Important Black Stories in Film, Streaming for Free
by IMDb-Editors | created - 08 Jun 2020 | updated - 22 Jun 2020 | PublicThe following films are available to stream for free, as of June 10.
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1. 12 Years a Slave (2013)
R | 134 min | Biography, Drama, History
In the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup, a free Black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.
Director: Steve McQueen | Stars: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Kenneth Williams, Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt
Votes: 745,361 | Gross: $56.67M
Available to stream for free on Cineplex
2. 16 Shots (2019)
TV-14 | 82 min | Documentary
A documentary examining the 2014 shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald by Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke and the cover-up that ensued.
Director: Rick Rowley | Stars: Anita Alvarez, Dean Angelo, Alma Benitez, William Calloway
Votes: 618
Available to stream for free on YouTube and Showtime.com
3. A Rage in Harlem (1991)
R | 115 min | Comedy, Crime
A gangster's girlfriend flees to Harlem with a trunkload of gold after a shootout, unaware that the rest of the gang are on her trail.
Director: Bill Duke | Stars: Forest Whitaker, Gregory Hines, Robin Givens, Zakes Mokae
Votes: 2,352 | Gross: $10.44M
Available to stream for free on IMDb TV
4. 42 (2013)
PG-13 | 128 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
In 1947, Jackie Robinson becomes the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball in the modern era when he was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers and faces considerable racism in the process.
Director: Brian Helgeland | Stars: Chadwick Boseman, T.R. Knight, Harrison Ford, Nicole Beharie
Votes: 103,242 | Gross: $95.00M
Available to stream for free on Cineplex
5. A Well-Spent Life (1971)
Not Rated | 44 min | Documentary, Short, Music
A deeply moving tribute to the Texas songster, Mance Lipscomb, considered by many to be the greatest guitarist of all time.
Directors: Les Blank, Skip Gerson | Stars: Mance Lipscomb, Elnora Lipscomb, Hattie Franklin, Alfred Franklin
Votes: 545
Available to stream for free on The Criterion Channel
6. Akeelah and the Bee (2006)
PG | 112 min | Drama, Family
Akeelah, a young gifted girl, comes from a dysfunctional family and is on the verge of quitting school. She discovers that she has a high aptitude for spellings and enters a spelling bee contest.
Director: Doug Atchison | Stars: Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne, Keke Palmer, Curtis Armstrong
Votes: 21,728 | Gross: $18.81M
Available to stream for free on Cineplex
7. Ali (2001)
R | 157 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
A biography of sports legend Muhammad Ali, focusing on his triumphs and controversies between 1964 and 1974.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Jon Voight, Mario Van Peebles
Votes: 106,089 | Gross: $58.20M
Available to stream for free on Prime Video and Fandango Now
8. America to Me (2018)
TV-14 | 60 min | Documentary
Follows students, teachers and administrators in suburban Chicago's Oak Park and River Forest High School over the course of a year.
Stars: Ke'Shawn Kumsa, Charles Donalson Jr., Kendale McCoy, Grant Lee
Votes: 415
Available to stream for free on STARZ
9. Amistad (1997)
R | 155 min | Biography, Drama, History
In 1839, the revolt of Mende captives aboard a Spanish owned ship causes a major controversy in the United States when the ship is captured off the coast of Long Island. The courts must decide whether the Mende are slaves or legally free.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Djimon Hounsou, Matthew McConaughey, Anthony Hopkins, Morgan Freeman
Votes: 83,189 | Gross: $44.18M
Available to stream for free on Cineplex
10. And When I Die, I Won't Stay Dead (2015)
89 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A journey into the life and work of beat poet and activist Bob Kaufman and his insistence that poetry is fundamental to humanity's moral survival.
Director: Billy Woodberry | Stars: Roscoe Lee Browne, Susanne Cockrell, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee
Votes: 91
Available to stream for free on The Criterion Channel
11. Antwone Fisher (2002)
PG-13 | 120 min | Biography, Drama
Antwone Fisher, a young navy man, is forced to see a psychiatrist after a violent outburst against a fellow crewman. During the course of treatment a painful past is revealed and a new hope begins.
