Monáe explains why she took on this tough role and how Black women can care for ourselves amid trauma — Making Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz’s Antebellum was always going to be a challenge. Films set in the plantation South press against open wounds that are still present in the 21st century. …

‘Cuties’ filmmaker Maïmouna Doucouré talks about the poster controversy and the global sexualization of our girls — Aside from rare examples like Crooklyn, Eve’s Bayou, and Beasts of a Southern Wild, Hollywood has dismissed the young Black female experience. But with her feature film debut, Cuties, French Senegalese filmmaker Maïmouna Doucouré is putting the spotlight on Black girls while helping them reclaim their girlhood.

Men groped women on set and the director disliked Blacks, but what else is new? — Lena Horne’s honey-dripped vocals and dazzling stage presence is ingrained into the fabric of American popular culture. However, the truth is, the sensational entertainer was never truly a movie star — not really. Certainly, Horne’s velvet voice and sultry look were fixtures on stages like Harlem’s Cotton Club, across radio…

In a rare move, The Old Guard centers a dark-skinned Black woman in a big-budget action film — Action films have dominated box offices and streaming services in recent years. Unfortunately, save for a few outliers like Black Panther and Black and Blue, they’ve all been male-dominated and extremely white. …

Paris, jazz, danger, and love intersect in new musical drama about a father and daughter — Typically when Paris is depicted on-screen, it is picturesque and flawless, centering the Eiffel Tower and all of the stereotypical themes that we’ve grown to associate with the City of Lights. Luckily, Amandla Stenberg has never had any interest in idealism and fluff. From the moment she stepped into our…