Cast:Colin Kaepernick (Narrator), Jaden Michael (Young Colin Kaepernick), Amarr (Eddie), Mace Coronel (Jake), Howard M. Lockie (Coach Parker), Chris O’Neal (Dwayne), Klarke Pipkin (Crystal).
Story: The six-episode scripted drama, created by Ava DuVernay and Colin Kaepernick, chronicles Kaepernick’s coming-of-age tackling the obstacles of race, class and culture as the Black adopted child of a white family in Central California. Kaepernick narrates the tale as high school Colin (Jaden Michael) faces adversity on his way to becoming an All-Pro quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers and later a cultural icon and activist. Nick Offerman and Mary-Louise Parker play Colin’s parents Rick and Teresa, while Kaepernick’s voice guides viewers through historical and contemporary contextual moments. The series is executive produced by DuVernay, Kaepernick and Michael Starrbury, the latter of whom wrote the series. Source: Deadline.
Release Date:11/3/21; Netflix Genre:Drama/Western Rating:NR Director:Jeymes Samuel Studio(s): Netflix, Overbrook Entertainment
Cast: Jonathan Majors as Nat Love; Idris Elba as Rufus Buck; Zazie Beetz as Stagecoach Mary; Lakeith Stanfield as Cherokee Bill; Delroy Lindo as Bass Reeves; Regina King as Trudy Smith; Danielle Deadwyler as Cuffee; Edi Gathegi as Bill Pickett; RJ Cyler as Jim Beckwourth; Deon Cole as Wiley Escoe.
Story:Executive produced by Jay Z, The Harder They Fall begins when outlaw Nat Love (Jonathan Majors) discovers that his enemy Rufus Buck (Idris Elba) is being released from prison. He rounds up his gang to track Rufus down and seek revenge. Those riding with him include his former love Stagecoach Mary (Zazie Beetz), his right-and-left hand men – hot-tempered Bill Pickett (Edi Gathegi), fast drawing Jim Beckwourth (R.J. Cyler) and a surprising adversary-turned-ally. Rufus Buck has his own fearsome crew, including “Treacherous” Trudy Smith (Regina King) and Cherokee Bill (LaKeith Stanfield), and they are not a group that knows how to lose. Sources: movieweb. IMDB.
Release Date:5/12/21 – Series Premiere; Netflix Genre:Comedy Rating:NR Director(s):Sheldon Epps, Ken Whittingham, Robbie Countryman, Kelly Park Studio(s):Netflix, Push It Productions
Story:A working-class Black family in Indiana strives for a better life and a happy home while juggling everyday struggles in this comedy series. Source: Netflix.
Release Date:4/14/21 – Series Premiere; Netflix Genre:Comedy Rating: TV-PG Directors: Ken Whittingham, Bentley Kyle Evans, Robin Strickland Studio(s):CBS Television Studios, Netflix Cast:Jamie Foxx, Kyla-Drew, David Alan Grier, Porscha Coleman, Jonathan Kite, Heather Hemmens, Valente Rodriguez.
Story:Jamie Foxx plays Brian Dixon, a single dad and cosmetics brand owner who figures out fatherhood on the fly when his strong-minded teen daughter, Sasha (Kyla-Drew) moves in with him. The comedy is inspired by Jamie’s relationship with his own daughter, Corinne Foxx. Both are executive producers on the show. Source(s): IMDB; yahoo.com.
Cast:Sope Dirisu (Bol Majur), Wunmi Mosaku (Rial Majur), Malaika Wakoli-Abigaba (Nyagak), Matt Smith (Mark Essworth), Javier Botet (The Witch).
Warning: Spoilers Ahead
Story:Bol and Rial are refugees fleeing with their daughter, Nyagak, from war-torn South Sudan. They cross stormy waters on an overcrowded motorboat, along with fellow refugees travelling across the perilous English Channel in search of a better life. Although they survive the treacherous crossing, their daughter and many others do not. Three months later Bol and Rial are released from a detention center by British officials and assigned a home on a probationary basis. Bol can barely hide his glee but Rial is unmoved. The shabby house is located in a low-income suburb on the outskirts of London, with peeling walls and dismal furnishings. They are given strict restrictions or they may face deportation. In addition, they experience racism and hatred from their tenement neighbors.
Bol tries to assimilate but Rial, however, clings to their culture. Both Bol and Rial soon experience strange and disturbing phenomena in their new home, and see visions of Nyagak. Rial doesn’t take long to work out what the evil in their house is: an apeth or “night witch”. She tells Bol the story of a poor man in her village who accidentally stole from an apeth by the river. When the thief built his home, the apeth moved in with him and haunted him. Rial believes that an apeth has followed them and if they repay their debt, the apeth will bring Nyagak back to them. Bol burns everything they brought with them, but the apeth continues to torment him and things deteriorate between the couple. Rial tells Bol that she wants to leave. Bol locks Rial in the house before he summons the apeth himself, who calls him a thief and claims that Bol has stolen a life that was not his to take.
Rial manages to escape the house but somehow she’s back in South Sudan. She flashes back to a class room and sees old friends, who are revealed to be victims of a massacre. Rial survived by hiding until Bol finds her and they escape as violence grips the region. The bus they need to board will only let people with children on. Desperate, Bol sees Nyagak in the crowd and abducts her, falsely claiming that she is their daughter. The couple get on the bus and escape, leaving Nyagak’s real mother running behind the bus, as gunfire erupts. Having accepted what they did to Nyagak which resulted in her death at sea, Bol decides to repay the debt to the apeth lets the apeth into his skin. Nyagak enters the room and returns to Rial. Rial chooses to save Bol instead of accepting this alternate reality, by slitting the apeth’s throat.
Bol and Rial decide to stay in their new home and to go on with the ghosts of their past, including Nyagak. Sources: nypost.com; rogerebert.com; Wikipedia; IMDB. Photo Source(s): IMDB.
Release Date:2/5/21; Netflix Genre:Drama Rating:NR Director: Sam Levinson Studio(s): Little Lamb, The Reasonable Bunch, Netflix Running Time: 106 mins. Cast: Zendaya (Marie), John David Washington (Malcolm)
Story: Sam Levinson teams up with Zendaya and John David Washington for an achingly romantic drama in which a filmmaker (Washington) and his girlfriend (Zendaya) return home following a celebratory movie premiere as he awaits what’s sure to be imminent critical and financial success. The evening suddenly takes a turn as revelations about their relationships begin to surface, testing the strength of their love. The first film to be written, directed, and completed during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Source(s): Shadow & Act; IMDB.
Release Date: 10/29/21 – Miniseries; Netflix
Release Date:
Release Date:
Black Cinema Connection 