12 Films You Should Watch During Black History Month

It’s Black History Month in the UK and in Canada, and here’s a list of the 12 films that are essential viewing during this time. Check them out below.

From the 1st to the 31st of October this year, we in the UK and our friends across the pond in Canada celebrate Black History Month. This is an annual celebration of the achievements made by black people and it has been held every year since 1976. One area of note and the one that we’re going to be concentrating on in this list is black cinema. That said, we shouldn’t keep it to just one month to celebrate black cinema because it deserves to be celebrated all year round.

Over the years we’ve seen people take to the craft to document the injustices suffered by black people throughout the course of history, and it has resulted in some of the very best films ever made. The Black Lives Matter movement has also spawned some truly memorable movies. That said, not all of Black Cinema is about that. There are a plethora of interesting and innovative movies that you should watch if you are at all interested in cinema.

I’ve whittled it down to just 12 films, but keep in mind that there are many more incredible works that haven’t made it on this list that are certainly worth watching. Hopefully, we’re starting to see Black Cinema really starting to break into the mainstream, especially after the success of films like 12 Years A Slave and Moonlight and even with the upcoming Black Panther movie, which will be Marvel’s first superhero film to be led by a black actor in Chadwick Boseman.

So without further ado, here are the 12 films you should watch during Black History Month:

Do The Right Thing (1988)

Boyz N the Hood (1991)

Malcolm X (1992)

Friday (1995)

The Butler (2013)

12 Years A Slave (2013)

Selma (2014)

Straight Outta Compton (2015)

I Am Not Your Negro (2016)

A United Kingdom (2016)

Moonlight (2016)

Get Out (2017)

So there you have it. These 12 films should be on your watchlist during the month of October. Making this list was difficult because there are so many great films made by black directors and written by black screenwriters, yet these 12 films are a good place to start. Just as a side note, I really wanted to put Ryan Coogler’s Creed on there, but it just missed out, unfortunately. It’s still a wonderfully impactful film that’s worth watching, should you have the time.

We’ve got a lot of other lists that are worth checking out, such as the 10 films that will get you into the Halloween spirit and the 20 films that are worth watching this autumn. Please enjoy them.

Are there any films you think we missed (there are)? Then let us know in the comments below.