Director: Denzel Washington | Stars: Denzel Washington, Derek Luke, Joy Bryant, Malcolm David Kelley
Votes: 38,634 | Gross: $21.08M
Available to stream for free on all digital platforms, including Prime Video, Apple TV, Fandango Now, Google Play, and more
12. Black Mother (2018)
TV-MA | 77 min | Documentary
From red light districts to lush rain-forests, 'Black Mother' is a loving and lyrical ode to Jamaica and its people, a visual poem that is at once deeply felt love letter and ecstatic street-corner prayer.
Director: Khalik Allah
Votes: 542 | Gross: $0.02M
Available to stream for free on The Criterion Channel
13. Black Panthers (1968)
Not Rated | 31 min | Documentary, Short
A short film of interviews and protests at a rally to free Huey P. Newton.
Director: Agnès Varda | Stars: Bill Brent, Huey P. Newton, Stokely Carmichael, Eldridge Cleaver
Votes: 2,687
Available to stream for free on The Criterion Channel
14. Blindspotting (2018)
R | 95 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
While on probation, a man begins to re-evaluate his relationship with his volatile best friend.
Director: Carlos López Estrada | Stars: Daveed Diggs, Rafael Casal, Janina Gavankar, Jasmine Cephas Jones
Votes: 33,079 | Gross: $4.33M
Available to stream for free on Prime Video and Cineplex
15. Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami (2017)
115 min | Documentary, Biography, Music
Electrifying concert performances and intimate, personal footage showcase the life and talent of singer and actress Grace Jones.
Director: Sophie Fiennes | Stars: Grace Jones, Lowell 'Sly' Dunbar, Jean-Paul Goude, Marjorie Jones
Votes: 1,299 | Gross: $0.37M
Available to stream for free on Kanopy
16. Body and Soul (1925)
Not Rated | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A malevolent phony preacher plots to take advantage of a woman from his congregation who happens to be in love with his long-estranged identical twin brother.
Director: Oscar Micheaux | Stars: Paul Robeson, Marshall Rogers, Lawrence Chenault, Chester A. Alexander
Votes: 1,194
Available to stream for free on The Criterion Channel
17. Boyz n the Hood (1991)
R | 112 min | Crime, Drama
Follows the lives of three young males living in the Crenshaw ghetto of Los Angeles, dissecting questions of race, relationships, violence, and future prospects.
Director: John Singleton | Stars: Cuba Gooding Jr., Laurence Fishburne, Hudhail Al-Amir, Lloyd Avery II
Votes: 155,337 | Gross: $57.50M
Available to stream for free on Cineplex
18. Brian Banks (2018)
PG-13 | 99 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
A football player's dreams to play in the NFL are halted when he is wrongly convicted and sent to prison. Years later, he fights to clear his name within an unjust system.
Director: Tom Shadyac | Stars: Aldis Hodge, Greg Kinnear, Sherri Shepherd, Melanie Liburd
Votes: 9,226 | Gross: $4.32M
Available to stream for free on all digital platforms, including Prime Video, Apple TV, Fandango Now, Google Play, and more
19. Burn Motherfucker, Burn! (2017)
TV-MA | 99 min | Documentary
Explores the roots of civil unrest in California and the relationship between African Americans and LAPD.
Director: Sacha Jenkins | Stars: Alex Alonso, Nicolas Alonso, B-Real, Danny Bakewell
Votes: 609
Available to stream for free on YouTube and Showtime.com
20. Cadillac Records (2008)
R | 109 min | Biography, Drama, Music
Chronicles the rise of Chess Records and its recording artists.
Director: Darnell Martin | Stars: Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright, Beyoncé, Columbus Short
Votes: 23,236 | Gross: $8.20M
Available to stream for free on IMDb TV
21. Cane River (1982)
104 min | Drama, Romance
The romance between two African Americans who come from a different class background.
