nell (2021-09-22). "Something Significant to Say About the Black Experience: Maya Cade on the Black Film Archive". Roger Ebert. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  7. ^ a b Asmelash, Leah (2021-09-19). "The Black Film Archive wants to show the world just how limitless Black cinema really is". CNN. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  8. ^ Zornosa, Laura (2022-02-16). "Six Highlights From the Black Film Archive". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-02-19.
  9. ^ "Awards - New York Film Critics Circle - NYFCC". Retrieved 2021-12-08.
  10. ^ "2021 EDA AWARDS NOMINEES". Retrieved 10 December 2021.
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