Black Film Archive

Black Film Archive is an online database of Black films[1] released from 1915–1979 that are available to view via streaming platforms. The site was launched by Maya Cade in 2021.

Not to be confused with Indiana University Bloomington § Black Film Center/Archive.
Black Film Archive
Type of site
Film database
Available inEnglish
Country of originUnited States
Founder(s)Maya Cade
URLblackfilmarchive.com
Launched26 August 2021 (2021-08-26)

History

Black Film Archive is a curated database of Black films released between 1915 and 1979 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

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

Maya Cade has received the following awards and nominations:

See also

References
  1. "Black films" refers to films oriented to Black audiences and those with Black leads or Black production teams
  2. 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. 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. 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. 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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