Director: Horace Jenkins | Stars: Richard Romain, Tommye Myrick, Ilunga Adell, Lloyd La Cour
Votes: 339
Available to stream for free on The Criterion Channel
22. Coach Carter (2005)
PG-13 | 136 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
Controversy surrounds high school basketball coach Ken Carter after he benches his entire team for breaking their academic contract with him.
Director: Thomas Carter | Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Rick Gonzalez, Robert Ri'chard, Rob Brown
Votes: 172,727 | Gross: $67.26M
Available to stream for free on Cineplex
23. Copwatch (2017)
Not Rated | 95 min | Documentary
Shows "Cop watchers" dedicated to bringing awareness to their community and exposing police brutality/harassment. They are legally recording/documenting each arrest but often find themselves to be the victims of chaos.
Director: Camilla Hall | Stars: Jacob Crawford, Kevin Moore, Ramsey Orta, David Whitt
Votes: 352
Available to stream for free on IMDb TV
24. Daughters of the Dust (1991)
TV-PG | 113 min | Drama, History, Romance
A languid, impressionistic story of three generations of Gullah women living on the South Carolina Sea Islands in 1902.
Director: Julie Dash | Stars: Cora Lee Day, Alva Rogers, Barbarao, Trula Hoosier
Votes: 3,310 | Gross: $1.64M
Available to stream for free on The Criterion Channel
25. Detroit (2017)
R | 143 min | Crime, Drama, History
Fact-based drama set during the 1967 Detroit riots in which a group of rogue police officers respond to a complaint with retribution rather than justice on their minds.
Director: Kathryn Bigelow | Stars: John Boyega, Anthony Mackie, Algee Smith, Jacob Latimore
Votes: 56,200 | Gross: $16.79M
Available to stream for free on Cineplex
26. Do the Right Thing (1989)
R | 120 min | Comedy, Drama
On the hottest day of the year on a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, everyone's hate and bigotry smolders and builds until it explodes into violence.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson
Votes: 112,964 | Gross: $27.55M
Available to stream for free on Cineplex
27. Down in the Delta (1998)
PG-13 | 112 min | Drama
In a desperate attempt to change her life, Loretta -- a troubled single mother from a tough Chicago neighborhood -- is sent to spend a summer at her family's ancestral home in rural Mississippi.
Director: Maya Angelou | Stars: Alfre Woodard, Al Freeman Jr., Mary Alice, Esther Rolle
Votes: 1,897 | Gross: $5.66M
Available to stream for free on The Criterion Channel
28. For Colored Girls (2010)
R | 133 min | Drama
Each of the women portray one of the characters represented in the collection of twenty poems, revealing different issues that impact women in general and women of color in particular.
Director: Tyler Perry | Stars: Janet Jackson, Anika Noni Rose, Whoopi Goldberg, Kimberly Elise
Votes: 8,237 | Gross: $37.72M
Available to stream for free on Cineplex
29. Fruitvale Station (2013)
R | 85 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The story of Oscar Grant III, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident, who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family, and strangers on the last day of 2008.
Director: Ryan Coogler | Stars: Michael B. Jordan, Melonie Diaz, Octavia Spencer, Kevin Durand
Votes: 86,445 | Gross: $16.10M
Available to stream for free on Cineplex
30. Get Out (I) (2017)
R | 104 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A young African-American visits his white girlfriend's parents for the weekend, where his simmering uneasiness about their reception of him eventually reaches a boiling point.
Director: Jordan Peele | Stars: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Catherine Keener
Votes: 699,827 | Gross: $176.04M
Available to stream for free on Cineplex
31. Glory (1989)
R | 122 min | Biography, Drama, History
Robert Gould Shaw leads the U.S. Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices from both his own Union Army, and the Confederates.
Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes, Morgan Freeman
Votes: 145,119 | Gross: $26.83M
Available to stream for free on Prime Video and Cineplex
32. Good Hair (2009)
PG-13 | 96 min | Documentary, Comedy
Chris Rock explores the wonders of African-American hairstyles.
Director: Jeff Stilson | Stars: Chris Rock, Maya Angelou, Al Sharpton, Tanya Crumel
Votes: 6,232 | Gross: $4.16M
Available to stream for free on IMDb TV
33. Hidden Figures (2016)
PG | 127 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of a team of female African-American mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the U.S. space program.
