Deputy chairman of the national Black Panther Party Fred Hampton was a stirring orator, firing hearts and minds out of slumber and into action against US capitalism. So clear and infectious was Hampton’s guidance against the country’s racist and classist economic system that the FBI and Chicago police department assassinated the 21-year-old as he slept. In documentaries like The Murder of Fred Hampton, which don’t circulate enough, Hampton is seen delivering his famous speeches at rallies, casually moving fellow Panthers with his warmth in a mock trial at the headquarters, mingling at the Free Breakfast for School Children Program and […]

One of the best American films of recent years drops on HBOMax (and on big screens where theatres are open) today with the release of director Shaka King’s mesmerizing Judas and the Black Messiah, a film about slain Black Panther leader Fred Hampton that skillfully avoids bio-pic cliches with its sophisticated dual narrative and arresting ’70s crime flick style. Daniel Kaluuya is the best he’s ever been in a performance that forcefully conveys Hampton’s iconic power and humanizes him at the same time; costar Lakeith Stanfield is equally strong as William O’Neal, an FBI informant who sells out Hampton and […]

Kristan Sprague first heard of Shaka King when they were both in high school, long before either entered the film industry. Though they had friends in common, they only got to know each other when they attended Vassar College and started filmmaking in earnest. Since then, Sprague has edited most of King’s work, from his early shorts to his independent debut Newlyweeds, and now their first studio feature, Judas and the Black Messiah. The film follows the real-life story of car thief William O’Neal (Lakeith Stanfield), who was hired by the FBI to infiltrate the Illinois chapter of the Black […]

With most incoming film students being required to make shorts during their undergraduate or graduate studies, what exemplars of the form should they look to for inspiration? Filmmaker asked a number of friends—all filmmakers—who teach filmmaking at a cross-section of institutions to list the short films they think all incoming students should check out and be inspired by. Howard A. Rodman, professor, USC School of Cinematic Arts: I consistently recommend to my students—whose films often lead with cinematography, visual effects and sound mix—that they see Andrea Arnold’s Academy Award–winning 2003 short film Wasp. Adequate direct sound, wobbly cam, minimalist VFX, yet […]

Newlyweeds writer/director Shaka King, who last appeared on the site with his excellent Sundance short Mulligans, is back with another imaginatively executed, of-the-moment short. LaZercism is his riff on “racial glauccoma,” a disease affecting white people that prevents them from seeing the contributions of — or just seeing at all — people of color. The comedy short, which stars Keith Stanfield (Short Term 12, Atlanta) and Robert Longstreet (I Don’t Feel at Home in this World Anymore), proposes an easy, outpatient procedure to correct the affliction.

Newlyweeds filmmaker Shaka King made the slightly unorthodox decision to release his short film Mulignans online almost immediately following its Sundance premiere last month. Turns out, King never thought of Mulignans as a festival hopper, but a piece of work meant to be seen by “as wide an audience as possible as soon as possible.” Currently at 61,000 views and counting on Vimeo, I asked King to elaborate on his decision: We initially made Mulignans for the web, but a couple friends suggested I enter it into Sundance…and I’m glad I did. But the ultimate goal was always to get it out there […]

Returning to work again with director Shaka King (Newlyweeds) is cinematographer Daniel Patterson, who lenses the director’s Sundance short, Mulignans. Mulignans? From the Sundance catalog: mulignan(s) /moo.lin.yan(s)/ n. 1. Italian-American slang for a black man. Derived from Italian dialect word for “eggplant.” See also: moolie. Source: Urban Dictionary and pretty much every mob movie ever. Called “four minutes of biting, vicious satire” by Filmmaker‘s Sarah Salovaara, Muligans was shot in one day and is one long scene. Below, Patterson discusses how he made that happen. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What […]

For several weeks at the end of last year, it seemed as though the racial tension building in the United States might reach a boiling point. The deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner and Tamir Rice at the hands of law enforcement had produced an energy of outrage and frustration, sparking heated national debate. It was a debate that didn’t hinge on whether or not America had a race problem, but how bad America’s race problem actually was. For some, the deaths of Brown, Garner, Rice and others were proof that there was a systematic, inherent disregard for black lives […]

In the wake of the decision not to prosecute Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson for the killing of Michael Brown, Fruitvale Station director Ryan Coogler has joined with Selma director and AFFRM founder Ava DuVernay to launch Blackout for Human Rights, “a network committed to ending human rights violations at the hands of public servants.” The group, which includes a number of directors, actors and others, builds on this week’s nationwide protests with events and actions, including today’s #BlackoutBlackFriday. From the group’s Tumblr: About #BlackoutBlackFriday: We ask those who stand with Ferguson, victims of police brutality and us to refrain […]

The lovers at the center of Shaka King’s Newlyweeds are young Brooklynites whose romance more or less revolves around their love of marijuana. King’s often outrageously funny and wistfully bleak movie is a black stoner answer to James Ponsoldt’s Smashed; with genre-bending humor and style to burn, the movie asks delicate questions about the nature and sustainability of their relationship and fissures that may pull them apart. Amari Cheatom’s Lyle is a repo man for a rent-to-own electronics and appliance store while Trae Harris’ Nina is a museum tour guide. He’s a little angry and brighter than his job title would indicate […]