LibGuides: Antiracism: A Resource Guide: Film and Television

Ava Duvernay: Writer, Producer, Director, Film Distributor

Ava Duvernay on the set of Selma. Photo credit: Atsushi Nishijima/Paramount.

Although she did not pick up a camera until she was 32, Ava DuVernay has made history as a writer, director, and producer. She was the first African American woman to win Best Director at the Sundance Film Festival, be nominated for a Best Director Golden Globe, direct a film nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, and direct a film with a budget over $100 million. Her work has made her the highest grossing Black woman director in American box office history. Her latest project, When They See Us, was nominated for 16 Emmy awards, making her and Beyoncé the first African American women in Primetime Emmy history to receive multiple nominations in their careers for directing. (Source: National Women's History Museum)

FILMOGRAPHY Includes trailers, movie stills, articles, publicity and more.
Ava DuVernay launches arts project to expose police violence Edgers, Geoff. "Ava DuVernay launches arts project to expose police violence." Washington Post, 9 June 2020. Gale OneFile: News, https://link-gale-com.ezproxy.skylinecollege.edu/apps/doc/A626146190/STND?u=plan_skyline&sid=STND&xid=4d4e1a6b. Accessed 22 July 2020.
I Want You to See Them: An Interview with Ava Duvernay An interview with Ava DuVernay, producer and director at Netflix series "When They See Us" and its cast members including Jharrel Jerome and Justin Cunningham, is presented. Topics discussed include reasons to chose to name the project "When They See Us," problems associated with mass incarceration and men were involved with the whole process and watching the cut before it was finalized. MAYARD, JUDNICK. “‘I Want You to See Them.’” GQ: Gentlemen’s Quarterly, vol. 89, no. 5, June 2019, p. 48. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h&AN=136725435&site=ehost-live.
Why Ava DuVernay is exactly what we need right now Edgers, Geoff. "Why Ava DuVernay is exactly what we need right now." Washington Post, 16 Feb. 2018. Gale OneFile: News, https://link-gale-com.ezproxy.skylinecollege.edu/apps/doc/A527809124/STND?u=plan_skyline&sid=STND&xid=9f0b2682. Accessed 22 July 2020.
Ava DuVernay’s Visionary Filmmaking Is Reshaping Hollywood Her eye for American history puts her in the vanguard. Her passion for justice makes her a hero. Ward, Jesmyn. "Ava DuVernay's Visionary Filmmaking Is Reshaping Hollywood." Smithsonian Institution. December 01, 2017. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/ava-duvernay-visionary-filmmaking-reshaping-hollywood-180967217/. Accessed July 22, 2020.
Ava DuVernay on Her Oscar-Nominated Documentary 13th and Resistance Through Art Berman, Eliza. "Ava DuVernay on Oscar-Nominated Netflix Documentary 13th." Time. February 10, 2017. https://time.com/4662871/ava-duvernay-13th-documentary-interview/. Accessed July 22, 2020.
We Shall Overcome: Ava DuVernay on Making "Selma" The groundbreaking director talks about downplaying LBJ, honoring MLK’s legacy and why you should always have Oprah on your film sets. By Gavin Edwards, RollingStone, Jan. 5, 2015. https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-news/we-shall-overcome-ava-duvernay-on-making-selma-237237/. Accessed July 22, 2020.
Conversations with Ava DuVernay—“A Call to Action”: Organizing Principles of an Activist Cinematic Practice Martin, Michael T. “Conversations with Ava DuVernay—‘A Call to Action’: Organizing Principles of an Activist Cinematic Practice.” Black Camera, vol. 6, no. 1, 2014, pp. 57–91. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/blackcamera.6.1.57. Accessed 22 July 2020.