Director: Theodore Melfi | Stars: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe, Kevin Costner
Votes: 256,482 | Gross: $169.61M
Available to stream for free on Cineplex
34. Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror (2019)
Not Rated | 83 min | Documentary
A look at the history of black horror films and the role of African Americans in the film genre from the very beginning.
Director: Xavier Burgin | Stars: Rusty Cundieff, Ernest R. Dickerson, Robin R. Means Coleman, Jordan Peele
Votes: 2,109
Available to stream for free on Shudder
35. I Am Not Your Negro (2016)
PG-13 | 93 min | Documentary, History
Writer James Baldwin tells the story of race in modern America with his unfinished novel, Remember This House.
Director: Raoul Peck | Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, James Baldwin, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X
Votes: 23,662 | Gross: $7.12M
Available to stream for free on Cineplex, PBS.org, Hoopla and Kanopy
36. Idris Elba: King of Speed (2013– )
120 min | Documentary
A look at the world and history of racing cars.
Stars: Idris Elba, Ari Vatanen, Paddy Hopkirk, Max Vatanen
Votes: 192
Available to stream for free on IMDb TV
37. If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)
R | 119 min | Drama, Romance
A young woman embraces her pregnancy while she and her family set out to prove her childhood friend and lover innocent of a crime he didn't commit.
Director: Barry Jenkins | Stars: KiKi Layne, Stephan James, Regina King, Teyonah Parris
Votes: 52,839 | Gross: $14.92M
Available to stream for free on Cineplex
38. Illusions (1982)
34 min | Drama, Short
An African American woman rises to prominence in a fictional movie studio in the 1940s by passing as a white woman, affording others some dignity in the business that frequently portrayed movies as an illusion of a purely "white world."
Director: Julie Dash | Stars: Lonette McKee, Rosanne Katon, Ned Bellamy, Jack Rader
Votes: 526
Available to stream for free on Kanopy
39. Iverson (2014)
Not Rated | 106 min | Documentary, Biography, Sport
Iverson is the ultimate legacy of NBA legend Allen Iverson, who rose from a childhood of crushing poverty in Hampton, Virginia, to become an 11-time NBA All-Star and universally recognized ... See full summary »
Director: Zatella Beatty | Stars: Allen Iverson, Tom Brokaw, Larry Brown, Dwyane Wade
Votes: 4,132
Available to stream for free on IMDb TV
40. John Lewis: Get in the Way (2017 TV Movie)
PG | 60 min | Documentary, Biography, History
John Lewis: Get in the Way is the first major documentary biography of John Lewis, civil rights hero, congressional leader and champion of human rights whose unwavering fight for justice ... See full summary »
Director: Kathleen Dowdey | Stars: Juanita Abernathy, Bernard Lafayette, John Lewis, Eleanor Holmes Norton
Votes: 69
Available to stream for free on PBS.org until July 5
41. Just Mercy (2019)
PG-13 | 137 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
World-renowned civil rights defense attorney Bryan Stevenson works to free a wrongly condemned death row prisoner.
Director: Destin Daniel Cretton | Stars: Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, Brie Larson, Charlie Pye Jr.
Votes: 76,134
Available to stream for free on Prime Video, Cineplex, iTunes, FandangoNow, Vudu, YouTube and On Demand
42. Keep on Keepin' On (2014)
R | 84 min | Documentary
A documentary that follows jazz legend Clark Terry over four years to document the mentorship between Terry and 23-year-old blind piano prodigy Justin Kauflin as the young man prepares to compete in an elite, international competition.
Director: Alan Hicks | Stars: Clark Terry, Justin Kauflin, Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock
Votes: 1,068 | Gross: $0.16M
Available to stream for free on Cineplex
43. Lean on Me (1989)
PG-13 | 108 min | Drama
The dedicated but tyrannical Joe Clark is appointed the principal of a decaying inner-city school he is determined to improve by any and all means.
