The Younger family, frustrated with living in their crowded Chicago apartment, sees the arrival of a $10,000 insurance check as the answer to their prayers. Matriarch Lena Younger (Claudia McNeil) promptly puts a down payment on a house in an all-white suburban neighborhood. But the family is divided when Lena entrusts the balance of the money to her mercurial son Walter Lee (Poitier), against the wishes of her daughter (Diana Sands) and daughter-in-law (Ruby Dee). It takes the strength and inte find out more...

The legend of Orpheus and Eurydice recreated in Rio de Janeiro with an all black cast. Orpheus (a tram conductor!) is pursued by Death as he and his beloved Eurydice weave through the carnival madness of Rio in full swing. Amazing energy and colour with superb direction. find out more...

Carmen, a sultry woman, seduces a young soldier, Joe, in order to avoid imprisonment. However, when she leaves Joe for another man, he seeks revenge.

There’s no sexier pairing in the history of black cinema than Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte. She died tragically young but this performance sees her at her best – vivacious, talented, full of agency and power - Catharine Des Forges

Dorothy Dandridge as Carmen Jones stands right at the top of my list. No compet find out more...

Guess what happens when one of the greatest film partnerships discover that the man their daughter wants to marry is black. Even though he's good looking with career prospects they find they are not as liberal as they like to believe. find out more...

Madrk Thackeray is an idealistic black American teacher in 1960's East End London. The students try to break his spirit as a matter of course, but Thackeray is no stranger to hostility and what begins as a battle of wills gradually develops into a relationship of mutual respect and indeed devotion. To Sir With Love is a deeply moving and inspirational drama, with a typically mesmerising performance from Sidney Poitier.

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When a Woman Ascends the Stairs might be Japanese filmmaker Mikio Naruse's finest hour, a delicate, devastating study of a woman, Keiko, played heartbreakingly by Hideko Takamine, who works as a bar hostess in Tokyo's very modern post-war Ginza district. Sly, resourceful, but trapped, Keiko comes to embody the conflicts and struggles of a woman trying to establish her independence in a male-dominated society. A profoundly moving masterpiece. find out more...