Spike Lee: Writer, Director, Producer, Actor

Spike Lee: Four Decades of Wake Up! For over four decades, Spike Lee has used film to tell audiences to "Wake up!" We sit down with the director to explore his use of the phrase and the challenging history that inspired it. From IMDb.com, June 2020.
FILMOGRAPHY Includes every film, short, documentary, television program with details and trailers. Also links to a biography, awards and more. From IMDb.com
Every Spike Lee Film, Ranked by Vulture "Every Spike Lee Film, Ranked" By Will Leitch and Tim Grierson, Vulture Lists, updated June 12, 2020. Includes several film trailers.
Spike Lee: "Race relations today are a direct response to having a black president"; Prior to the release of Da 5 Bloods, the director takes questions from readers, film-makers and politicians about George Floyd, Covid-19 and the worst thing about actors "Spike Lee: 'Race relations today are a direct response to having a black president'; Prior to the release of Da 5 Bloods, the director takes questions from readers, film-makers and politicians about George Floyd, Covid-19 and the worst thing about actors." Guardian [London, England], 12 June 2020, p. NA. Gale OneFile: Business, https://link-gale-com.ezproxy.skylinecollege.edu/apps/doc/A626448475/GPS?u=plan_skyline&sid=GPS&xid=d640e0e2. Accessed 23 July 2020.
Spike Lee Meets the Moment (Again): with his DA 5 BLOODS premiering June 12 on Netflix, the never-shy director takes on institutional lies, Trump (aka "Agent Orange") and his Black voters, and why even with 25 films under his belt, he "barely got this one Keegan, Rebecca. "SPIKE LEE MEETS THE MOMENT (AGAIN): WITH HIS DA 5 BLOODS PREMIERING JUNE 12 ON NETFLIX, THE NEVER-SHY DIRECTOR TAKES ON INSTITUTIONAL LIES, TRUMP (AKA 'AGENT ORANGE') AND HIS BLACK VOTERS, AND WHY EVEN WITH 25 FILMS UNDER HIS BELT, HE 'BARELY GOT THIS ONE MADE'." Hollywood Reporter, vol. 426, no. 14, 10 June 2020, p. 48+. Gale OneFile: Business, https://link-gale-com.ezproxy.skylinecollege.edu/apps/doc/A628181627/GPS?u=plan_skyline&sid=GPS&xid=f600809c. Accessed 23 July 2020.
Spike Lee: fast forward Lee denies that he started a revolution for Blacks in the film production industry. He points to great forerunners such as Oscar Micheaux and Ossie Davis. He candidly discusses his treatment by critics, his latest movie 'Clockers' and the struggle for survival of Blacks in the industry. Fitzgerald, Sharon. "Spike Lee: fast forward." American Visions, vol. 10, no. 5, Oct.-Nov. 1995, p. 20+. Gale General OneFile, https://link-gale-com.ezproxy.skylinecollege.edu/apps/doc/A18053730/GPS?u=plan_skyline&sid=GPS&xid=c0c09f1b. Accessed 23 July 2020.

Kanopy Streaming Highlights

PUSHOUT: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools (2019) Inspired by the groundbreaking book of the same name by Monique W. Morris, Ed.D, PUSHOUT: THE CRIMINALIZATION OF BLACK GIRLS IN SCHOOLS, takes a deep dive into the lives of Black girls and the practices, cultural beliefs and policies that disrupts one of the most important factors in their lives - education. Alarmingly, African American girls are the fastest-growing population in the juvenile justice system and the only group of girls to disproportionately experience criminalization at every education level. The film underscores the challenges Black girls face with insights from multiple experts across the country who have worked extensively in the fields of social and criminal justice, gender equality and educational equity, giving context to the crisis and providing a roadmap for how our educational system and those who interact with Black girls can provide a positive rather than punitive response to behaviors that are often misunderstood or misrepresented.
Whose History? The Reckoning over Confederate Monuments and the Racial Terror of Lynching (2018) In Episode Four of the America Divided series Jussie Smollett travels to Memphis, Tennessee to witness the growing movement to bring down Confederate monuments and commemorate the deaths of thousands of African-Americans lynched during decades of racial terror. On his journey, Jussie meets the brother of a lynching victim and becomes part of his seven-decade-long quest for justice and meets the famed civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson who brings him to the newly unveiled Museum for Peace and Justice.
Out of Omaha (2019) OUT OF OMAHA is an intimate portrait of twin brothers Darcell and Darrell Trotter, two young black men coming of age in the racially and economically-divided Midwestern city of Omaha, Nebraska. Director Clay Tweel met the Trotters when they were 17 and filmed them over a period of eight years. By intimately portraying the twins' hopes and struggles - and the love and help they give and get along the way - the film examines how much it takes to overcome disadvantages rooted in historic injustice.

Streaming Services

Film studios and streaming services have made a variety of films about race and racism available for free: here's how to watch By Valerie Jones, Deseret News, June 9, 2020. https://www.deseret.com/entertainment/2020/6/9/21284402/movies-about-race-racism-black-african-american-film-selma-ava-duvernay-john-lewis-criterion-channel. Accessed July 23, 2020.
HBO Makes Several Civil Rights Films and Shows Free to Watch HBO has announced that it's curated a collection of programming—some of it free to all—focused on Civil Rights. By Isabel Garcia, House Beautiful, June 3, 2020. https://www.housebeautiful.com/lifestyle/a32755903/hbo-civil-rights-programing-free-shows-movies/. Accessed July 23, 2020.

Hoopla: Instantly borrow free digital movies, music, e-books, and more with your public library card.
Hulu: Sign up for a free trial to access movies and television shows.
Kanopy: Skyline College has purchased a small selection of films. Links are provided in the Skyline Films box. For access, log in as you would to Canvas. Note: You may need to enable pop-ups for Kanopy to access it from off-campus. You can also access Kanopy through your public library.
Netflix: Sign up for a free trial to access movies and television shows

Access to Books & More from PLS

More resources are available from the public libraries in San Mateo County.

All SMCCD students, staff, and faculty are eligible for a free PLS library card, whether or not you live in San Mateo County.
You can search the catalog, request curbside pickup of books and download e-books and e-audiobooks through Overdrive, Libby or Axis 360.
San Mateo County Libraries (SMCL) offer always available e-books and e-audiobooks on the topic of antiracism.
Libraries also give free access to selected databases, e-magazines and streaming services like Hoopla and Kanopy.