Black Film Archive

Black Film Archive
Type of site	Film database
Available in	English
Country of origin	United States
Founder(s)	Maya Cade
URL	blackfilmarchive.com
Launched	26 August 2021; 3 years ago

Black Film Archive is an online database of Black films^[1] released from 1898–1999 that are available to view via streaming platforms. The site was launched by Maya Cade in 2021.

History

Black Film Archive is a curated database of Black films released between 1898 and 1999 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]

Hallelujah (1929)
The Green Pastures (1936)
Commandment Keeper Church, Beaufort South Carolina, May 1940 (1940)
The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959)
A Man Called Adam (1966)
Claudine (1974)

Accolades

Maya Cade has received the following awards and nominations:

2021 – Special Award, NYFCC^[9]
2021 – Outstanding Achievement by A Woman in The Film Industry (Nominee), Alliance of Women Film Journalists EDA Awards^[10]

References

^ "Black films" refers to films oriented to Black audiences and those with Black leads or Black production teams
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ 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.
^ ^a ^b ^c Blay, Zeba (2021-09-29). "Maya Cade's Black Film Archive is just the beginning". Andscape. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
^ "Maya Cade, Creator Of The Black Film Archive, On Making Black Cinema More Accessible". NPR.org. 2021-09-08. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Jackson, Nate (2021-09-19). "Black Film Archive revives an ignored history of cinema through streaming". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
^ 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.
^ ^a ^b 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.
^ Zornosa, Laura (2022-02-16). "Six Highlights From the Black Film Archive". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-02-19.
^ "Awards - New York Film Critics Circle - NYFCC". Retrieved 2021-12-08.
^ "2021 EDA AWARDS NOMINEES". Retrieved 10 December 2021.

External links

Official website
"Our Favorite Picks from the Black Film Archive" --Keep It podcast hosts on YouTube.com

[1] "Black films" refers to films oriented to Black audiences and those with Black leads or Black production teams

[chitrib-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ 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.

[undefeated-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.

[latimes-5] Jackson, Nate (2021-09-19). "Black Film Archive revives an ignored history of cinema through streaming". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2021-11-17.

[rogerebert-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.

[:0-7] 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.

[eda-awards-10] "2021 EDA AWARDS NOMINEES". Retrieved 10 December 2021.

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