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Black Star
Our subscription selection celebrating black stardom, focusing on British talents and pioneering performers.
Our highlights here range from Ousmane Sembéne's groundbreaking 1965 film Black Girl all the way up to 2004’s acclaimed British crime drama Bullet Boy and beyond. Begin a mesmerising journey through the talent of black cinema right here.
Second Coming Second Coming
Drama 2015 105 mins Director: debbie tucker green
What if an immaculate conception took place in a South London household? Idris Elba stars in a subtle, thought-provoking and original family drama.
Black Girl Black Girl
Drama 1965 59 mins Director: Ousmane Sembène
The first major work by African master Ousmane Sembène, about a Senegalese maid’s despair, brims with both New Wave vitality and African heart.
Honeydripper Honeydripper
Drama 2007 124 mins Director: John Sayles
Acclaimed writer-director John Sayles brings the birth of rock 'n' roll to life with electrifying effect, with Danny Glover heading up a stellar cast.
For Queen and Country For Queen and Country
Drama 1989 101 mins Director: Martin Stellman
Denzel Washington stars as a British paratrooper who returns to the London council estate of his youth, only to find his wartime service counts for nothing.
The First Grader The First Grader
Drama 2011 99 mins Director: Justin Chadwick
Inspiring true story of a Kenyan man who returned to school aged 84. With Oliver Litondo and Naomie Harris.
Of Good Report Of Good Report
Drama 2013 110 mins Director: Jahmil Xolani Thandikhaya Qubeka
Disturbing but deeply stylish South African drama about a teacher who becomes obsessed with an under-age pupil in his class, with tragic consequences.
Soul Power Soul Power
Documentary 2008 92 mins Director: Jeffrey Levy-Hinte
James Brown, Sister Sledge and B.B King feature in this stunning concert film, shot during the Ali-Foreman 'Rumble in the Jungle' of 1974.
Pressure Pressure
Drama 1978 121 mins Director: Horace Ové
Hailed as Britain's first black feature film, Pressure is a hard-hitting, honest document of the plight of disenchanted black youths in 1970s London.
Sixteen Sixteen
Drama 2013 79 mins Director: Rob Brown
A former child soldier in Congo, now living in London, witnesses a crime and is drawn into a violent world he'd hoped to leave behind.
One Love One Love
Romance 2005 96 mins Director: Rick Elgood and Don Letts
Rick Elgood and the legendary Don Letts direct this reggae romance about a rasta musician whose affair with a gospel-singing preacher’s daughter causes a stir in Kingston.
Playing Away Playing Away
Sport 1986 102 mins Director: Horace Ové
A cricketing comedy of manners exploring white and black stereotypes, from pioneering British filmmaker Horace Ové.
Looking for Love Looking for Love
Documentary 2015 115 mins Director: Menelik Shabazz
Leading filmmaker Menelik Shabazz (Burning an Illusion) explores intimacy and relationships within Britain’s black community.
Bullet Boy Bullet Boy
Drama 2005 86 mins Director: Saul Dibb
Ashley Walters impresses in the hard-hitting Hackney drama that’s still one of the best of Britain’s black urban crime films.
B.D. Women B.D. Women
1994 20 mins Director: Campbell X
Sassy, stylised documentary exploring the hidden histories of black lesbians.
Straight to Hell Straight to Hell
Comedy 1987 86 mins Director: Alex Cox
Alex Cox’s anarchic homage to the spaghetti western.
Fear Eats the Soul Fear Eats the Soul
Melodrama 1974 93 mins Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Fassbinder’s international breakthrough, this unconventional love story combines lucid social analysis with devastating emotional power.
Julius Caesar Julius Caesar
Drama 2012 151 mins Director: Gregory Doran
Gregory’s Doran’s innovative Shakespeare interpretation transplants the action to post-independence Africa.
My Brother the Devil My Brother the Devil
Drama 2012 107 mins Director: Sally El Hosaini
Sally El Hosaini's feature debut tells of the love and disenchantment of two British-Egyptian brothers as gangs, drugs and sexuality come between them.
The Stuart Hall Project The Stuart Hall Project
Documentary 2013 99 mins Director: John Akomfrah
Composed of film, music and photographs from the archives, a fascinating portrait of the life and times of the founder of cultural studies and the New Left Experience.
The Nine Muses The Nine Muses
Documentary 2012 92 mins Director: John Akomfrah
John Akomfrah mixes archive material, literary and musical quotations and newly shot silent footage in a wry, rapt meditation on memory and migration.
Burning an Illusion Burning an Illusion
Drama 1982 102 mins Director: Menelik Shabazz
Menelik Shabazz’s pioneering first feature traces the emotional and political growth of a young black couple in Thatcher’s London.
Within Our Gates Within Our Gates
Drama 1919 74 mins Silent Director: Oscar Micheaux
Oscar Micheaux’s startling silent classic – the earliest surviving feature from an African-American director.
Blood of Jesus Blood of Jesus
Drama 1941 56 mins Director: Spencer Williams
Spencer Williams feverish melodrama about a woman’s flirtation with Satan was independently produced out of Texas with an amateur cast and a budget of $5,000.
Birthright Birthright
Drama 1938 74 mins Silent Director: Oscar Micheaux
Oscar Micheaux directs the story of a Harvard graduate whose attempts to establish a rural school runs into opposition from both races.
Young Soul Rebels Young Soul Rebels
Drama 1991 105 mins Director: Isaac Julien
The Queen's Silver Jubilee beats to the sounds of Funkadelic, Sylvester and the O'Jays in Isaac Julien’s feature debut.
More Black Star films in our Rentals collection.