Prepared by
Kara R
Kara R
Revised
February 16, 2024
Movies celebrate Black joy
Bring the Black Joy Film Series home!
Keep the movie marathon going with picks inspired by the titles selected for the in-person film series. These movies span the decades and cross genres to celebrate Black joy and the Black experience.
History & documentary
Gina Prince-Bythewood
The Woman King
2022
Follow Nanisca, general of the Agojie, an all-female unit of warriors who the protected the African kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s, as she trains the next generation of recruits, readying them for battle.
Stanley Nelson
The Black Panthers
2015
This documentary explores the Black Panther Party and its significance to the broader American culture and its cultural and political awakening for black people.
Theodore Melfi
Hidden Figures
2017
A team of African American women provide NASA with the important mathematical data needed to launch the program's first successful space missions.
Questlove
Summer of Soul
2022
Never-before-seen footage from the Harlem Cultural Festival in the summer of 1969 features concert performances by Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sly and the Family Stone, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Mahalia Jackson, B.B. King, The 5th Dimension and more.
Superheroes
Ryan Coogler
Wakanda Forever
2023
In the wake of King T'Challa's death, the leaders of Wakanda fight to protect their country from other nations pressuring them to share their vibranium.
Ryan Coogler
Black Panther
2018
King T'Challa returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to serve as new leader, but soon finds that he is challenged for the throne from divisions within his own country.
Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse
2018
Spider-Man crosses parallel dimensions and teams up with the Spider-Men of those dimensions to stop a threat to all reality.
Joaquim dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse
2023
Miles Morales catapults across the Multiverse, where he encounters a team of Spider-People charged with protecting its very existence.
Musicals
John Musker and Ron Clements
The Princess and the Frog
2010
A young woman in New Orleans finds herself going on a magical adventure through the bayous of Louisiana after kissing a cursed frog prince.
Robert Iscove
Cinderella
1997
The classic musical version of the fairy tale sees Cinderella suffering the torments of her wicked stepmother and spoiled stepsisters before being granted her impossible dream of attending the royal ball.
Bill Condon
Dreamgirls
2012
Three female, African American soul singers try to come to terms with fame as they become an overnight success as a pop group.
Sidney Lumet
The Wiz
1978
A schoolteacher in Harlem is whisked away by a snowstorm to a fantasy New York City in order to find herself.
Recommended for
Kara R
I am the library's digital library manager. I like to read fantasy, sci-fi, historical fiction and retellings, especially extra-long tomes. When it comes to music, give me anything with a groove and some soul.
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