#Civil Rights
Chinonye Chukwu’s “Till” to Receive Stanley Kramer Award at 2023 Producers Guild Awards
“Till” is set to receive a major honor at the 2023 Producers Guild Awards. Chinonye Chukwu’s biopic of Mamie Till-Mobley will receive the the Stanley Kramer Award, which...
Maïmouna Doucouré to Direct Josephine Baker Biopic
Maïmouna Doucouré is following up 2020’s “Cuties,” her Paris-set portrait of a pre-teen Senegalese immigrant who joins a dance clique, with the story of a trailblazing dancer,...
Trailer Watch: Chinonye Chukwu’s “Till” Honors the Activism of Mamie Till-Mobley
“That smell is my son’s body reeking of racial hatred. Now I want America to bear witness,” says Mamie Till-Mobley (Danielle Deadwyler) in a new trailer for “Till,” Chinonye Chukwu’s...
Kelly Marie Tran Will Lead, Produce Biopic of Activist Amanda Nguyen
Kelly Marie Tran will be portraying civil rights crusader – and close friend – Amanda Nguyen in an upcoming biopic that the “Star Wars” actress will also produce. The Hollywood Reporter broke...
Chinonye Chukwu’s “Till” to Premiere & Host Community Screenings at New York Film Fest, Releases Trailer
Today, July 25, on what would have been Emmett Till’s 81st birthday, several announcements have been made about “Till,” Chinonye Chukwu’s historical drama about Till’s...
Peacock Acquires Geeta Gandbhir & Sam Pollard’s “Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power”
Peacock is expanding its stake in the documentary space. The streamer has just acquired the distribution rights to Geeta Gandbhir’s new documentary, “Lowndes County and the Road to Black...
Tribeca 2022 Women Directors: Meet Johanna Hamilton and Yoruba Richen – “The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks”
Johanna Hamilton is an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker. Her previous work includes “1971″, which chronicled the break-in at an FBI office in Media, Pennsylvania that revealed the...
Tribeca 2022 Women Directors: Meet Geeta Gandbhir – “Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power”
Geeta Gandbhir is an award-winning director, producer, and editor with over 25 years of experience in the film industry across narrative and documentary. Her documentary short, “Call Center...
Trailer Watch: Attorney Ben Crump Takes on a Racist Justice System in Nadia Hallgren’s “Civil”
“America’s a capitalistic society. The one thing that America understands is money. If you can make them pay higher values, they will stop killing Black people. It would be an...
Hot Docs 2022 Women Directors: Meet Zaynê Akyol – “Rojek”
Zaynê Akyol’s first feature documentary, “Gulîstan, Land of Roses,” was selected by 80 international film festivals, earning 50 nominations and winning 12 awards, including the...
Sundance 2022 Women Directors: Meet Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing – “Midwives”
Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing has worked as a freelance filmmaker in Myanmar since 2006, acting as director, producer, editor, and sound recordist. Her short “Burmese Butterfly” played festivals in...
Saniyya Sidney to Star as Civil Rights Trailblazer Claudette Colvin in “Spark”
Saniyya Sidney has played a tennis great in “King Richard” and a burgeoning superhero in “Fast Color,” and next she’s set to portray a critical, but overlooked, figure...
Kathleen Collins to Receive Posthumous Icon Tribute at Gotham Awards
Kathleen Collins is set to receive the inaugural Icon Tribute posthumously during the 2021 Gotham Awards Ceremony. A press release announced that the event will honor the poet, playwright, writer,...
First Feature Doc About Rosa Parks in the Works from Directors Yoruba Richen & Johanna Hamilton
After several years of biopic talks, Rosa Parks is finally getting her own film. Yoruba Richen (“The Green Book: Guide to Freedom”) and Johanna Hamilton (“1971”) are directing...
Teaser Watch: “Women of the Movement” Honors Mamie Till-Mobley
“What a fine young man you’re becoming,” Mamie Till-Mobley (Adrienne Warren, “Orange Is the New Black”) tells her son in “Women of the Movement,” ABC’s...
Pick of the Day: “My Name Is Pauli Murray”
If there were any justice in this world, Pauli Murray would be a household name on par with Martin Luther King or Gloria Steinem or Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She was an activist and legal scholar whose...
Sophia Nahli Allison Directing Follow-Up Special to Civil Rights Docuseries “Eyes on the Prize”
For her next project, Oscar-nominated “A Love Song for Latasha” filmmaker Sophia Nahli Allison will embark on a journey begun by Henry Hampton’s Peabody-winning civil rights...
Quote of the Day: Andra Day Realized Her “Voice Is Worthy” Thanks to Billie Holiday
Andra Day is paying tribute to Billie Holiday and the jazz singer’s life-changing effect on her. Her leading performance in “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” has already earned...
SXSW 2021 Women Directors: Meet Emily & Sarah Kunstler – “Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America”
Sisters Emily and Sarah Kunstler are the founders of Off Center Media, a documentary production company dedicated to racial justice and social change. Shortlisted for the Best Documentary Academy...
Civil Rights Activist Fannie Lou Hamer Is Getting a Biopic
Another Fannie Lou Hamer project is on the way. A few months ago, it was announced that Alfre Woodard would play the civil rights activist in a limited series, and now there’s word that a film...
