The World of Black Film: A Journey Through Cinematic Blackness in 100 Films With a Foreword by John Akomfrah

by Ashley Clark

My Brother Ashley Clark Has Broke It Down To What Black Film Was, Is Present Day, And What The Future Might Be. BLAK IZ BLAK. YA-DIG? SHO-NUFF. Enjoy This BLAK CINEMATIC SCIENCE. - Spike Lee

The World of Black Film is an entertaining, informed, and thought-provoking survey of important and influential Black films from around the globe. Starting with the unfinished silent comedy Lime Kiln Club Field Day (1913) and concluding with Steve McQueen's World War II epic Blitz (2024), this book takes readers on an exciting journey through an eclectic mix of classics and hidden gems spanning more than 100 years and 30 countries. Beautifully designed and bursting with eye-catching film imagery and poster art, this is essential reading for general film fans, enthusiasts of Black cinema, educators, and students alike.
Includes a foreword by Sir John Akomfrah, CBE RA.

Films and directors include:
Black Orpheus (Marcel Camus, 1959)
Black Girl (Ousmane Sembène, 1966)
Hollywood Shuffle (Robert Townsend, 1987)
Malcolm X (Spike Lee, 1992)
Belle (Amma Asante, 2013)
Timbuktu (Abderrahmane Sissako, 2015)
Moonlight (Barry Jenkins, 2016)
Black Panther (Ryan Coogler, 2018)
Saint Omer (Alice Diop, 2022)
Dahomey (Mati Diop, 2024)
Blitz (Steve McQueen, 2024)

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Art, History

224 pages, Hardcover

Published February 17, 2026

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Lekha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really thoughtful curation of 100 essential black films. Ashley Clark appreciates the full diaspora of black film, from more mainstream classics like Malcolm X and Boyz n the Hood to incredibly niche gems like Who Killed Captain Alex (the first Ugandan action film made on a reported $85 budget and released on YouTube) and Countdown at Kusini (a pan-African film where funding came from thousands of sorority members in the US who all contributed $100).

This book describes the hostility that black filmmakers have faced in the mainstream film industry, and explores the inventive ways they have overcome these barriers to make genre-defying, transformative movies. An important read for all film lovers. Many more films are now on my to-watch list!!

[John Schorg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely indispensable resource guide to films that are not well-known, but deserve a look from anyone seriously interested in world cinema. I understand the author's desire to restrict selections to one per filmmaker, but I sure wish there had been some leeway to allow for a longer look at Killer of Sheep, Small Axe, and, yes, Do the Right Thing.

[G · Rating 4 out of 5]

**3.75. not too too much to say here. really informative and well thought out! there are some things to say about the selection of the films itself but i also don’t think it’s necessary to hold this book to some high ground. it was great to see a different perspective on the origins of black film (// blackness in film) outside of gone with the wind and i also appreciate the international focus on black indie films too. interesting to see what mid 21st century films of our generation are being added to this canon. i’d say i knew/had watched about a third of the films, and the other were pleasant surprises. you can also trace a timeline of afrofuturist film in here too which is so cool to see from sun ra to cameroonian sex positive sci fi stories. some new films on my watchlist now:

* within our gates (1820)
* hell-bound train (1930)
* the return of an adventurer (1966)
* symbiopsychotaxiplasm (1968)
* soul in the eye (1973)
* yeelen (1987)
* kirikou and the sorceress (1998)
* the bloodettes (2005)
* faya dayi (2021)
* cette maison (2022)
* rewind & play (2022)

[emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this Right Now in particular to atone for reading Modelland. Also I still really need to watch Symbiopsychotaxiplasm

[Sequella Coleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well organized compilation of 100 black films. Beginning in 1913, this is diaspora of blackness. Many of these films are from African, island and European locations.


Good for research. The author does a nice comparison of many of the films.

Learning tool.