11 Films To Watch Before The Oscars On April 25

By Keyaira Boone ·April 19, 2021April 19, 2021

The upcoming 93rd Annual Academy Awards ceremony will highlight some of the best talent Black Hollywood has to offer on both sides of the camera.

Six years after April Reign created the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite to highlight the lack of diversity among those honored at the prestigious event, the cinematic landscape has changed. A number of talented Black filmmakers, actors, screenwriters, hair and makeup professionals, and producers have received nominations from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for their work on film projects this year.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020): (L to R) Michael Potts as Slow Drag, Chadwick Boseman as Levee and Colman Domingo as Cutler. Cr. David Lee / Netflix

Black creatives, and performers are nominated in a variety of categories, including Best Original Score, Best Supporting Actor, Best Documentary Feature, Short Film (Live Action), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Song.

Kingsley Ben-Adir stars in ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI Photo: Patti Perret/Amazon Studios

Projects on the 20201 Oscars ballot chronicle Black strife and resilience and speak to Black creativity, beauty, and unity.

The 93rd Annual Academy Awards will air on April 25, 2021 at 8:00 PM EST.See 11 titles you need to see before Hollywood’s biggest night that you can stream today below.

And don’t forget to tune into the 14th annual ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Awards honoring Whoopi Goldberg, Cynthia Erivo, Zendaya, Michaela Coel and Andra Day which will stream on Thursday, April 22, 2021 from 7PM-10PM EST on essencestudios.com and essence.com.

01Judas and The Black MessiahThe Best Picture nominee was directed by Shaka King, who wrote the screenplay with Will Berson, Kenny Lucas and Keith Lucas.LaKeith Stanfield and Daniel Kaluuya each received Best Supporting Actors nominations portraying activist Fred Hampton (Kaluuya) and the informant (Bill O’Neal).

Stream Now 02A Love Song For LatashaThe Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject fromSophia Nahli Allison projects hope and positivity onto the life of Latasha Harlins, a young Black Los Angeles girl murdered by a merchant in the early 1990s.

Stream Now 03A Concerto Is a ConversationKris Bowers’ A Concerto Is a Conversation is nominated for Best Documentary (Short Subject). The project chronicles a conversation between Bowers and his grandfather about how the later went from the segregated South to concert hall performances. It was executive produced by Ava Duvernay.

Stream Now 04TimeGarrett Bradley and Lauren Domino earned a nod for Best Documentary Feature for this film that follows a devoted matriarch determined to secure her husband’s freedom.

Stream Here 05One Night in MiamiRegina King’s first feature length film, earned three nominations. Leslie Odom Jr. is up for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Sam Cooke. Its screenwriter Kemp Powers was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay and Leslie Odom Jr. and Sam Ashworth was nominated for Best Original Song.

Stream Now 06Ma Rainey’s Black BottomViola Davis and Chadwick Boseman each earned best acting nominations for their roles in this August Wilson adaptation. The film also earned nods for Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, and Best Makeup and Hairstyling.

Stream Here 07The United States Vs. Billie HolidayAndra Day earned a Best Actress nomination in her debut role as Bille Holiday.

Stream Here 08SoulJon Batiste is nominated for Best Original Score alongside Trent Reznor, and Atticus Ross for this heartwarming animated flick. It was also nominated for Best Animated Feature, and Best Sound.

Stream Here 09Crip Camp: A Disability RevolutionThe nominee for Best Documentary Feature follows a band of teens with disabilities as they go from playful teenagers to trailblazing activists. It was produced by President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama.

Shop Now 10Da 5 BloodsTerence Blanchard earned a Best Original Score nomination for this war drama from Spike Lee.

Stream Now 11Two Distant StrangersThis science fiction contender in the “Short Film (Live Action)” category stars Joey Bada$$, and was written by Travon Free who co-directed with Martin Desmond Roe.