Director: John G. Avildsen | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Beverly Todd, Robert Guillaume, Alan North
Votes: 23,085 | Gross: $31.91M
Available to stream for free on Cineplex
44. Losing Ground (1982)
86 min | Comedy, Drama
Sara, a cold college professor, and her husband, an ecstatic painter, spend a summer away from the city, straining their rocky relationship.
Director: Kathleen Collins | Stars: Seret Scott, Bill Gunn, Duane Jones, Billie Allen
Votes: 887
Available to stream for free on The Criterion Channel
45. Loving (2016)
PG-13 | 123 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
The story of Richard and Mildred Loving, a couple whose arrest for interracial marriage in 1960s Virginia began a legal battle that would end with the Supreme Court's historic 1967 decision.
Director: Jeff Nichols | Stars: Ruth Negga, Joel Edgerton, Will Dalton, Dean Mumford
Votes: 36,573 | Gross: $7.70M
Available to stream for free on Cineplex
46. Malcolm X (1992)
PG-13 | 202 min | Biography, Drama, History
Biographical epic of the controversial and influential Black Nationalist leader, from his early life and career as a small-time gangster, to his ministry as a member of the Nation of Islam and his eventual assassination.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett, Delroy Lindo, Spike Lee
Votes: 102,490 | Gross: $48.17M
Available to stream for free on Cineplex
47. Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013)
PG-13 | 141 min | Biography, Drama, History
A chronicle of Nelson Mandela's life journey from his childhood in a rural village through to his inauguration as the first democratically elected president of South Africa.
Director: Justin Chadwick | Stars: Idris Elba, Naomie Harris, Terry Pheto, Robert Hobbs
Votes: 29,423 | Gross: $8.32M
Available to stream for free on Cineplex
48. Marshall (2017)
PG-13 | 118 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The story of Thurgood Marshall, the crusading lawyer who would become the first African-American Supreme Court Justice, as he battles through one of his career-defining cases.
Director: Reginald Hudlin | Stars: Chadwick Boseman, Josh Gad, Kate Hudson, Sterling K. Brown
Votes: 26,947 | Gross: $10.05M
Available to stream for free on Cineplex
49. Michael Yo: Blasian (2018)
56 min | Comedy
Family first comedian and bonafide Blasian, Michael Yo, brings his uniquely personal blend of comedy to his debut stand up special. Born and raised in Houston, TX, Michael talks about the ... See full summary »
Director: Devon Shepard | Star: Michael Yo
Votes: 59
Available to stream for free on IMDb TV
50. Monsters and Men (2018)
R | 96 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
The aftermath of a police killing of a black man, told through the eyes of the bystander who filmed the act, an African-American police officer and a high-school baseball phenom inspired to take a stand.
Director: Reinaldo Marcus Green | Stars: John David Washington, Anthony Ramos, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Chanté Adams
Votes: 2,722 | Gross: $0.50M
Available to stream for free on Prime Video, Cineplex and YouTube.
51. Moonlight (I) (2016)
R | 111 min | Drama
A young African-American man grapples with his identity and sexuality while experiencing the everyday struggles of childhood, adolescence, and burgeoning adulthood.
Director: Barry Jenkins | Stars: Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Trevante Rhodes, Alex R. Hibbert
Votes: 333,608 | Gross: $27.85M
Available to stream for free on Cineplex
52. My Brother's Wedding (1983)
Not Rated | 115 min | Drama
A man who has struggled personally has conflicts with his upwardly mobile lawyer brother and well to-do fiancee and is reluctantly to be the best man at their wedding.
Director: Charles Burnett | Stars: Everett Silas, Jessie Holmes, Gaye Shannon-Burnett, Ronnie Bell
Votes: 1,072 | Gross: $0.01M
Available to stream for free on The Criterion Channel
53. Olympic Pride, American Prejudice (2016)
TV-PG | 82 min | Documentary, History
In 1936 when 18 African-American athletes participated in the Berlin Olympic Games, history forgot all except one. This is the story of the other 17.
