Gareth’s Picks

Fruitvale Station (2013)

The film that launched the career of Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan is based on the true story of a young black man killed in San Francisco by the Metro Police.  It frames this by showing his last day. It is powerful, heartbreaking, and essential cinema.

Available to stream for free on TUBI

Red Hook Summer (2012)

Underrated Spike Lee joint that tells the story of a teenage boy who spends his summers in Red Hook with his grandfather who is a preacher but who also has some things to hide.  It allows Lee to look at his beloved Brooklyn and the era in which he grew up while also providing a complex view.  Not nostalgic but thought provoking.

Available to stream for free on TUBI

Craig’s Picks

Shame (2011)

Two years before 12 Years a Slave, Steve McQueen directs Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan in this brutal story about a sex addict’s life imploding. It’s as fun as it sounds.

Available to rent on the streams 

Small Axe series (2020)

McQueen also writes and directs this series of short films (Mangrove, the first episode is pretty much a feature clocking in at over 2 hours) about the West Indian community in London between 1969 and 1982. They are all ridiculously good, however the Lovers Rock episode is revelatory.

Available on Amazon Prime