Film
ON FILM
T
Andy Hastie, Yeovil Cinematheque
he excuse always given by Hollywood when challenged as to why there is not a proportionate representation of black actors, directors or stories in mainstream American cinema is, ‘Black films don’t make money, it’s a niche market.’ This belief was blown out of the water with the arrival of Black Panther in 2018. A superhero film, based on the Marvel Comics character and with a predominately black cast, Black Panther has broken box-office records, grossed over 1.3 billion dollars to date, and stands as the 10 | Sherborne Times | August 2020
third highest-grossing film ever in the United States. Up until now, any meaningful representation of black lives and experiences has had to come from the independent sector, with paltry publicity budgets compared to the big studio fare, so more often than not falls under the radar, irrespective of quality and worthiness. There are a few exceptions however, which by their excellence start to emerge from the festival circuit to be picked up by the main cinema chains. I’ll suggest a few of the more recent I would recommend watching.
