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Black Star
Our subscription selection celebrating black stardom, focusing on British talents and pioneering performers.
Our highlights here range from Ousmane Sembéne's groundbreaking 1965 film Black Girl all the way up to 2004’s acclaimed British crime drama Bullet Boy and beyond. Begin a mesmerising journey through the talent of black cinema right here.
For Queen and CountryFor Queen and Country
Drama1989101 minsDirector: Martin Stellman
Denzel Washington stars as a British paratrooper who returns to the London council estate of his youth, only to find his wartime service counts for nothing.
Black GirlBlack Girl
Drama196559 minsDirector: Ousmane Sembène
The first major work by African master Ousmane Sembène, about a Senegalese maid’s despair, brims with both New Wave vitality and African heart.
Within Our GatesWithin Our Gates
Drama191974 minsSilentDirector: Oscar Micheaux
Oscar Micheaux’s startling silent classic – the earliest surviving feature from an African-American director – presents a fascinating black counterpoint to Griffith’s Birth of a Nation.
BirthrightBirthright
Drama193874 minsSilentDirector: Oscar Micheaux
Oscar Micheaux directs the story of a Harvard graduate whose attempts to establish a rural school runs into opposition from both races.
Blood of JesusBlood of Jesus
Drama194156 minsDirector: Spencer Williams
Spencer Williams feverish melodrama about a woman’s flirtation with Satan was independently produced out of Texas with an amateur cast and a budget of $5,000.
Bullet BoyBullet Boy
Drama200586 minsDirector: Saul Dibb
Ashley Walters impresses in the hard-hitting Hackney drama that’s still one of the best of Britain’s black urban crime films.
One LoveOne Love
Romance200596 minsDirector: Rick Elgood and Don Letts
Rick Elgood and the legendary Don Letts direct this reggae romance about a rasta musician whose affair with a gospel-singing preacher’s daughter causes a stir in Kingston.
PressurePressure
Drama1978121 minsDirector: Horace Ové
Hailed as Britain's first black feature film, Pressure is a hard-hitting, honest document of the plight of disenchanted black youths in 1970s London; now available in its new restoration.
Playing AwayPlaying Away
Sport1986102 minsDirector: Horace Ové
A cricketing comedy of manners exploring white and black stereotypes, from pioneering British filmmaker Horace Ové.
The Stuart Hall ProjectThe Stuart Hall Project
Documentary201399 minsDirector: John Akomfrah
Composed of film, music and photographs from the archives, a fascinating portrait of the life and times of the founder of cultural studies and the New Left Experience.
The Nine MusesThe Nine Muses
Documentary201292 minsDirector: John Akomfrah
John Akomfrah mixes archive material, literary and musical quotations and newly shot silent footage in a wry, rapt meditation on memory and migration.
Burning an IllusionBurning an Illusion
Drama1982102 minsDirector: Menelik Shabazz
Menelik Shabazz’s pioneering first feature traces the emotional and political growth of a young black couple in Thatcher’s London.
Young Soul RebelsYoung Soul Rebels
Drama1991105 minsDirector: Isaac Julien
The Queen's Silver Jubilee beats to the sounds of Funkadelic, Sylvester and the O'Jays in Isaac Julien’s feature debut.
B.D. WomenB.D. Women
199420 minsDirector: Campbell X
Sassy, stylised documentary exploring the hidden histories of black lesbians.
Straight to HellStraight to Hell
Comedy198786 minsDirector: Alex Cox
Alex Cox’s anarchic homage to the spaghetti western, with arguably cinema’s wildest cast: Dennis Hopper, Joe Strummer, Courtney Love, Grace Jones and Shane MacGowan.
Julius CaesarJulius Caesar
Drama2012151 minsDirector: Gregory Doran
Gregory’s Doran’s innovative Shakespeare interpretation transplants the action to post-independence Africa.