Tina Mabry, Julie Dash, & Kasi Lemmons Join Gina Prince-Bythewood on ABC’s “Women of the Movement”
“Women of the Movement” is assembling an all-star directing roster. Deadline reports that Tina Mabry, Julie Dash, and Kasi Lemmons are joining Gina Prince-Bythewood as directors on the...
Trailer Watch: Andra Day Refuses to Be Silenced in “The United States vs. Billie Holiday”
Two-time Grammy nominee Andra Day takes the stage to sing “Strange Fruit” in a new trailer for “The United States vs. Billie Holiday.” The Hulu drama revisits how the federal...
Alfre Woodard Will Play Civil Rights Activist Fannie Lou Hamer in Limited Series
Alfre Woodard is switching gears from futuristic sci-fi to a drama rooted in very real history. The star of “See” has signed on to headline and exec produce a limited series about civil...
Mamie Till Mobley Limited Series Ordered at ABC, Gina Prince-Bythewood Will Direct First Ep
Another project about Mamie Till Mobley is in the works. On the heels of the announcement that Chinonye Chukwu is directing a feature about Emmett Till, his death, and Mobley’s galvanization of...
Chinonye Chukwu to Direct Pic About Emmett Till’s Death, How His Mother Helped Spark Civil Rights Movement
Chinonye Chukwu’s next project will revisit a tragic, and galvanizing, moment in American history. According to Deadline, the “Clemency” filmmaker has signed on to direct a feature...
Civil Rights Leader and Minnesota’s First Black Female Attorney Lena O. Smith Is Getting a Biopic
Lena O. Smith, a civil rights leader and trailblazing lawyer, will soon be getting her own feature film. A biopic about Smith, the first African American woman attorney to be licensed in Minnesota,...
Lena Horne Limited Series from Jenny Lumet in Development at Showtime
Jenny Lumet is paying tribute to a trailblazer — and family member — with her latest project. The “Star Trek: Discovery” scribe has a limited series about actress, singer,...
Pick of the Day: “John Lewis: Good Trouble”
John Lewis is a seminal figure in our history. What the activist and political leader has done to improve civil rights in our country is immeasurable. Watching Dawn Porter’s new doc, “Good...
Trailer Watch: John Lewis Gets in “Good Trouble” in Dawn Porter’s New Documentary
“When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just — say something!” John Lewis instructs a cheering crowd in Dawn Porter’s upcoming documentary. “Do...
Trailer Watch: Kristen Stewart Is an Activist and Actress Under Siege in “Seberg”
Who is Jean Seberg? A new trailer for a biopic about the controversial French New Wave star asks that very question. Based on true events, the pic is set in the ’60s and sees Kristen Stewart...
Anthology Series About Women of the Civil Rights Movement Being Developed at ABC
The women of the civil rights movement will take center stage in a new ABC anthology series. Written by Marissa Jo Cerar (“The Handmaid’s Tale”), the project, tentatively titled...
Dawn Porter Directing Doc About Congressman & Civil Rights Leader John Lewis for CNN Films
Dawn Porter will reunite with Congressman John Lewis for her next project. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the “Trapped” filmmaker is directing a documentary about Lewis’ most recent...
Julie Dash to Direct Angela Davis Biopic
One trailblazer is set to bring another’s life story to the big screen. Julie Dash, who made history as the first black female director to helm a feature with a theatrical release with...
Another Rosa Parks Biopic Is in the Works
Back in September it was announced that “Daughters of the Dust” writer-director Julie Dash has a drama about Rosa Parks in the works from Invisible Pictures. Now Deadline is reporting...
Trailer Watch: “Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart” Celebrates Playwright & Activist Lorraine Hansberry
“It really doesn’t matter whether you’re talking about the oppressed or the oppressor — an oppressive society will dehumanize and degenerate everyone involved,” says Lorraine Hansberry...
Biopic About Civil Rights Activist Fannie Lou Hamer Is in the Works
Black women were and are a major force in the fight for civil rights, but it is still so rare for the Hollywood biopic machine to greenlight projects about activists like Anne Moody, Maya Angelou,...
PBS Doc About Civil Rights Activist Dolores Huerta Gets Theatrical Release Date
An important chapter — and figure — in herstory is about to get some much-deserved and long-overdue attention: “Dolores” has a theatrical release date. PBS Distribution has announced...
“The Secret Life of Bees” Being Made into Musical
“The Secret Life of Bees” is coming to the stage — again. The New York Times reports that a musical adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd’s 2001 novel — which was previously adapted into a...
New “American Girl” Live-Action Special Will Depict The Civil Rights Movement
A new “American Girl” live-action special will be set during the civil rights movement, Deadline reports. “Melody, 1963: Love Has to Win, an American Girl Story” centers on a 10-year-old...
Authorized Angela Davis Biopic in the Works
Another Angela Davis biopic is in the works. Variety reports that Codeblack Films has acquired the film rights to the civil rights activist’s 1974 autobiography with plans to develop and produce...
Rosa Parks Musical in the Works in London
A new musical based on the life of civil rights icon Rosa Parks is in the works in London, Playbill reports. The show was written by Victoria Gimby (book and lyrics) and Stuart Matthew Price (music...