See You Yesterday by Stefon Bristol
This is one of the most original time-travel movies I've seen, and not simply because it has a mostly black and Latinx cast but also because it has a larger story about familial love, and the ways in which we define family. Beyond that, it has one of the best (and funniest!) celebrity cameos for a time travel film that I've seen. From its poignant beginning, which offers context for why we should care about these young prodigies, played brilliantly by Eden Duncan-Smith and Dante Crichlow, to it's elliptical ending that keeps you rooting for our heroes through the closing credits, this film is a surprising gem, elegantly directed by Stefon Bristol. I can't wait to see more by this director!
Selah and the Spades by Tayarisha Poe
Selah and the Spades
Here is a film that wouldn’t have gotten made ten years ago. The fact that a teenage African American girl gets to be an ostensibly bad girl—think Mean Girls or Heathers-- but is able to find redemption, makes this a fantasy we all should believe in.
95 And 6 To Go by Kimi Takesue
95 and 6 To Go by Kimi Takesue:
Takesue
Kimi Takesue is one of the greatest independent filmmakers of our time, and not enough people have seen these films that take their time with the human condition—take their time in a way that feels like a luxury we’ve forgotten how to treat ourselves to. If you want an alibi for your obsession with people watching, here it is; she makes art out of that deliciously bad habit. Beyond that, she can tell a story while moving between the realms of narrative and documentary--at times in the same film. In a word, here is a genius at the top of her craft.
Kimi Takesue: