Award-Winning Films
Directed by POC
We are currently undergoing a time where the truths of our great contributions as people of color are being unveiled. For decades our divinity and creative intuition have helped bring light into the lives of many regardless of their identity.
In efforts to highlight people of color and their contributions, I have generated a list of films (in no particular order) directed by POC. This list features ground-breaking, award-winning films along with movies that are rated as crowd favorites.
Let’s get started!
01.
Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban
The Harry Potter Series, written by J.K. Rowling has a film franchise that generated millions of dollars a year. Each film was celebrated for its ability to transport viewers into the world of wizardry and magic.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) was directed by Mexican film director, screenwriter, producer and cinematographer, Alfonso Cuarón Orozco. Mr. Orozco studied cinematography and film at CUEC (Centro Universitario de Estudios Cinematográficos) in Mexico and began his journey within film on Mexican television networks. He went on to create various projects such as Gravity (2013) starring Sandra Bullock and Roma (2018). He is also the first Latin American director to receive an Oscar award for Best Director.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was rated the highest out of all eight films by rotten tomatoes and nominated twice for an Oscar award. It is also rumored to be J.K. Rowling’s favorite movie from the entire film series.
More by Alfonso Cuarón Orozco
02.
2 Fast 2 Furious
The Fast and Furious series is a 13 film franchise that is centered on action and illegal street racing. Each film dives us deeper in the story of Dominic Toretto played by Vin Diesel, Brian O’Connor played by Paul Walker (R.I.P.), Luke Hobbs played by Dwayne Johnson along with their families and friends. John Singleton directed the second Fast and Furious film, 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), that made $236.3 million at the box office.
John Singleton was an African-American film director, screenwriter, and producer who grew up in South Los Angeles. He attended a film writing program in the USC School of Cinematic Arts and began a journey to creating various projects within Hollywood. At the age of 24, Singleton received Academy Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Director making him the first youngest and African-American person ever nominated for Best Director. Unfortunately, at the age of 51 John Singleton passed away from a stroke. His work will never be forgotten as his contributions will continue to pave the way for many others to manifest their passion of creating.
More by John Singleton
03.
Inside Man
Inside Man (2006) starring Denzel Washington and Jodie Foster is a thriller that follows a 24-hour bank heist on Wall Street. The film has a 86% recommended rating on Rotten Tomatoes and grossed over $180 million at the box office. This film also received the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture.
This film was directed by none other than the talented Spike Lee who is is an African-American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. Spike Lee was born in Atlanta, Georgia but his family quickly moved to Brooklyn, NY after his birth. Growing up in a creative household influenced his decision to study film at the New York University Film School. By the age of 20 he created various amateur films and went on to be behind many classic films such as She’s Gotta Have It (1986) and Do the Right Thing (1989). He also owns his own production company named 40 Acres and a Mule Film Works where the majority of his films were produced including the remake of the film She’s Gotta Have It (2017).
More by Spike Lee
04.
Love & Basketball
Love and Basketball (2000) is about a unique love story between Monica (Sanaa Lathan) and Quincy (Omar Epps.) As children, they bonded over their aspirations to become professional basketball players, but as they grow older their passion for the sport sparks an undeniable romantic relationship between them. This film was actually filmed through Spike Lee’s production company. This film has won various NAACP and BET awards.
Gina Prince-Bythewood is the woman behind this incredible film and she not only directed this film but wrote it as well. She is a bi-racial American film director and screenwriter who grew up in California. Her biological mother was Caucasian and her father was African-American, but due to conflicts with her mother’s family’s inability to accept a mixed child, she was put up for adoption. At three weeks old she was adopted by her Caucasian father and Salvadorian and German Decent mother. She was afforded great opportunity after coming into the care of her adoptive parents and went on to pursue her passion for film at UCLA (The University of California, Los Angeles.) After graduating, she went on to establish a promising career in film.
More by Gina Prince-Bythewood
05.
Straight Outta Compton
Straight Outta Compton (2015) is an award-winning film about the story of the legendary rap group: NWA. From the tales of growing up in the streets of Compton, LA to revolutionizing the Hip Hop culture with their music this movie showcased it all. The movie is 89% recommended by Rotten Tomatoes and made over $200 million at the box office.
Felix Gary Gray also known as F. Gary Gray is the incredible director behind Straight Out of Compton along with many other films. F. Gary Gray was born in New York City but was raised in South-Central Los Angeles by his mother. The dangers of the street-life in LA raised concerns in his mother so she decided to send him to live with this father in Highland Park, Illinois. He went from living in a predominately African-American neighborhood to a predominately Caucasian neighborhood and it was certainly a culture shock. Gray began learning about film from the involvement at his high school’s tv-station. He decided to return to LA to pursue film professionally and began landing various gigs within the film industry until he finally aligned his talent with FOX networks. He went on to direct successful music videos, movies and acted in a few films.
More by F. Gary Gray
06.
