The Next Big Names In Black Cinema
Five directors you should know by the end of 2022
Though love will be on the brain for many this month thanks to the sham holiday that is Valentine’s day, please don’t forget February is also Black History Month. If you’re looking to celebrate the season by watching films from Spike Lee, Barry Jenkins, or Ava DuVernay, be sure to put these rising stars on your radar as well.
1. Janicza Bravo
By every right, the name Janicza Bravo should be one the film and television world is already well acquainted with. After all, this NYU grad has been in the cinema game for over half a decade now, amassing a list of directorial credits that would be the envy of any filmmaker. Among them are gigs calling the shots on Atlanta, Dear White People, and In Treatment.
On the feature side, Bravo’s debut Lemon remains one of the most underrated dramedies this past decade. But it’s safe to say her latest effort — A24’s stylish stripper road trip crime drama Zola, which Bravo adapted from a viral Twitter feed — is the film that’s put her on the map.
If you still don’t know her name, learn it now, because Janicza Bravo’s star is very much on the rise.
2. Stefon Bristol
History would tell you directorial debuts are a very hit or miss affair. When things go right, you get Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino) or Get Out (Jordan Peele). When they go wrong, you’re left with Alien³ (David Fincher) or Transcendence (Wally Pfister). Stefon Bristol hit his debut out of the park.
If you haven’t seen his absurdly clever and heart-wrenchingly See You Yesterday, then you need to drop that time-traveling marvel into your Netflix queue immediately. This is the very definition of an overlooked gem.
As for Bristol, he cut his teeth crewing on Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman, then promptly convinced the master to produce See You Yesterday under the Forty Acres and A Mule Filmworks shingle. As long as Bristol keeps up the good work, his name might soon be just as prominent as Lee’s.
3. J.D. Dillard
On the topic of well-regarded debut features, you’d be hard pressed to find one in the same league as J.D. Dillard’s genre-bending 2016 thriller Sleight. That film wowed at Sundance before becoming a hit on the indie film circuit.
While Dillard’s followup film, 2019’s eerie, deserted island creature feature Sweetheart didn’t earn quite as much attention, it hardly heralded a sophomore slump. And it may actually be a more complete film than Sleight. Given the talent on display in both films, Dillard’s coming out party as an auteur of unique vision is only a matter of time. So if you want to say you knew him when, add Sleight and Sweetheart to your watch list ASAP.
4. Tayarisha Poe
Getting your foot in the door as a filmmaker is different for everyone. In the case of Tayarisha Poe, that involved making a well-liked short film (2012’s Honey and Trombones), and then sidekicked as a still photographer on a pair of lauded low-budget features. (The Fits in 2015 and 2019’s Blow the Man Down)
Somewhere along the way, Poe found time to write, direct, and produce Selah and the Spades, a boldly stylized, incisive teen-clique flick that essentially re-invented what the prep school drama genre. Of course, a big part of that reinvention involved putting young, black women at the forefront of the story.
While Selah and the Spades is far from perfect, anyone who’s seen it can vouch that Poe’s behind-the-camera skill is undeniable. More than enough to land her on any cinephile’s watchlist. So the question is, have you seen Selah and the Spades?
5. Shaka King
Admittedly, this one feels a little bit like a cheat, because Shaka King’s Judas and the Black Messiah was one of 2021’s most important films. His searing portrait of an inside man (Lakeith Stanfield) bringing down Black Panther heavy Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya) proved as timely as any work of art in the Black Lives Matter era.
King’s film made an Oscar winner of Kaluuya and was nominated for four other Academy Awards. Judas and the Black Messiah was only his second feature film, but it’s a legit masterpiece.
Somehow King still feels like an outsider on the Hollywood scene. That will change, because he’s just too gifted. Maybe we can we can expedite his ascension by watching and/or re-watching Judas and the Black Messiah this month.
