This Black History month, we are celebrating Black filmmakers. And today we celebrate those that have worked in the documentary tradition, a tradition out of which came the corporate film industry.
Shola Lynch
Shola Lynch is an award-winning American Filmmaker best known for the feature documentary ‘FREE ANGELA & All Political Prisoners’ and the Peabody Award winning documentary ‘CHISHOLM ’72: Unbought & Unbossed’. Her independent film body of work and her other collaborative projects feed her passion to bring history alive with captivating stories of people, places and events. Since 2013 she has also served as the Curator of the Moving Image & Recorded Sound division of the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
‘FREE ANGELA & All the Political Prisoners’ tells the story of college professor and revolutionary Angela Davis, her social activism and its consequences.
Sabrina Schmidt Gordon
Sabrina Schmidt Gordon is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and impact strategist. Her editing debut won an Emmy, and she has continued to distinguish herself as a producer, editor, and director.
‘BaddDDD Sonia Sanchez’ offers unprecedented access to the life, work and mesmerising performances of renowned poet and activist Sonia Sanchez, a mentor to a generation of Hip-Hop artists.
Topher Campbell
Topher Campbell is a theatre director, writer and filmmaker. He is co-founder or rukus!Federation a BLGBT arts company and artistic director of The Red Room Film and Theatre Company.
‘The Homecoming: A Short Film’ about Ajamu follows artists and photographer Ajamu Ikwe-Tyehimba as he navigates a move from London to Yorkshire for an exhibition of his work. The film touch on race, sexuality and gender presentation.
Watch it here: https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-the-homecoming-a-short-film-about-ajamu-1995-online
Lyric Cabral
Lyric R Cabral has over a decade of experience documenting the intersections of race and surveillance in the post 9-11 world. Her work has appeared on PBS, BBC, VICELAND, Pivot, and National Geographic Channel UK, amongst others.
(T)ERROR is the story of a 62-year-old Black Panther-turned-counterterrorism informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is the first film to document a covert terrorism sting as it unfolds. With unprecedented access to both the informant and the target, (T)ERROR captures the drama and intrigue of a spy novel, but with very real consequences.
Ian Watts
Ian Watts is a BAFTA award-winning film and TV director of photography (Lighting Cameraman), and works on TV films, factual entertainment, documentaries, music and landmark productions.
‘Kanga’ follows a young Black couple embracing their African heritage as they search for traditional wedding clothes at Brixton market, featuring dance, music and fashion. Watch it here: https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-kanga-1992-online
Thank you to shadow board member Hamza Pool (The Edge Picture Company) and Patrick Russell (BFI) for helping us pull this list together.