We are in the midst of something of a renaissance of mainstream black filmmaking -- but make no mistake about it there are still far too few opportunities for directors of color to do their thing.
This past year, however, was encouraging with Oscar winner Regina King making a stunning debut as a big screen auteur with her moving drama One Night In Miami. And Shaka King (who doesn't even appear to have a Wikipedia page yet) has become a breakout name thanks to his acclaimed film Judas and the Black Messiah. And yet, pointedly, no black director has ever one the Best Director Oscar, even in two cases where the films they made won the Best Picture honor.
Still, in honor of Black History Month, I thought I would focus on the positive and highlight the names of my favorite black filmmakers who are still active (RIP John Singleton). I'm overlooking folks who have a single film under the belts, but who I'm hoping to see a lot more from (I'm thinking of folks like Boots Riley whose Sorry to Bother You was a stunner) and decided to focus on a handful of relative veterans.
Jordan Peele - Fans of Key and Peele could tell that he had cinematic ambitions based on the style and scope of many of their best sketches, but no one could have predicted what a cultural event Get Out would be. Four years after its release it remains a major touchstone (my favorite recent joke compares white people who fawn over Stacey Abrams to Bradley Whitford's white liberal character). I happen to think his more polarizing second film, Us, is even better. It's scarier, more complex and ends on a far more unsettling and ambiguous note. He is quite possibly my favorite director working right now.
Spike Lee - No list like this would feel complete without including arguably the most famous black director of all time. After years of disappointing work he's returned with a vengeance with the one-two punch of BlacKkKlansman and Da 5 Bloods, both films with a foot set in the past but with a message intended for the here and now. Perhaps Lee has been bolstered by a more collaborative relationship when it comes tot he writing of his recent films, but either way they are moving, ambitious genre pictures that suggest he has a lot of gas left in the tank as a provocateur.
Ryan Coogler - In my opinion, he's made nothing but great films -- and the only thing that is consistent throughout is his partnership with leading man Michael B. Jordan (who is scheduled to team up with him again soon). Fruitvale Station, while heartbreaking, is a beautiful, important film. Creed totally elevates the established Rocky mythology in refreshing ways and provides Sylvester Stallone with an opportunity to give the performance of his career. And Black Panther is just a stone cold classic, more of an epic event than just a superhero film, it completely upended Hollywood notions of the mass appeal of an unapologetically black film.
Ava DuVernay - After her breakthrough with the timely and powerful Selma, she suffered a major setback with the disappointing A Wrinkle in Time. But then she got back to what she does best -- righteous fury -- with her two masterpiece social justice projects, 13th, the documentary about the prison industrial complex, and the miniseries When They See Us, which brought the tragedy of the Central Park Five to vivid, unforgettable life. She has become a brand now in the best way.
Steve McQueen - One of the biggest wild cards, he knocked it out of the park twice with two wildly different dramas in 12 Years a Slave and Widows. And with his recent Small Axe series of UK-set period films he's brought his artistry to a whole new level. His Lover's Rock was a wholly original, sensory sensation, easily one of the best pieces of filmmaking of the past year. I can't wait to see what this unpredictable filmmaker does next.
Barry Jenkins - He should have won Best Director for his remarkable triptych Moonlight, where he established a singular elegiac style (he's almost like an urban Terrence Malick) and his gorgeous adaptation of If Beale Street Could Talk was criminally underrated. He definitely marches to the beat of his own drum, which I appreciate and has staked out a plain in the pantheon of greatest modern film directors.
Carl Franklin - Far from a household name, this underrated director first turned heads back in 1992 with his twisty thriller One False Move. He achieved more mainstream success with a pair of Denzel Washington's most under-appreciated leading roles in the noir Devil in a Blue Dress and the jaunty thriller Out of Time. He's flown under the radar since then, but if anyone is need of a strong collaborator to shake him out of slump these days it's Denzel.
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