Directed by Ephraim Asili • 2020 • United States
After nearly a decade exploring different facets of the African diaspora—and his own place within it—Ephraim Asili makes his feature-length debut with this astonishing ensemble work set almost entirely within a West Philadelphia house inhabited by a collective of young, Black artists and activists. Based partly on Asili’s own experiences in a Black liberationist group, THE INHERITANCE interweaves a scripted drama about characters attempting to work toward political consensus with a documentary recollection of the Philadelphia organization MOVE, the target of a notorious police bombing in 1985. Boldly combining politics, humor, and philosophy, Asili puts forth an intellectually and aesthetically adventurous statement on the history and evolution of Black activism.
Up Next in Celebrate Black History
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Black Panthers
Directed by Agnès Varda • 1970 • United States
Agnès Varda turns her camera on an Oakland demonstration against the imprisonment of activist and Black Panthers cofounder Huey P. Newton. In addition to evincing Varda’s fascination with her adopted surroundings and her empathy, this perceptive sho...
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Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist
Directed by Saul J. Turell • 1979 • United States
Saul J. Turell's Academy Award-winning documentary short Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist, narrated by Sidney Poitier, traces his career through his activism and his socially charged performances of his signature song, "Ol' Man River."
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Fannie’s Film
Directed by Fronza Woods • 1981 • United States
Starring Fannie DraytonA sixty-five-year-old cleaning woman for a professional dancers’ exercise studio performs her job while telling us in voice-over about her life, hopes, goals, and feelings. A challenge to mainstream media’s prevailing stereo...