Director: Deborah Riley Draper | Stars: Blair Underwood, Sada Jacobson, Susan D. Bachrach, Gretel Bergmann
Votes: 157
Available to stream for free on IMDb TV
54. Pariah (I) (2011)
R | 86 min | Drama
A Brooklyn teenager juggles conflicting identities and risks friendship, heartbreak and family in a desperate search for sexual expression.
Director: Dee Rees | Stars: Adepero Oduye, Kim Wayans, Aasha Davis, Pernell Walker
Votes: 7,601 | Gross: $0.76M
Available to stream for free on Cineplex
55. Personal Problems (1980)
165 min | Drama
A partly improvised story of a complicated marriage, the people surrounding the central couple, friends they're having affairs with, and unwanted family.
Director: Bill Gunn | Stars: Vertamae Grosvenor, Carey Barnes, Alan Beckles, Thommie Blackwell
Votes: 208
Available to stream for free on Kanopy
56. Poetic Justice (1993)
R | 109 min | Drama, Romance
Grieving hairdresser Justice goes on a road trip from South Central L.A. to Oakland on a mail truck alongside her friend and an obnoxious postal worker.
Director: John Singleton | Stars: Janet Jackson, Tupac Shakur, Regina King, Joe Torry
Votes: 16,736 | Gross: $27.52M
Available to stream for free on Cineplex
57. Portrait of Jason (1967)
Not Rated | 105 min | Documentary, Biography
Black gay prostitute Jason Holliday is rigorously interviewed on his story and character, revealing nuanced truths about life and art.
Director: Shirley Clarke | Stars: Jason Holliday, Shirley Clarke, Carl Lee
Votes: 1,410
Available to stream for free on The Criterion Channel
58. Queen & Slim (2019)
R | 132 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A couple's first date takes an unexpected turn when a police officer pulls them over.
Director: Melina Matsoukas | Stars: Daniel Kaluuya, Jodie Turner-Smith, Bokeem Woodbine, Chloë Sevigny
Votes: 34,778
Available to stream for free on Cineplex
59. Ray (I) (2004)
PG-13 | 152 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The story of the life and career of the legendary rhythm and blues musician Ray Charles, from his humble beginnings in the South, where he went blind at age seven, to his meteoric rise to stardom during the 1950s and 1960s.
Director: Taylor Hackford | Stars: Jamie Foxx, Regina King, Kerry Washington, Clifton Powell
Votes: 158,160 | Gross: $75.33M
Available to stream for free on Cineplex
60. Reconstruction: America after The Civil War (2019– )
Documentary
A comprehensive and compelling history of the United States immediately following the Civil War.
Stars: Martha S. Jones, Andia Winslow, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Mark Lund
Votes: 224
Available to stream for free on PBS.org
61. Remember the Titans (2000)
PG | 113 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
In 1971 Virginia high school football was everything to the people of Alexandria. But when the school board was forced to integrate an all-black school with an all-white one, the very foundation of football's tradition was put to the test.
Director: Boaz Yakin | Stars: Denzel Washington, Will Patton, Wood Harris, Ryan Hurst
Votes: 233,044 | Gross: $115.65M
Available to stream for free on Cineplex
62. Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook (2019)
79 min | Documentary
This documentary examines how, since 2008, right-wing groups have worked with certain states, to make it harder to vote, particularly for minority groups and young people.
Director: Michael Kasino | Stars: Jeffrey Wright, Kristen Clarke, William Frey, Mark McKinnon
Votes: 249
Available to stream for free on IMDb TV
63. Rise Up (2008)
Not Rated | 88 min | Documentary
Takes the viewer off the beaten path far from any tourist attractions and sandy beaches yet still able to capture the beauty and magic that the Irie has to offer, from the deep countryside to the whirlwind ghettos of Kingston.
Director: Luciano Blotta | Stars: Ice Anastacia, Mikey Bennet, Brandish, Franz Capone
Votes: 77
Available to stream for free on IMDb TV
64. Selma (2014)
PG-13 | 128 min | Biography, Drama, History
A chronicle of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s campaign to secure equal voting rights via an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965.
