The Best Films To Watch For Black History Month
It’s Black History Month, and to mark the occasion we’ve collected some of the best films telling stories about Black experiences and history. From movies about worldwide historical figures such as Martin Luther King Jr, to an underrated gem about a Black family in Britain, these are all excellent watches this month to celebrate.
Selma
Telling the story of Martin Luther King Jr’s famous marches in Alabama, Selma released back in 2014 to acclaim from critics and was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar. David Oyelowo portrays King, as he campaigns tirelessly for the right for Black Americans to vote. Facing fierce racist backlash and the still discriminatory practices in the Southern states, he, his followers and other activists such as John Lewis (Stephan James) and Hosea Williams (Wendell Pierce) organise a march from the city of Selma to Alabama’s capital, Montgomery. The film follows the journey across a miles-long highway in vivid detail, and their actions reach all the way to the desk of President Lyndon Johnson (Tom Wilkinson).
Watch it on: Apple TV
Second Coming
An underrated drama, Second Coming is a British film about a Black British family in London as a woman becomes pregnant in unusual circumstances. Idris Elba plays Mark, the husband to social worker Jackie (Nadine Marshall), who discovers that she is pregnant and is sure it is not Mark’s child. The two of them have been consumed by life and work, as well as raising their son, and have not been intimate together in a while. However, Jackie says that she hasn’t been seeing anyone else and that she has no idea how it occurred- but Mark is hurt and furious. These strange circumstances along with unwanted side effects of the pregnancy cause a rift in the family and begin to affect Jackie’s mental state.
Watch it on: Channel 4, Amazon Prime Video
Belle
A period drama, Belle stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Dido Elizabeth Belle, the daughter of Royal Navy Captain Sir John Lindsay (Matthew Goode). Set in 18th century England, it’s partly based on the true historical figure Belle’s life. Her lineage and ancestry give her some privileges in life, but her skin colour is the source of prejudice from others in society which pushes her away from taking part in high society. She’s raised by her uncle, aristocrat Lord William Murray (Tom Wilkinson) who treats her as if she were his own child, alongside his wife Elizabeth (Emily Watson). Belle’s story is told as she becomes friends with other children but also faces some hostility, and worries that she will never be able to find love. Tom Felton, Sam Reid, Sarah Gadon and Miranda Richardson also star.
Watch it on: Disney+
Till
Mamie Till, an activist and educator, has her story told in this essential biopic from 2022, as she seeks justice and to raise awareness following the death of her son. The young Emmet Till (Jalyn Hall) is violently and shockingly murdered one night in 1955, and his grief-stricken mother decides to allow pictures of his body to be published in the media. The violence is such that it causes waves across American society, and Mamie begins a campaign of activism that will help ignite the civil rights movement. But getting justice and convictions for a lynching in the South in this time period is a huge task, and Mamie faces plenty of opposition to her activism, though she would continue for decades after.
Watch it on: Amazon Prime Video
Judas and the Black Messiah
This drama follows William O’Neal, portrayed by LaKeith Stanfield, in the late 1960s as he gets into hot water for trying to steal cars. After getting found out in the process of stealing one, he is contacted by the FBI. A Special Agent (Jesse Plemons) is dispatched to inform him that his charges will be dropped and his life put back on track if the teenage William will in turn do work for the Bureau. Accepting, William is tasked with infiltrating a section of the Black Panther group, that is headed by Fred Hampton, a charismatic activist (played by Daniel Kaluuya in an Oscar-winning turn). He keeps tabs on the group’s senior members, as the uncompromising FBI director J. Edgar Hoover (Martin Sheen) looks to dismantle them. But life inside the Black Panthers causes him to question who he is really loyal to.
Watch it on: Apple TV
Hidden Figures
The Space Race dominated US policy during the late 1960s, as the country looked to put a man on the moon as JFK once pledged to achieve. Three important figures in this complex project were Katherine Goble Johnson, Mary Jackson and Dorothy Vaughan, a trio of African-American mathematicians who helped calculate the answers to get rockets into space. The three are played by Taraji P. Henson (Johnson), Janelle Monae(Jackson) and Octavia Spencer (Vaughan), as they work for NASA to achieve its goals. They face discrimination despite their history-making work, as they deal with the segregation in their lives. As the title implies, their pioneering efforts went largely unappreciated- until this film helped shine a light on it.
Watch it on: Disney+
12 Years A Slave
Director Steve McQueen, who’s returning to the screen later this year with the Saoirse Ronan starring Blitz, directed this film which scooped the Best Picture Academy Award. Solomon Northup, a Black man kidnapped and sold into slavery, is portrayed by Chiwetel Ejiofor as the film follows his life as a slave for 12 years. Set in the 1940s and 50s, the brutally harsh and inhumane treatment of Solomon and others in slavery is depicted intensely on the big screen. Solomon tries to survive his long ordeal while dealing with the cruel treatment of slave owner Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender), who inflicts pain on him and Patsey (Lupita Nyong’o). Other cast members include Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Giamatti, Paul Dano and Brad Pitt, and Nyong’o won the Supporting Actress Oscar for her role.
Watch it on: Netflix
Do The Right Thing
One of the best films of the late 80s, Do The Right Thing helped jump-start the filmmaking career of Spike Lee, one of Hollywood’s most acclaimed and consistently interesting directors. It’s set in a neighbourhood in Brooklyn, exploring the tensions between the African American residents of the local area and the Italian-Americans who run a pizzeria. Lee himself appears as Mookie, one of the residents of the neighbourhood, while Danny Aielioplays pizzeria owner Sal. During the boiling hot summer, a dispute arises over Sal’s perceived racism, and arguments and anger escalate into serious violence that will send shockwaves through the city. The film remains relevant to this day and also stars Giancarlo Esposito, John Turturro, Samuel L Jackson, Ossie Davis and Martin Lawerence.
Watch it on: Apple TV
