The summer of 2025 arrives amid a swell of momentum for Black filmmakers. The summer festival circuit has already spotlighted groundbreaking voices from Zambian auteur Rungano Nyoni to Nigerian epic fantasy at Cannes while streaming giants and studios roll out major releases directed by and starring Black talent.
African cinema has traversed a remarkable arc. It evolved from British colonial messaging to globally celebrated art, thanks in large part to pioneers like Senegal’s Ousmane Sembène, whose journeys rewrote the narrative for African storytelling on film.
Viola Davis has yet again broken another barrier. In June 2025, she was named among the Television Academy’s Hall of Fame class, joining luminaries like Conan O’Brien and Ryan Murphy to be formally recognized as someone who has “changed television forever”.
Tyler Perry’s latest Netflix thriller, Straw, arrives with the emotional punch of a pressure cooker. Lead Taraji P. Henson stars as Janiyah, a single mother whose desperate circumstances spiral into a dramatic bank hostage situation.
For Black millennials, whether from Atlanta, Lagos, or London, Sesame Street was a cultural touchstone. It wasn’t just where we learned our ABCs; but, for many, where we first saw joy, curiosity, and Black excellence treated as normal.
Each May, the south of France transforms into a cinematic Mecca, drawing the world’s boldest filmmakers, critics, and storytellers to the Cannes Film Festival. This year, something significant happened in Black cinema, showing our indisputable excellence.
It’s that time of the year again when Nigeria witnesses its own version of the Academy Awards, the African Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA). Since its inception in 2013, it has recognized excellence in cinematic achievements across Africa, particularly Nollywood.
When Effie White walks into a room, she becomes the room: loud, full of confidence, and magic in motion. We feel her presence even before she sings, and when she does, her voice could silence a stadium. But beyond her big voice and bold attitude which, it turns out, is the least of what Effie is, we see someone full of heart and emotion, someone real.
Source: Whitney Houston – Wikipedia I Decided Long Ago Never to Walk In Anyone’s Shadow; If I Fail, or if…
Across the continent and within the African diaspora, animated shows rooted in African storytelling are captivating audiences and reshaping perceptions of what animation can be.
