Gordon Parks was a true Renaissance man. The first African American to direct a major Hollywood feature—the moving coming-of-age saga THE LEARNING TREE—he was also a writer, composer, and brilliant photographer who created some of the most iconic images of his time, using his camera to expose poverty, struggle, and systemic racism in America. This tribute to Parks’s cinematic genius—including his chronicle of the life of legendary folk singer Lead Belly, his rendition of the Solomon Northup story (later the basis for Steve McQueen’s 12 YEARS A SLAVE), and his gorgeous autobiographical essay film MOMENTS WITHOUT PROPER NAMES—reveals a sensitive artist who brought passion and personal insight to his groundbreaking portrayals of the Black American experience across history.
Directed by Gordon Parks • 1969 • United States
Starring Kyle Johnson, Alex Clarke, Estelle Evans
The first film directed by an African American for a major American studio, THE LEARNING TREE is a personal triumph for director-producer-writer-composer Gordon Parks. Adapted from his own autobiogr...
Directed by Gordon Parks • 1984 • United States
Starring Avery Brooks, Rhetta Greene, Petronia Paley
Gordon Parks directs the original film adaptation of abolitionist Solomon Northup’s 1853 autobiography “Twelve Years a Slave,” later the basis for the Academy Award–winning drama by Steve McQueen...
Directed by Gordon Parks • 1987 • United States
Gordon Parks turns his camera on his own life and art in this gorgeous, elegiac essay film, in which he interweaves his photography, music, and poetry into a lyrical self-portrait of a modern-day Renaissance man. Recounting his life’s journey—from ...