Pacific Rim
Pacific Rim (2013) is a film that follows an ex-pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and a trainee (Rinko Kikuchi) on a mission to save humanity from the legion Kaiju that arose from the sea. To defeat them they must use Jaegers which are robots developed by man-kind in efforts to protect themselves against the strength of these monstrous creatures, but the only issue is that the only robot left is an old, obsolete Jaeger. This film made over $400 million at the box office.
The director behind this film is Guillermo del Toro, a Mexican film director, screenwriter, producer, and novelist. Toro was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, and the Mexican programs his grandmother would watch sparked an interest in filmmaking in his early teens. He began learning makeup as well as film effects and he started producing his projects. After achieving success on a few projects in Mexico he moved to California to work in Hollywood where is directed various well-known films such as Blade II and Hellboy.
More by Guillermo del Toro
07.
Get Out
Get Out is a spine chilling thriller that follows Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya) a young African-American on his weekend trip to meet his white girlfriend’s parents. Initially, Chris found his girlfriend’s family to be overly accommodating but later learns that the “kind” gestures were actually a scheme to ease him into a sacrifice of his body. The weekend trip ends in a fight for his life. This film made over $250 million at the box office, won over ten awards such as an Oscar, an Directors Guild of America award and Writers Guild of America award.
The mastermind behind this film is Jordan Peele.
Jordan Peele is known to be a successful actor, comedian, writer, director, and producer. Peele grew up in a mixed household as his mother is Caucasian and his father is African-American. Growing up in a blended household helped him gain insight on both worlds which helped establish his creative lenses. He began mostly acting and landed his breakout role in the comedy sketch series MadTV. After five successful seasons, he left the show and joined forces with his cast-mate Keegan-Michael Key, to start their comedy sketch show called Key & Peele. This new exposure to creating content led him to align with an opportunity to direct his groundbreaking project Get Out. He has since then continued directing various projects along with landing many acting gigs such as hosting the CBS series remake of The Twilight Zone.
More by Jordan Peele
08.
Training Day
Training Day (2001) starring Denzel Washington is about a rookie cop on his first day on the job with LAPD. He is escorted by a veteran officer through the tough inner-cities. A series of events ensue which forces the rookie cop to chose between honoring his job or saving his life. This film has won an Academy Award and made over $100 million at the box office.
Training Day is directed by the talented Antoine Fuqua. Fuqua is an African-American film director and producer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His career began in directing music videos for musicians such as Stevie Wonder and Prince, but by 1998 he began to transition into action and thriller films. From there he went on to make various award-winning films.
More by Antoine Fuqua
09.
Black Panther
Black Panther(2018) is a superhero film based on the Marvel Comic character Black Panther. Following the death of his father and king of Wakanda, T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) must return home and take his rightful place as king. After he is pronounced king his title is threatened by powerful enemies and he must fight to protect Wakanda. This movie broke records becoming the top-grossing superhero film of all time in North America and has won various Oscar awards.
Ryan Kyle Coogler is an African-American film director, producer, and screenwriter from Oakland, CA. Both his parents were college graduates and heavily involved in helping elevate their community. This influenced his passion for creating content that spoke heavily against injustice and/or properly represents the African-Americans experience in America. In school, he was heavily involved in sports but he transitioned into film making. His first feature film, Fruitvale Station, won the top audience award and sparked his journey to becoming one of the most respected directors today.
More by Ryan Coogler
10.
Book of Eli
The Book Eli (2001) takes place thirty years after a war has turned the world into a wasteland. A lone warrior named Eli (Denzel Washington) set out on a dangerous mission to help restore humanity. On the journey towards redemption, Eli must risk everything to protect the vital book he carries. This film made over $150 million at the box office.
The Hughes Brothers are twins who were born in Detroit, Michigan to an African American father and an Armenian American mother. At the age of twelve their mother bought them their first video camera and that is when their journey began. They spent a lot of time making short films and their passion for creating lead them to drop out of high school to pursue film full-time. They first worked on music videos for successful artists such as Tupac Shakur then made their way to direct their first feature film, Menace II Society. Their leap of faith into their passion has led them to great success.
More by The Hughes Brothers
Honorable Mentions
Here are few more Directors worth mentioning
Check out these amazing directors who didn’t make the list but are nonetheless paving the way for us both creatively and socially.
Andy Muschietti was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is a successful producer and director, known for his thriller projects Mama (2013), It (2017), and It Chapter Two (2019).
Ava DuVernay is an American (with African and European roots) female director, producer, writer, marketer, and film distributor. She is behind the award-winning Netflix short series When They See Us and documentary 13th.
Tyler Perry is a successful African-American actor, writer, producer, comedian, and director. At one point Perry was even listed as the highest-paid man in entertainment by Forbes. He is behind the million-dollar Madea franchise and has his own production company known as Tyler Perry Studios in Georgia.
Apart from being a successful actor Denzel Washington has also ventured into directing. The film Fences (2016) was directed by Denzel himself capturing the story of a working-class African-American father trying to raise a family in the 1950s.