The Best Movies By Black Directors You Should Watch

When you think about some of the greatest movies made throughout cinematic history — Casablanca, Rear Window, Citizen Kane, The Godfather — there's no denying that these works of art deserve their status, but it's also important to remember that for decades, Hollywood has been less than inclusive when it comes to non-white filmmakers. 

Diversity is a constant struggle on either side of the camera in the film industry; in 2019, Indiewire reported that 80 percent of directors are white men while filmmakers of color struggle to break through and have their films seen and distributed. Progress is still slow for filmmakers of color, but luckily for filmgoers across the world, the landscape is slowly shifting, and directors of color have consistently and repeatedly stunned critics and fans with excellent, extraordinary films. From social thrillers to superhero films to biopics, here are some Black directors — famous names to fresh faces — and the films they've crafted that are absolutely worth a watch.

Barry Jenkins' 2016 masterpiece Moonlight might be most widely remembered thanks to the now-infamous mixup at the 2017 Academy Awards that mistakenly declared La La Land the night's big winner. However, that would do a serious disservice to this spectacularly beautiful, introspective look at what it means to be young, Black, and queer in America. The story of Chiron, who is played by three different actors throughout different periods of his life — Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, and Trevante Rhodes as a child, teenager, and adult, respectively — grappling with his sexuality and his future became the first LGBTQ+ film and the first film with an all-Black cast to win the Oscar for Best Picture, making history for Jenkins.

After Moonlight, Jenkins continued his streak with If Beale Street Could Talk, an emotionally gripping story of a young woman, Clementine "Tish" Rivers (KiKi Layne), who must prove that her lover, Alonzo "Fonny" Hunt (Stephan James), is innocent of murder before the two have a child together. The film was praised for its writing, direction, and performances, particularly Regina King's Oscar-winning supporting turn as Tish's mother. Clearly, Jenkins has a particular talent for telling personal, emotional stories, and we can expect more of these intimate films from him as his career continues.

One of the most direct and striking voices in Hollywood in recent years, Ava DuVernay has made enormous strides for Black women behind the camera. After making history at the Sundance Film Festival in 2012 with Middle of Nowhere as the first Black woman to win a directing award, she also became the first Black female director to earn a nomination for Best Picture at both the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes, both honors coming for her Martin Luther King Jr. biopic Selma. with A Wrinkle in Time, she became the first Black woman to direct a film that earned over $100 million at the box office. In 2010, DuVernay founded AFFRM, the African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement, to help support other Black creatives.

If you're looking to delve into DuVernay's filmography, there truly is something for everybody. If you're looking for a deep dive into the civil rights movement, check out 2014's Selma; if you're looking for a classic fantasy film fit for the whole family, you'll love 2018's A Wrinkle In Time. If documentaries are more your speed, try 13th, DuVernay's stunning 2016 documentary about race and justice in the United States. No matter your preference, there's something in DuVernay's filmography to fit your needs.

No list of influential Black filmmakers would be complete without Spike Lee. After making his directorial debut in 1986 with She's Gotta Have It, Lee went on to make several acclaimed films about the history and state of the Black community, including 1989's Do the Right Thing, 1990's Mo' Better Blues, 1991's Jungle Fever, 1992's Malcolm X, 1998's He Got Game, 2002's 25th Hour, 2015's Chi-Raq, and 2018's BlacKkKlansman.

Four of Lee's films, including She's Gotta Have It, Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, and the filmmaker's 1997 documentary 4 Little Girls, have been selected as culturally significant by the Library of Congress for the National Film Registry, and the director has received an astounding number of accolades throughout his career — including Peabody Awards, Emmy Awards, BAFTAs, and the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival — making him one of the most accomplished filmmakers working today. Lee hit an enormous milestone for the first time at the 2019 Oscars; after winning an honorary Oscar in 2015, Lee finally won his first competitive Academy Award for Adapted Screenplay for his Best Picture nominee, BlacKkKlansman. If you're not familiar with Lee's filmography yet, pick any one of his lauded films. You truly can't go wrong.

A Senegalese actor and director born and raised in Paris, Mati Diop trained at several prestigious spaces in France, including the experimental studio Le Pavilion at Paris' modern art utopia The Palais de Tokyo, before breaking into the mainstream. Though Diop made her onscreen debut in Claire Denis' 2008 film 35 Shots of Rum, she eventually rose to prominence as a director thanks to her 2019 film Atlantics.

After helming Atlantics, a film starring mostly unknown actors that nominally focuses on the romantic relationship between two disenfranchised youths in a suburban town in Senegal, Diop became the first Black woman to direct a film featured at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in 2019. Ultimately, the stirring, moving film, which highlights Senegal's refugee crisis, personal responsibility, and LGBTQ+ issues, won that year's Grand Prix prize, and former President Barack Obama selected it as one of his favorites of the year. Diop may just be getting started, but if you want to say you knew about her first, you'll definitely want to start with Atlantics.

A Nigerian-born filmmaker who has lived all over the world, from the United Kingdom to the United States, Julius Onah has a few notable films and features under his belt already, and it seems this talented young director is just getting started. After earning a graduate degree from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Onah began his career in 2015 with The Girl Is in Trouble, executive produced by Spike Lee. However, you may be more familiar with Onah's biggest blockbuster to date: in 2018, he directed The Cloverfield Paradox, a continuation of producer J.J. Abrams' Cloverfield universe. Released by Netflix, the film links several other parts of the Cloverfield story together.

However, if you really want to see what Onah is capable of, you should check out his 2019 film Luce, which stars Octavia Spencer, Naomi Watts, and Tim Roth and tells the story of Luce (Kelvin Harris Jr.), a talented Black high school student struggling to find his way in an increasingly difficult world. If you're looking for a tough but real coming-of-age story directed by an up-and-coming star, Luce is well worth a watch.

You might know Forest Whitaker best as an Academy Award-winning actor who has appeared in everything from The Last King of Scotland to Black Panther, but he's also had success behind the camera, starting in 1995 with his directorial debut, Waiting to Exhale. Starring Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett, the film, which is adapted from Terry McMillan's 1992 novel of the same name, tells the story of a group of Black women "holding their breath" until they can find stable relationships.

Eventually, Savannah (Houston), Bernadine (Bassett), Robin (Lela Rochon), and Gloria (Loretta Devine) all figure out how to resolve their situations for the best possible outcome, whether they find love, embrace motherhood, or learn to let go of their loved ones a little. Whitaker went on to direct several more films, including the 1998 romantic comedy Hope Floats and the 2004 Katie Holmes-led romantic comedy First Daughter, but Waiting to Exhale remains his most influential film to date.

In 2018, Ghanian hip-hop artist Blitz the Ambassador put his stage name aside to launch his movie career and direct his debut film, The Burial of Kojo. The film, which uses mostly unknown actors and was shot on location in Ghana, tells the story of Esi (Cynthia Dankwa), who lives with her parents in rural Ghana and is particularly close with her father, Kojo (Joseph Otsiman), who tells her stories about his own childhood as they spent time in their boat. However, the stories he tells only make sense if you already know the ending.

Before long, trouble strikes; Kojo's brother Kwabena (Kobina Amissah-Sam) arrives with a score to settle with Kojo, and when push comes to shove, Esi is the only one who can use her father's stories to help save his soul. As the first Ghanian film to be released on Netflix, The Burial of Kojo made history — and proved Blitz the Ambassador had talents that few filmgoers had previously expected.