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Black Star

Our subscription selection celebrating black stardom, focusing on British talents and pioneering performers.

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Banel & AdamaBanel & Adama

Drama202387 minsDirector: Ramata-Toulaye Sy

In this compelling love story set in Senegal, Banel and Adama’s relationship is tested by a devastating turn of events that challenges their village’s way of life.

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Rebel DreadRebel Dread

Biopic202183 minsDirector: William E. Badgley

This is the story of the iconic Don Letts, the coolest cultural polymath – narrated by the man himself.

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Daughters of the DustDaughters of the Dust

Drama1991112 minsDirector: Julie Dash

Julie Dash’s groundbreaking Daughters of the Dust remains urgent and poetic and continues to resonate, inspiring Beyoncé’s iconic visual album Lemonade.

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Pretty Red DressPretty Red Dress

Drama2022110 minsDirector: Dionne Edwards

One dress changes everything for a family in Dionne Edwards’ brilliant debut. Defiant, uplifting and with music at its core.

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RageRage

Drama200093 minsDirector: Newton Aduaka

A frustrated Peckham youth turns to crime to finance his music career in Newton Aduaka’s highly charged feature debut; once acclaimed as 'the British La Haine'.

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Bless Their Little HeartsBless Their Little Hearts

Drama198386 minsDirector: Billy Woodberry

Nuanced marital drama directed by Billy Woodberry and written by Charles Burnett (Killer of Sheep), who also shot the film in his characteristically sublime black and white style.

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The WoundThe Wound

Drama201788 minsDirector: John Trengove

A traditional rite of passage ritual forms the backdrop for this tough and complex tale of closeted sexuality in South Africa.

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My Brother the DevilMy Brother the Devil

Drama2012107 minsDirector: Sally El Hosaini

Sally El Hosaini's feature debut tells of the love and disenchantment of two British-Egyptian brothers as gangs, drugs and sexuality come between them.

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Black OrpheusBlack Orpheus

Romance1959107 minsDirector: Marcel Camus

Academy Award and Palme d'Or-winning adaption of the Orpheus myth, incorporating the music, costume and dance of Brazil’s Rio Festival.

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RodeoRodeo

Drama2022106 minsDirector: Lola Quivoron

French debut director Lola Quivoron revs up with a ferocious tale of a woman kickstarting a new life in the world of guerrilla motocross racing.

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GirlGirl

Drama202287 minsDirector: Adura Onashile

Le’Shantey Bonsu gives a stunning performance as a young girl deeply connected to her mother (Déborah Lukumuena) in Adura Onashile’s tender drama.

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MapantsulaMapantsula

Crime1989104 minsDirector: Oliver Schmitz

Panic, a petty gangster, is caught up in Township riots in this cult classic crime drama, the first anti-Apartheid film shot guerilla style on the streets of Soweto.

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The Story of Lover's RockThe Story of Lover's Rock

Documentary2011100 minsDirector: Menelik Shabazz

Menelik Shabazz (Burning an Illusion) shines a light on the music genre often dubbed ‘romantic reggae’; a uniquely black British sound that developed in the late 70s and 80s against a backdrop of riots, racial tension and sound systems.

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Burning an IllusionBurning an Illusion

Drama1982102 minsDirector: Menelik Shabazz

Menelik Shabazz’s pioneering first feature traces the emotional and political growth of a young black couple in Thatcher’s London.

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PressurePressure

Drama1978121 minsDirector: Horace Ové

Hailed as Britain's first black feature film, Pressure is a hard-hitting, honest document of the plight of disenchanted black youths in 1970s London; now available in its new restoration.

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Casablanca BeatsCasablanca Beats

Drama2021102 minsDirector: Nabil Ayouch

Palme d'Or nominated film about a former rapper who takes a teaching job at a cultural centre in a working-class neighbourhood in Casablanca.

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Black JoyBlack Joy

Comedy197799 minsDirector: Anthony Simmons

Ben, an innocent immigrant from a remote village in Guyana, arrives in Brixton and falls prey to an assortment of streetwise characters in Anthony Simmons' Palme d’Or nominated comic drama.

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Gone Too Far!Gone Too Far!

Comedy201488 minsDirector: Destiny Ekaragha

Riotous urban comedy adapted from the hit Royal Court play, about a Peckham teen affronted by the arrival of his long-lost Nigerian sibling.

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WalkaboutWalkabout

Drama1970101 minsDirector: Nicolas Roeg

Jenny Agutter plays the teenage girl reliant on a young Aboriginal (David Gulpilil) for her survival, in Nicolas Roeg's stunning Australian outback drama.

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GoldstoneGoldstone

Drama2016110 minsDirector: Ivan Sen

Ivan Sen follows his acclaimed Australian thriller Mystery Road with another distinctive, 'outback noir', with troubled indigenous detective Joe Swan (Aaron Pedersen) again on the trail of murder and corruption.

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Mystery RoadMystery Road

Crime2013121 minsDirector: Ivan Sen

An Aboriginal cop returns to his hometown to solve the brutal murder of a teenage girl, uncovering a web of corruption and a growing body count, in Ivan Sen's acclaimed Australian riff on the Western genre.

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Young Soul RebelsYoung Soul Rebels

Drama1991105 minsDirector: Isaac Julien

The Queen's Silver Jubilee beats to the sounds of Funkadelic, Sylvester and the O'Jays in Isaac Julien’s feature debut.

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Fear Eats the SoulFear Eats the Soul

Melodrama197493 minsDirector: Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Fassbinder’s international breakthrough, this unconventional love story combines lucid social analysis with devastating emotional power.

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Stud LifeStud Life

Drama201287 minsDirector: Campbell X

Campbell X's debut feature is a sexy, young and cool gay romance taking a unique look at a slice of British urban life.

More Black Star films in our Rentals collection.