“The Color Purple” and Holding a Mirror to Black Women’s Cinematic Right to Revenge
Plus: 3 films on Black Film Archive focused on Black women’s vengeance
Black Film Archive by Maya S. Cade
Black Film Archive is a living register of Black films. In its current iteration, it showcases every* Black made film from 1915 to 1979 currently streaming. This newsletter serves as its blog.
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Latest episodes
The Oscars Needs "Sinners"
More than Ryan Coogler’s movie needs 16 Academy Award nominations, or a Best Picture win
28 Films for the 28 Days of Black History Month
28 Films to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Black History Month
Remembering the Black Film Giants We've Lost in 2025
Remembering S. Pearl Sharp, Pioneering Black Woman Filmmaker and Poet + A Look Back at the Legacies of Jimmy Cliff, Malcolm Jamal Warner, and Other Black Film Artists We’ve Lost in 2025
Who will solve Black cinema’s marketing crisis?
… and other questions in my inbox on the 4th anniversary of Black Film Archive.
Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans?
4 Films to Remember pre-Katrina New Orleans By 20 Years After the Storm + MoMA Film Series
Believing in the Past Enough to Bring it into the Future
Distribution Diary #2
5 Black Pride Films to Urgently Watch on Black Film Archive
+ The first Los Angeles Black Film Archive event on Juneteenth at Philosophical Research Society at 7 pm
Black Film Archive Information Desk
Introducing a dial in information desk as a paid subscription offering.
Some Personal News
I will soon be the President & owner of Milestone Films, a mighty film distributor
How Do You Resurrect a Black Cinematic Monument? On Restoring “Killer of Sheep”
When Black Film Archive launched in August 2021, one of my most asked questions was “well… How do I watch “Killer of Sheep?” – the 1978 masterpiece of every day Black poetry from Charles Burnett.
Watching Zeinabu irene Davis at the End of the World
On “A Powerful Thang,” “Compensation,” resurrection, and reinvention.
5 Films by Black Women to Urgently Watch on Black Film Archive
+Tune in: I’m co-hosting TCM on Thursday March 6 and March 13
The Year of Naked Acts
“Naked Acts” (1996) is now on DVD/Blu-Ray and digital. Here’s how the discovery happened. +A Giveaway!
28 Films for the 28 Days of Black History Month
The 5th Annual Edition of this Black Film Celebration!
Black Film Archive’s 3rd Birthday: 3 Answers to My 3 Most Frequently Asked Questions
On representation, trauma, and Black film’s future.
Musings on Black Film Archive's Third Anniversary
A subscribers only audio reflection.
The Afterlives of Richard Roundtree
Thoughts on Thelma (2024) and the once in a generation star’s legacy
Remembering Bill Cobbs
Reflecting on his life and legacy of the prolific Bill Cobbs (1934 - 2024) with two of his co-starring roles.
5 Black Queer Films To Urgently See & Naked Acts
How do we visualize unmet desires?