Black Sundance: Movies You Should Know at This Year's Festival

Southside With You, Sleight, Morris From America and more.

Sleight - Jacob Latimore stars as a triple threat (actor, singer, dancer) who perfects his craft at the Disney Channel while balancing life as a high school student and magician. But here’s the kicker: He also turns to dealing drugs to take care of his baby sister. Other stars you may know who appear in this film include Dulé Hill, Cameron Esposito and SNL’s Sasheer Zamata.(Photo: Diablo Entertainment)
Michael Jackson’s Journey From Motown to Off the Wall - Spike Lee is behind this one, so you know it’s definitely worth the watch. Lee, known as one of Michael Jackson’s biggest fans, released this documentary where he interviewed several of MJ’s admirers and fans, including Joe and Katherine Jackson, Lee Daniels, The Weeknd and Pharrell Williams. Fans also get a chance to see vintage footage of the King of Pop himself, as Lee used archival video of him in the film.(Photo: Optimum Production Picture)
The Birth of a Nation - Beyond the Lights star Nate Parker wrote and directed this period piece about slave-turned-revolutionary Nat Turner and the film world is taking notice. The Birth of a Nation follows Turner who led a successful slave rebellion in Virginia in 1831, where it is recorded that at least 55 whites were killed. This film has some of Black Hollywood’s elite with Gabrielle Union, Aunjanue Ellis, Aja Naomi King and more flexing their acting chops to tell this powerful story.(Photo: Bron Studios/ Mandalay Pictures)
How to Tell You're a Douche Bag - Not only is the witty title attention-grabbing, but so is this film’s premise. This romantic comedy centers around blogger Ray Livingston as he chronicles his experiences with dating Black women. The film follows the perils that many career-focused, educated Black millennials currently have: dating in a big city.(Photo: Wise-Miller Productions)Kiki - Deemed by critics as the new-age Paris Is Burning, Kiki is a documentary which follows the lives of a group of Black and Latino youths who religiously participate in the dance of voguing, which they have heralded as "kiki." In addition to the dancing, the film also touches on police brutality and HIV and AIDS.(Photo: Hard Working Movies)

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Michael Jackson’s Journey From Motown to Off the Wall - Spike Lee is behind this one, so you know it’s definitely worth the watch. Lee, known as one of Michael Jackson’s biggest fans, released this documentary where he interviewed several of MJ’s admirers and fans, including Joe and Katherine Jackson, Lee Daniels, The Weeknd and Pharrell Williams. Fans also get a chance to see vintage footage of the King of Pop himself, as Lee used archival video of him in the film.(Photo: Optimum Production Picture)

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