Director: Ava DuVernay | Stars: David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Wilkinson
Votes: 96,083 | Gross: $52.08M
Available to stream for free on all digital platforms, including Prime Video, Apple TV, Cineplex, Fandango Now, iTunes, Google Play, and more until June 30
65. Shakedown (2018)
72 min | Documentary, Drama, History
SHAKEDOWN chronicles explicit performances in an underground lesbian club in Los Angeles. The story functions as a legend where money is both myth and material. Cumulatively, questions ... See full summary »
Director: Leilah Weinraub | Stars: Egypt, Jazmyne, Junior, Mahogany
Votes: 219
Available to stream for free on The Criterion Channel
66. Sidewalk Stories (1989)
R | 97 min | Comedy
Nearly silent comedy filmed in black and white follows a street artist (Charles Lane), who rescues a baby after her father was murdered. The artist then sets off to find the mother, but has... See full summary »
Director: Charles Lane | Stars: Charles Lane, Nicole Alysia, Tom Alpern, Edwin Anthony
Votes: 540 | Gross: $0.13M
Available to stream for free on Kanopy
67. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
PG | 117 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
Teen Miles Morales becomes the Spider-Man of his universe and must join with five spider-powered individuals from other dimensions to stop a threat for all realities.
Directors: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman | Stars: Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali
Votes: 674,292 | Gross: $190.24M
Available to stream for free on Cineplex
68. Step (2017)
PG | 84 min | Documentary
STEP documents the senior year of a girls' high-school step dance team against the background of inner-city Baltimore.
Director: Amanda Lipitz | Stars: Gari McIntyre, Amanda Leonard, Blessin Giraldo, Chevonne Hall
Votes: 1,235 | Gross: $1.15M
Available to stream for free on Cineplex
69. Suzanne, Suzanne (1982)
30 min | Documentary, Short
A documentary that chronicles a substance abused teenage girl and the downward spiral of her family.
Directors: Camille Billops, James Hatch | Stars: Billie Browning, Suzanne Browning
Votes: 113
Available to stream for free on The Criterion Channel
70. Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One (1968)
Not Rated | 75 min | Documentary
Filmmaker William Greaves auditioned acting students for a fictional drama, while simultaneously shooting the behind-the-scenes drama taking place.
Director: William Greaves | Stars: Patricia Ree Gilbert, Don Fellows, Jonathan Gordon, Bob Rosen
Votes: 2,513
Available to stream for free on The Criterion Channel
71. The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 (2011)
Not Rated | 100 min | Documentary, History
Footage shot by a group of Swedish journalists documenting the Black Power Movement in the United States is edited together by a contemporary Swedish filmmaker.
Director: Göran Hugo Olsson | Stars: Angela Davis, Stokely Carmichael, Bobby Seale, Abiodun Oyewole
Votes: 2,508 | Gross: $0.26M
Available to stream for free on Prime Video and Apple TV until June 12
72. The Blood Is at the Doorstep (2017)
Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary
After Dontre Hamilton was shot 14 times and killed by police in Milwaukee, his family embarks on a quest for answers, justice and reform.
Director: Erik Ljung | Stars: Dontre Hamilton, Nate 'Junior' Hamilton, Maria Hamilton, Kelly Brandmeyer
Votes: 228
Available to stream for free on IMDb TV
73. The Color Purple (1985)
PG-13 | 154 min | Drama
A tale spanning forty years in the life of Celie, an African-American woman living in the South who survives incredible abuse and bigotry.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, Margaret Avery
Votes: 97,789 | Gross: $98.47M
Available to stream for free on Cineplex
74.
Histoire d'Outre-mer (2016– )
Episode:
The Harlem Hellfighters Great War
(2017)
90 min | Documentary, Biography, History
The 369th Infantry Regiment was made up exclusively of black soldiers. Known as The Harlem Hellfighters, these men became the most decorated infantry regiment of the First World War, but what did they find upon returning home to America?
Director: François Reinhardt | Stars: Philippe Baudoin, Helene Harter, Franck Lesjean, Aldon D. Morris
Votes: 39
Available to stream for free on IMDb TV
75. The Hate U Give (2018)
PG-13 | 133 min | Crime, Drama
Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Now, facing pressure from all sides of the community, Starr must find her voice and stand up for what's right.
