11 black female filmmakers you should know

© Sundance Institute | L–R, from top left: Ekwa Msangi by Caydie McCumber; Janicza Bravo by Jemal Countess; Ava DuVernay by Mark Leibovitz; Euzhan Palcy by Ron Hill; Gina Prince-Bythewood with Sanaa Lathan, photographer unknown; Dee Rees by Dan Campbell; and Ayoka Chenzira, photographer unknown

Sundance Institute, that has supported numerous black women artists in telling their stories over the last 39 years, celebrate the work of Black filmmakers year-round. The Institute made a list highlighting 11 Black women directors with ties to the Institute and the Festival. From indie hits to serious blockbusters, projects written and directed by Black women have proven to be essential in contributing a unique cinematic gaze. Archive classics like Ayoka Chenzira’s Violette, Euzhan Palcy’s A Dry White Season, Julie Dash’s Daughters of the Dust, Gina Prince-Bythewood’s Love & Basketball , Ava DuVernay’s Middle of Nowhere; and this year’s hits including Garrett Bradley’s Time, Radha Blank’s The 40-Year-Old Version , Janicza Bravo’s Zola, Ekwa Msangi’s Farewell Amor, Dee Rees’s The Last Thing He Wanted , Channing Godfrey Peoples’s Miss Juneteenth— these are the titles from female filmmakers, that made the list. Go ahead to Sundance Institute’s official website to see descriptions, and know more, where to stream some of those films.