Warner Bros., Criterion and other independent film studios are releasing their anti-racist, black-led films in response to the wave of Black Lives Matter (#BLM) protests taking place across the US and around the world.
Standing up against racism | "Exit right" – by Rupert Höller & Bernhard Wenger
Warner Bros: Just Mercy, starring Michael B Jordan and Jamie Foxx, centers on attorney Bryan Stevenson, the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative. Based on Stevenson’s 2014 memoir, the film has received critical acclaim both as a standalone film and as a timely lightning rod in the wake of the #BLM protests. Warner Bros made the film available for free streaming in early June.
Criterion: IndieWire reports that the Criterion Collection has removed its paywall for select titles by Black filmmakers, as well as titles by white artists who have released films that speak to the Black experience. Films like Daughters of the Dust are now free to stream at home without a subscription to the service.
Mongrel Media: This independent film company also offers a number of titles about the black experience for free, including I Am Not Your Negro, based on James Baldwin's unfinished work Remember This House.