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Black History Month: Book and Film Recommendations: Films

To celebrate Black History Month, library staff have curated a list of books and films from Black authors and filmmakers that are available to you through the Hampshire and Five College Libraries!

Film Recommendations

Image of a Black man standing in a subway station. He is wearing a black beanie and hoodie and has his hands clasped in front of him.

Fruitvale Station

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"Filmmaker Ryan Coogler makes his feature directorial debut with this drama centered on the tragic shooting of Oscar Grant (Michael B. Jordan), a vibrant 22-year-old Bay Area father who was senselessly gunned down by BART officers on New Year's Day in 2009, and whose murder sent shockwaves through the nation after being captured on camera by his fellow passengers."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image of a Black man and woman, with their foreheads touching in a loving manner, on a white background. A city street in warm hues is superimposed over their bodies.

If Beale Street Could Talk

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"A timeless love story set in early 1970s Harlem involving newly engaged nineteen-year- old Tish and her fiance Fonny who have a beautiful future ahead. But their plans are derailed when Fonny is arrested for a crime he did not commit. Now the pair and their families must fight for justice in the name of love and the promise of the American dream."

This is a film adaptation of the novel by the same name written by James Baldwin. Baldwin taught at Hampshire in the early 1980s, and the James Baldwin Program is named for him.

 

 

 

 

 

Black and white image of a Black man and woman sitting on the hood of a car. The title of the film is in big, green letters framing the image.

Queen & Slim

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"While on a forgettable first date together in Ohio, a black man and a black woman, are pulled over for a minor traffic infraction. The situation escalates, with sudden and tragic results, when the man kills the police officer in self-defense. Terrified and in fear for their lives, the man, a retail employee, and the woman, a criminal defense lawyer, are forced to go on the run. But the incident is captured on video and goes viral, and the couple unwittingly becomes a symbol of trauma."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Black Panther

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"King T'Challa returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to serve as new leader. However, T'Challa soon finds that he is challenged for the throne from divisions within his own country. When two enemies conspire to destroy Wakanda, the hero known as Black Panther must join forces with C.I.A. agent Everett K. Ross and members of the Wakandan Special Forces, to prevent Wakanda from being drawn into a world war."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image of a Black man's face. It is divided into three segments, each depicting a different time in his life. The color shifts as he ages, from teal, to purple, to light blue. The title is in glowing capital letters at the bottom of the image.

Moonlight

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"A young black man struggles to find his place in the world while growing up in a rough neighborhood of Miami."

Moonlight won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay in 2017.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three Black women, walking towards the camera, with a space rocket taking off in the background.

Hidden Figures

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"As the United States raced against Russia to put a man in space, NASA found untapped talent in a group of African-American female mathematicians that served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in U.S. history. Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Katherine Johnson crossed all gender, race, and professional lines while their brilliance and desire to dream big, beyond anything ever accomplished before by the human race, firmly cemented them in U.S. history as true American heroes."