Black Debutantes: A Collection of Early Works by Black Women Directors (May 2025, BFI Southbank)
Conceived in response to the lack of Black Women directors with filmographies robust enough to support a solo season across the course of a month, Black Debutantes uncovers a number of familiar early works by respected filmmakers alongside films new to UK audiences.
The latter include Jessie Maple’s Will and Zeinabu irene Davis’ Compensation. Several of the featured filmmakers, such as Cauleen Smith and Bridgett M. Davis, have only made one traditional feature throughout their careers, but their powerful voices and unique perspectives nevertheless remain as fresh and relevant as ever.
Recurring themes of love, motherhood, ancestral trauma, the relationship to one’s body, racial violence and filmmaking itself all emerge from these remarkable early films in a range of genres, from coming-of-age and historical dramas to dystopian epics and contemporary independents.
An expanded edition of Black Debutantes arrives on the Criterion Channel on December 1 2025.
Featuring:
SAMBIZANGA (Sarah Maldoror, 1972)
ONE WAY OR ANOTHER (Sara Gómez, 1977)
WILL (Jessie Maples, 1981)
LOSING GROUND (Kathleen Collins, 1982)
DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST (Julie Dash, 1991)
JUST ANOTHER GIRL ON THE I.R.T. (Leslie Harris, 1992)
WELCOME II THE TERRORDOME (Ngozi Onwurah, 1995)
NAKED ACTS (Bridgett M. Davis, 1996)
THE WATERMELON WOMAN (Cheryl Dunye, 1996)
EVE’S BAYOU (Kasi Lemmons, 1997)
DRYLONGSO (Cauleen Smith, 1998)
COMPENSATION (Zeinabu irene Davis, 1999)
PARIAH (Dee Rees, 2011)
I AM NOT A WITCH (Rungano Nyoni, 2017)
PRETTY RED DRESS (Dionne Edwards, 2022)