Black in Period Films

A family clash over an heirloom piano explodes.  The Piano Lesson is Malcolm Washington’s directorial debut. Washington co-wrote the screenplay with Virgil Williams and is an adaptation of the 1987 Pulitzer-prize winning August Wilson play. The battle between brother (John David Washington) and sister (Danielle Deadwyler) — one hopes to sell it, the other refuses to give it up — unleashes haunting truths about how the past is perceived and who defines a family legacy.  Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, Ray Fisher, Michael Potts, Erykah Badu, Skylar Aleece Smith, Jerrika Hinton, Gail Bean, Danielle Deadwyler, and Corey Hawkins. The film will be in select theaters November and on Netflix November 22.

Jada Pinkett Smith has developed a new documentary series that explores the lives of important and iconic African Queens.  Netflix Season Synopsis: The first season will cover the life of Njinga, the complex, captivating, and fearless 17th century warrior queen of Ndongo and Matamba, in modern day Angola. The nation’s first female ruler, Njinga earned a reputation for her blend of political and diplomatic skill with military prowess and became an icon of resistance. I know about Njinga of (modern day) Angola because of the amazing book, Nzingha: Warrior Queen of Matamba, Angola, Africa, 1595 by Patricia McKissack . The book was a part of the "The Royal Diaries" series; a children's book series that shaped my love for history. The Royal Diaries series consisted of 20 books published by Scholastic Press from 1999 to 2005. Each book was an epistolary fiction novel written in the form of a childhood diary from a real royal female figure. If you got to experience these am...

       Adapted from the celebrated 1929 novel of the same name by Nella Larsen, PASSING tells the story of two Black women, Irene Redfield (Tessa Thompson) and Clare Kendry (Academy Award nominee Ruth Negga), who can “pass” as white but choose to live on opposite sides of the color line during the height of the Harlem Renaissance in late 1920s New York. After a chance encounter reunites the former childhood friends one summer afternoon, Irene reluctantly allows Clare into her home, where she ingratiates herself to Irene’s husband (André Holland) and family, and soon her larger social circle as well.      As their lives become more deeply intertwined, Irene finds her once-steady existence upended by Clare, and PASSING becomes a riveting examination of obsession, repression and the lies people tell themselves and others to protect their carefully constructed realities. Written and Directed by: Rebecca Hall Watch Passing, only on Netflix.

The cast for Tyler Perry’s new Netflix film A Jazzman’s Blues has come together with the announcement of addition actors. The cast includes previously announced leads Joshua Boone and Solea Pfeiffer. New cast members include Amirah Vann, Austin Scott, Milauna Jackson, Kario Marcel, Lana Young, Brent Antonello, Brad Benedict, and Ryan Eggold.  A Jazzman’s Blues is written and directed by Perry. The film follows forty years of secrets and lies in a tale of forbidden love and family drama in the deep South. Perry has said that this project is especially special to him as this was the first screenplay Perry wrote 26 years ago. Perry commented on the film saying: “I have waited a quarter of a century to tell this story and now is the perfect time and Netflix is the perfect partner.” A Jazzman’s Blues began shooting this week in Savannah, Georgia and at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta. It’s currently set for a 2022 release on Netflix.

The trailer is finally here for the Madame C.J. Walker biopic, 'Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker'. The production has an amazing cast staring  Octavia Spencer as the trailblazing businesswoman. The production looks absolutely amazing. I am LOVING the costumes and set dressings. Everyone looks lovely. The limited series is based on the biography On Her Own Ground by  by Walker's great-great-grandaughter,  A'Lelia Bundles . Cast Octavia Spencer as Sarah Breedlove/Madame  C. J. Walker Blair Underwood as husband C.J. Walker Tiffany Haddish as daughter Lelia Garrett Morris as Walker’s father-in-law Carmen Ejogo as business rival Addie Munroe Kevin Carroll as her lawyer Freeman Ransom Bill Bellamy as Freeman Ransom’s cousin Sweetness Netflix will release the four part series of “Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker” on March 20. What do you think of the trailer and will you be watching? ...

It was recently announced that Jeremy Pope and Laura Harrier will be in Ryan Murphy's upcoming Netflix series 'Hollywood'. Along with Pope and Harrier, actors Samara Weaving, David Corenswet, Patti LuPone, Holland Taylor, and Darren Criss have also joined the cast. Jeremy Pope is playing a character named Archie, while Laura Harrier's character is named Camille. View this post on Instagram “Hollywood” — my new Netflix show co-created with Ian Brennan — begins principal photography this summer. A love letter to the Golden Age of Tinseltown, this straight-to-series production will be my third show for Netflix and I couldn’t be more excited or proud about the work we are doing together. More to come… A post shared by Ryan Murphy (@mrrpmurphy) on Feb 22, 2019 at 9:02am PST With the series being described as "A love letter to the Golden Age of Tinseltown", it is very likely that the s...

Will Smith will be taking on the role of Harlem crime boss Nicky Barnes in the upcoming Netflix film, The Council. Nicky Barnes was an American crime boss. Barnes was active during the 1970s in New York. Barnes worked along with the Italian-American Mafia to lead a drug trafficking ring. Barnes was arrested in 1978, given a life imprisonment sentence, and eventually became a federal informant. Nicky Barnes on the cover of The New York Times Magazine Official Project Description : “The Council is the never-before-told story of a crime syndicate consisting of seven African-American men who ruled Harlem in the 1970s and early 80s. No ordinary crime syndicate--the men dreamed of a self-sufficient and self-policing African American city-state, funded by revolutionizing the drug game. The movie centers on the Shakespearean court intrigue between The Council’s king, Nicky Barnes, dubbed ‘Mr. Untouchable’ by the New York Times, and all the different members as one unl...

Shondaland’s first Netflix project  is based on Julia Quinn’s best-selling  Bridgerton  novels.  Bridgerton Family Series by Julia Quinn Shot in the London the historical drama is set in the lavish and highly competitive world of Regency London high society.  The Official Description : "From the glittering ballrooms of Mayfair to the aristocratic palaces of Park Lane and beyond, the series unveils a seductive, sumptuous world replete with intricate rules and dramatic power struggles, where no one is truly ever on steady ground. At the heart of the show is the powerful Bridgerton family. Comprised of eight close-knit siblings, this funny, witty, daring and clever group must navigate the upper ten thousand’s marriage mart in search of romance, adventure and love."  The Cast The Julie Andrews voices Lady Whistledown, the unseen gossip writer. Rege-Jean Page ( Roots 2016 ) as Simon Bassett A Duke who finds himself the target of the...

These are the period films with Black characters that are leaving Netflix in August 2017. 1) From Time to Time (2009) features the young actor Kwayedza Kureya as Jacob.  PG | 1h 32min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy | 2) Wild Wild West (1999) features Will Smith as James West and Garcelle Beauvais as Belle. PG-13 | 1h 46min | Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi Both of these films are fantasy or scifi in nature, but with historical/period settings and costumes. ( Source )