DOCUMENTARIES-B | blackcinemadb

The Online Database of Films from the African-American and African Diaspora

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DOCUMENTARIES (B)

Alphabetical Documentary Index: 1-A B C DE F GH IJ

Dir: Chris Fiore

An exclusive invite to experience the uncensored raw energy and behind-the-scenes reality of one of hip hop's most exciting and historic multi-artist tours: the star-studded 1999 Hard Knock Life Tour fearing headliners Jay-Z and DMX along with Method Man, Redman, Ja Rule and Beanie Sigel, as well as rap's blazing femme fatale, Amil. This is an eye-opening inside look at backstage life on the hip-hop road. (1h 26min)

Dirs: Gail Dolgin, Robin Fryday

In this 2012 Oscar-nominated short film, Alabama barber and civil rights veteran James Armstrong experiences the fulfillment of an unimaginable dream: the election of the first African-American president. This film explores the history of the struggle of civil rights through Armstrong’s experiences from carrying the American flag during the 1965 “Bloody Sunday” Selma voting rights march, to challenging school segregation in Alabama.

Dirs: Nick Francis, Marc Francis

Fifteen million Ethiopians make a living related to coffee, which accounts for 67 percent of the country's foreign exports. Yet as profits soar for coffee sales, the farmers producing the beans continue to receive minimal payments, anywhere from 12 to 25 cents for every kilo picked. Businessman Tadesse Meskela tries to help raise the impoverished standard of living by negotiating, on behalf of 70,000 farmers, with coffee roasters willing to pay a fairer price for their labor. (1h 16min)

Dir: Marlon Riggs

African-American documentary filmmaker Marlon Riggs was working on this final film as he died from AIDS-related complications in 1994; he addresses the camera from his hospital bed in several scenes. The film directly addresses sexism and homophobia within the black community, with snippets of misogynistic and anti-gay slurs from popular hip-hop songs juxtaposed with interviews with African-American intellectuals and political theorists, including Cornel West, bell hooks and Angela Davis. (1hr 27min)

Dir: Goran Olsson

THE BLACK POWER MIXTAPE 1967-1975 mobilizes a treasure trove of 16mm material shot by Swedish journalists who came to the US drawn by stories of urban unrest and revolution. Gaining access to many of the leaders of the Black Power Movement Stokely Carmichael, Bobby Seale, Angela Davis and Eldridge Cleaver among them the filmmakers captured them in intimate moments and remarkably unguarded interviews. Thirty years later, this lush collection was found languishing in the basement of Swedish Television. (1hr 32min)

Dir: Lionel Rogosin

In this documentary, a group of black activists, including the Rev. Frederick D. Kirkpatrick, the Rev. Gary Davis and attorney Florynce Kennedy, gather in a cafe to relate stories from their respective pasts. Backed by a soundtrack of blues, jazz and rock-'n'-roll tunes featuring black musicians, these men and women recall the adversity that they often met while growing up. Topics include racism, poverty and other hardships encountered in the time before the Civil Rights movement. (1h 3min)