zora neal thurston

The current political climate, systemic bias and gatekeeping in moviemaking impacts the industry’s entire workforce, but they hit Black women filmmakers hardest. Those who today are overcoming – count Nia DaCosta, Julie Dash, Cheryl Dunye, Ava Duvernay among them – can look back and thank the early 20th Century Black Women filmmakers whose work and careers pioneered the path to current successes. It’s important for film lovers and filmmakers to know film history, and to recognize artists who created the chronology. We SPOTLIGHT four Black Women filmmakers who are oft offed in the telling of cinema history. They must be remembered, honored, celebrated for their fearlessness, creativity, and determination. Their work deserves space in our brains and their names should be on the tips of our tongues, not sidelined or forgotten.