A heartfelt dedication

In the age of the Black Panther films and the much- needed opening of the doors to a profusion of explorations of black lives on screen, you might think this is an exceptional moment in movie history.

You’d be wrong, as film historian, film lover and now documentary director Elvis Mitchell shows in his ode to the overlooked but powerful history of black American cinema, Is That Black Enough for You?

Using his youthful experience of going to the movies during Blaxploitation as a jump-off, he casts his gaze over history. He plucks from it underappreciated gems, memorable characters and creators who kicked against mainstream indifference and found ways to reflect the bitter truths and ordinary lives of black Americans.

From the anti-establishment racial politics of silent-era black director Oscar Micheaux; to the different responses to the civil rights struggles reflected in the choices made by friends Sydney Poitier and Harry Belafonte; to the social critiques woven into Blaxploitation, Mitchell weaves a heartfelt argument for a reassessment of the history of black film that elevates many to their place among the overall canon of the great.

He’s ably assisted by a plethora of interviews with some powerful black players in Hollywood who were inspired by the work done before them to take their chances in an often hostile creative environment and change it into the more representative shape we recognise now.

From pioneering indie director Charles Burnett and 1970s sex symbol Billy Dee Williams, to Whoopi Goldberg, Denzel Washington, Samuel L Jackson, the always outspoken Spike Lee and Zendaya, Mitchell is not alone in his quest to give black film its deserved respect and acknowledgment.

Mitchell’s documentary benefits from doing more than offering a highlights tour, thanks to his passion for his subject and the wealth of archive and talent he’s unearthed.

By the time it’s all over you’ll be going back to the beginning, searching for the films mentioned and ensuring you greedily consume them and learn to love them as much as he does. Tymon Smith

Is That Black Enough for You? is streaming on Netflix.