Kwanzaa, the annual celebration of African American culture, takes place on December 26 – January 1st each year. Kwanzaa was first established in 1966 by American professor of Africana studies, Maulana Karenga. The holiday was created during the aftermath of the Watts riots, in order to give African American families a chance to honor their history and culture. On each night of Kwanzaa, a candle is lit representing the seven principles of Kwanzaa – Swahili words that comprise the philosophy of the holiday.
So, where are all the Kwanzaa films? Although Kwanzaa is an important cultural event for many families, films that showcase the holiday are rare. Until the day that films featuring Kwanzaa are more commonplace, here are some films to watch that honor the African-American experience and embody the seven principles of Kwanzaa.
Umoja (Unity)
If Beale Street Could Talk
Following his Oscar-winning Moonlight, director Barry Jenkins continues his cinematic exploration of the 20th-century African American experience with this anguished adaptation of James Baldwin’s critically acclaimed 1974 titular novel (the title references the 1916 W.C. Handy song “Beale Street Blues”). In 1970s Harlem, a naïve 19-year-old woman discovers that she’s pregnant with her 22 year-old boyfriend’s baby after he’s been arrested for a rape he did not commit--framed by a racist cop with a grudge. Tish (KiKi Layne) and Fonny (Stephan James), are tender soul-mates, totally committed to one another, but the rest of the world seems stacked against them.
Read our review of If Beale Street Could Talk
Get your copy of the If Beale Street Could Talk Blu-ray DVD by clicking here.
Kujichagulia (Self-determination)
Homecoming
Most of us raised on a diet of mainstream history textbooks were given little more than a fuzzy, attenuated notion of the struggle for African-American self-determination and land ownership after Reconstruction...something to do with "forty acres and a mule." Filmmaker Charlene Gilbert attempts to set that neglected story straight by documenting the rise and fall of black farmers in the Southern United States from the end of the Civil War to the present.
Read our review of Homecoming
Ujima (Collective work and responsibility)
Judas and the Black Messiah
Shaka King’s intense, insidious, infuriating biographical drama focuses on the rise to power of Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya), chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party and the betrayal that led to his death at age 21 by the F.B.I., working with informant William O’Neal (Lakeith Stanfield). It’s remarkably relevant in contextualizing the current Black Lives Matter movement as it relates to policing and the justice system. “We’ve heard the rallying cry for justice and equality from more voices than ever before,” notes Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out). “As actors, it’s on us to keep our voices raised. To tell our stories —Black stories—and to show these stories are more vital than ever.”
Read our review of Judas and the Black Messiah
Get your copy of the Judas and the Black Messiah Blu-ray DVD by clicking here.
Ujamaa (Cooperative economics)
Oh Freedom After While
In the cotton and corn cradle of the Southeast Missouri "Bootheel," slavery didn't end with emancipation. For the thousands of landless ex-slaves who migrated north to work these rich farmlands, the misery and hardships suffered under slavery were simply replaced by life under the yoke of another type of indenturement--sharecropping. Oh Freedom After While provides a well-crafted and moving look at the plight--crushing poverty, impossibly hard work, and almost universal exploitation by unscrupulous land owners--of sharecroppers, black and white, from Reconstruction to the New Deal.
Read our review of Oh Freedom After While
Nia (Purpose)
Soul
Unwilling to abandon the chance to fulfill his dream, Joe, an aspiring jazz pianist, reaches the Great Before, a corporate-minded way station for souls not yet born, who are assigned seasoned mentors to shepherd them to find their “spark,” the ineffable quality that will become a driving element of their being. A noteworthy element of Soul is its embrace of African-American culture, which has been conspicuously lacking in Pixar products until now. With humor that will amuse children, emotional complexity that will appeal to adults, and dazzling visuals that will engage everyone across the age spectrum, Soul, like all the finest Pixar films, speaks to both the head and the heart.
Read our review of Soul
Get your copy of the Soul 4K Blu-ray by clicking here.
Kuumba (Creativity)
Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child
Director Tamra Davis' documentary draws much of its strength and originality from a wealth of never-before-seen interview footage with enigmatic 1980s impressionist phenom Jean-Michel Basquiat. Davis not only places Basquiat's success in its proper context—his wildly impressionistic word-collages and almost childlike figures being a much-needed antidote to the clinical minimalism of the '60s and '70s—but also puts into perspective his ultimate falling out with the critical establishment.
Read our review of Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child
Imani (Faith)
Seven Candles for Kwanzaa
Narrated by Alfre Woodard, Seven Candles for Kwanzaa is an iconographic adaptation of the 1993 picture book written by Andrea Davis Pinkney and beautifully illustrated by Brian Pinkney. Using minimal enhancement and less narrative structure, the program is a nevertheless impressive factual introduction to Kwanzaa, focusing on the vocabulary native to this American holiday as embodied in the various rituals, feasts, and festivities.
Read our review of Seven Candles for Kwanzaa