There are many ways to observe and celebrate Black History Month, and if you have some free time to go to the movies, Milwaukee Film has curated a month-long lineup in honor of the occasion.
Ty Williams is the Black Lens Programmer for Milwaukee Film, and he handpicked a variety of films you can see on the big screen that exemplify the dynamic range of Black stories told through cinema. He joined Lake Effect’s Audrey Nowakowski to share more about the Black History Month films.
“I think that they are films that I would call culturally relevant in one way or another,” he says.
Obsessed – Friday, Feb. 14 at 9 p.m.
Starring Idris Elba, Beyoncé Knowles and Ali Larter, this 2009 thriller follows a happily married businessman whose new workplace stalker attempts to seduce him into an affair. The film’s campy, "femme fatale" themes make it a must-watch, Williams says.
“She kind of sets up all these situations to make it seem like Idris Elba is cheating—kind of laying the groundwork to steal Beyoncé's man away from her and then Beyoncé catches wind of this,” he says. “And from there you get just a bunch of crazy drama, crazy action.”
Who Killed Captain Alex? – Saturday, Feb.15 at 9 p.m.
Produced on a shoestring budget and recognized as Uganda’s first action film, this 2010 cult classic follows the civil unrest that erupts after a police captain is killed during a raid in Kampala.
“Sometimes you get a bad film by a director who's kind of —for lack of a better word— a little bit delusional,” Williams says. “But this was somebody who said, ‘No, this isn't a bad movie; this is a good movie because I wanted to make this, and I made it.’”
Nationtime – Sunday, Feb. 16 at 3 p.m.
Documentary filmmaker William Greaves’ Nationtime covers the 1972 National Black Political Convention, held in Gary, IN. Seeking to answer the question, “what is the Black agenda?” the convention brought together Black leaders, activists and artists from across the political spectrum—including Jesse Jackson, Corretta Scott King, Dr. Betty Shabazz, Dick Gregory and many more.
“It's not about finding a definitive answer to what the Black agenda is,” Williams says. “It's about what so many different people of different backgrounds and different communities think through their lived experiences, and how the Black agenda is viewed to them and just what the Black experience is to them as well.”
Narrated by Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte, the film was considered too militant for television at the time of its release and was originally circulated in an edited 58-minute format. The Oriental will be showing the full 80-minute version of the film.
Boyz n the Hood – Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 7 p.m.
Starring Ice Cube, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Lawrence Fishburne, this 1991 film tackles themes of gang violence, poverty and gentrification through a coming-of-age story of young men growing up in South Central Los Angeles. Williams considers it a classic.
“In the same way that people say, ‘Oh, you’ve got to watch the Godfather at least once,’ I think you need to see Boyz n the Hood at least once just to know how radical this film was for Black Americans and how many people have given their time to this movie that really did change America’s perspective on what stories were valid,” he says.
Get Out – Saturday, Feb. 22 at 9 p.m.
Starring Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams and Bradley Whitford, Jordan Peele’s acclaimed 2017 horror debut follows Chris and his girlfriend Rose on a weekend visit to meet her parents upstate. While the family’s overly accommodating behavior seems to be at first a nervous attempt to deal with their daughter’s interracial relationship, Chris discovers further disturbing truths about his girlfriend’s family as the weekend goes on.
“It really plays on all these subconscious fears that I feel like a lot of Black people —not just Black men— have about being in a place where they feel like they aren't necessarily invited, but also are still being kind of catered to for an ulterior motive,” Williams says.
Malcolm X – Sunday, Feb. 23 at 3 p.m.
Starring Denzel Washington, Spike Lee’s 1992 Malcolm X biopic follows the Black liberation activist from his time running a Harlem racketeering ring, to his prison conversion to Islam, to his time as a leader in the Nation of Islam and later the Organization for Afro-American Unity, to his eventual assassination in February of 1965.
“I think this film does a good job of explaining the base story of who Malcolm X was and what he did. Why it was so important, what his viewpoints were and why he was so radical in his beliefs, or at least radical to so many people,” Williams says.
Glory – Friday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m.
Starring Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman and Matthew Broderick, this 1989 film tells the story of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment—one of Union Army’s first all-Black units during the Civil War. Williams says the film tells an important story of Black people fighting for their place in the American experiment.
“I chose this film because I think is very prescient with today in the sense that there are a lot of people who kind of the validity of things like DEI and affirmative action and just Black people's contributions to this country and the world," he says.
For more information on Milwaukee Film’s Black History Month programming, you can visit their website.