Director: George Tillman Jr. | Stars: Amandla Stenberg, Regina Hall, Russell Hornsby, Anthony Mackie
Votes: 40,362 | Gross: $29.72M
Available to stream for free on Prime Video and Cineplex
76. The Hurricane (1999)
R | 146 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
The story of Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter, a boxer wrongly imprisoned for murder, and the people who aided in his fight to prove his innocence.
Director: Norman Jewison | Stars: Denzel Washington, Vicellous Shannon, Deborah Kara Unger, Liev Schreiber
Votes: 102,993 | Gross: $50.67M
Available to stream for free on Cineplex
77. The Photograph (I) (2020)
PG-13 | 106 min | Drama, Romance
A series of intertwining love stories set in the past and in the present.
Director: Stella Meghie | Stars: Issa Rae, LaKeith Stanfield, Chanté Adams, Y'lan Noel
Votes: 6,250
Available to stream for free on Cineplex
78. The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
PG-13 | 117 min | Biography, Drama
A struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional career
Director: Gabriele Muccino | Stars: Will Smith, Thandiwe Newton, Jaden Smith, Brian Howe
Votes: 563,470 | Gross: $163.57M
Available to stream for free on Cineplex
79. The Scar of Shame (1929)
Passed | 68 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
An educated, upscale young black musician marries a woman from a lower socioeconomic class to get her out of the clutches of her stepfather, who beats and abuses her. However, once he "... See full summary »
Director: Frank Peregini | Stars: Harry Henderson, Norman Johnstone, Ann Kennedy, Lucia Lynn Moses
Votes: 453
Available to stream for free on The Criterion Channel
80. The Secret Life of Bees (2008)
PG-13 | 114 min | Drama
In 1964, a teenage girl in search of the truth about her mother runs away to a small town in South Carolina and finds a family of independent women who can connect her to her past.
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood | Stars: Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys
Votes: 28,099 | Gross: $37.77M
Available to stream for free on all the digital outlets, including Prime Video, FandangoNOW, Apple TV, Google Play, and more
81. The Watermelon Woman (1996)
Unrated | 90 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A young black lesbian filmmaker probes into the life of The Watermelon Woman, a 1930s black actress who played 'mammy' archetypes.
Director: Cheryl Dunye | Stars: Cheryl Dunye, Guinevere Turner, Valarie Walker, Lisa Marie Bronson
Votes: 3,535
Available to stream for free on The Criterion Channel
82. The Women of Brewster Place (1989)
Not Rated | 178 min | Drama
A multi-generational story of the lives of several black women who call an inner-city tenement home.
Stars: Oprah Winfrey, Mary Alice, Olivia Cole, Robin Givens
Votes: 1,402
Available to stream for free on IMDb TV
83. Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am (2019)
PG-13 | 120 min | Documentary
This artful and intimate meditation on the legendary storyteller examines her life, her works and the powerful themes she has confronted throughout her literary career.
Director: Timothy Greenfield-Sanders | Stars: Toni Morrison, Hilton Als, Oprah Winfrey, Russell Banks
Votes: 925 | Gross: $0.88M
Available to stream for free on Cineplex, Hoopla and Kanopy
84. Us (II) (2019)
R | 116 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Adelaide Wilson and her family are attacked by mysterious figures dressed in red. Upon closer inspection, the Wilsons realize that the intruders are exact lookalikes of them.
Director: Jordan Peele | Stars: Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker
Votes: 342,746 | Gross: $175.08M
Available to stream for free on Cineplex
85. Whose Streets? (2017)
R | 102 min | Documentary
An unflinching look at how the police killing of 18-year-old Mike Brown inspired a community to fight back and sparked a global movement.
Directors: Sabaah Folayan, Damon Davis | Stars: Lezley McSpadden, Michael Brown Sr., David Whitt, Montague Simmons
Votes: 1,417 | Gross: $0.18M
Available to stream for free on PBS.org, Hoopla and Kanopy
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