8 Debut Films By Black Directors That Knocked It Out Of The Park

Cinema history has incredible debut films by legendary and iconic filmmakers, including Sam Mendes ’ American Beauty , George Miller’s Mad Max , Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane , and George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead . However, Black directors aren't mentioned among these names often, though Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It , Mario Van Peebles’s New Jack City and Malcolm D. Lee’s The Best Man are a few classic Black filmmaker debuts.

So, here are eight fantastic debut films by Black directors who knocked it out of the park. Kasi Lemmons - Eve's Bayou (1997) Eve's Bayou is a genre-bending horror classic that became a critical and commercial success, placing high on multiple greatest films lists, including one of the best Black horror movies . It and Lemmons became festival favorites while scoring recognition from the National Board of Review, the Independent Spirit Awards and more.

Hollywood rarely gives Black female filmmakers many chances to direct and knock it out of the park. However, actress-turned-director Kasi Lemmons proved the naysayers wrong with the 1997 horror film. The Southern Gothic drama became one of the most successful independent films.

The movie drew from Lemmons’ childhood trips to Louisiana while incorporating her complicated upbringing. These aspects formed an intricate and intriguing story about Eve Batiste and her wealthy family’s life of trauma, tragedy, and lies in 1960s Louisiana. Lemmons offered a new dimension to the horror ge.