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https://blackgirlnerds.com/need-to-know-what-black-films-are-playing-at-sundance-2025-we-got-you-covered/

Next month film critics and cinephiles everywhere will make plans to travel to the wintery mountain-filled terrain of Park City, Utah to witness the debut of works that often shape the cinematic landscape for years to come. From thought-provoking documentaries to genre-defying narratives, Sundance is the birthplace of films that challenge norms, champion diversity, and connect audiences to stories they never knew they needed.

Each year, we work to highlight films featuring Black talent and movies directed by Black filmmakers. Whether it’s exploring the legacies of history, celebrating Black joy, or grappling with systemic challenges, these films do more than entertain, they provoke, inspire, and spark essential conversations. This list includes films with a Black lead, Black ensemble cast and/or Black filmmakers as well as films centered on Black-focused stories.

So if you need to know what Black films are playing at Sundance 2025? We’ve got you covered!

• BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions – Preeminent West African curator and scholar Funmilayo Akechukwu’s magnum opus, The Resonance Field, leads her to the heart of the Atlantic Ocean, drawing a journalist into a journey that shatters her understanding of consciousness and time. Cast: Shaunette Renée Wilson, Kaneza Schaal, Hope Giselle, Peter Hernandez, Penny Johnson Jerald, Zora Casebere

• How to Build a Library — Two intrepid Nairobi women decide to transform what used to be a whites-only library until 1958 into a vibrant cultural hub. Along the way, they must navigate local politics, raise millions for the rebuild, and confront the lingering ghosts of Kenya’s colonial past.

• Khartoum – Forced to leave Sudan for East Africa following the outbreak of war, five citizens of Khartoum — a civil servant, a tea lady, a resistance committee volunteer, and two young bottle collectors — reenact their stories of survival and freedom through dreams, revolution, and civil war. 

• Love, Brooklyn – Three longtime Brooklynites navigate careers, love, loss, and friendship against the rapidly changing landscape of their beloved city. Cast: André Holland, Nicole Beharie, DeWanda Wise, Roy Wood Jr., Cassandra Freeman, Cadence Reese

• Move Ya Body: The Birth of House –– Out of the underground dance clubs on the South Side of Chicago, a group of friends turn a new sound into a global movement. 

• Ricky — Newly released after being locked up in his teens, 30-year-old Ricky navigates the challenging realities of life post-incarceration, and the complexity of gaining independence for the first time as an adult. Cast: Stephan James, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Titus Welliver, Maliq Johnson, Imani Lewis, Andrene Ward-Hammond

• Seeds — An exploration of Black generational farmers in the American South reveals the fragility of legacy and the significance of owning land. 

• SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) –– An examination of the life and legacy of Sly & The Family Stone — the groundbreaking band led by the charismatic and enigmatic Sly Stone — captures the band’s rise, reign, and subsequent fadeout while shedding light on the unseen burden that comes with success for Black artists in America.

Whether through groundbreaking premieres or quiet, resonant moments, Sundance reaffirms its legacy as a place where stories begin and where they leave an indelible mark on the world. The 2025 Sundance film festival runs from January 23rd – February 2nd. 

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https://nerdist.com/article/scream-7-everything-we-know/

Despite a slew of controversy over the past two years, the Scream franchise is moving forward with its seventh installment. The previous film left the Core Four and Gale Weathers (we assume, considering she didn’t die) in a relatively good place, with Sam finally moving towards healing and peace after killing Richie’s remaining family. (It’s wild but true.) The Scream VII storyline and cast is still mostly a mystery, but things will start rolling very soon. In an Entertainment Weekly interview, Neve Campbell confirmed a bit about the film’s storyline, saying that it would follow Sidney Prescott as the main character once again.

Now, casting is starting to take shape. Deadline reports that Asa Germann, who is currently known for his role as Gen V‘s Sam Riordan, will join the cast of Scream 7 in some unknown role. Maybe he will be one of the next killers. We certainly know he’s not about taking someone out onscreen. Deadline also reported genre staple McKenna Grace has joined the cast in an undisclosed role. Possibly another Sidney kid, or just fodder for Ghostface.

The next film will be interesting, to say the least. Who will don that infamous mask next? Here’s what we know about Scream 7. 

Title

For now, we will call this film Scream 7. It’s likely this will be the title, which could be stylized as Scream VII. As seen on this script from Campbell’s Instagram post, the film does not have an official title yet. 

Scream 7’s Plot 

As stated above, Sam and Tara’s story came to a neat conclusion in Scream VI. And Sidney is living a happy life with her husband Mark and her daughters. It seems like there was no one else hiding in the shadows who would want to kill Sidney. Her story was complete and she found peace. So, the plot of Scream 7 is really up in the air. Depending on this film’s release, someone from 30 years ago could decide to celebrate the events of Scream (1996) in a sinister way. We shall see. 

Neve Campbell says she expects to get the final script sometime in August, so hopefully nothing will leak before they are ready to tell.

Behind-the-Scenes

Kevin Williamson, the writer of Scream (1996), will direct Scream 7. He is replacing Christopher Landon, who left the film after Melissa Barerra’s controversial (and very upsetting) firing and Jenna Ortega’s exit. Guy Busick and James Vanderbilt, who wrote the last two installments, will pen this sequel. The Radio Silence team will step back from directing duties to executive produce Scream 7. 

In a recent IndieWire interview, Campbell confirmed that filming will start in December 2024.

“We were supposed to start in September, but we’re going to start in December now because of some scheduling stuff with Kevin and myself and having that all aligned,” she shared. “And actually, I think it’s a good thing, because we’re going to be able to have the time to get it really right. So I’m very excited about it.”

Scream 7’s Cast 

Right now, the only returning person we absolutely know will be in Scream 7 is Neve Campbell. Scream VI was the first film to not include Sidney Prescott due to actress Neve Campbell rightfully bowing out due to a salary dispute. Fans thought Sidney would finally get a happy ending but Ghostface just won’t leave our good sis alone. Variety reports that Courteney Cox is in talks to reprise her role in the next film. It remains to be seen if the Meeks-Martin twins, played by Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding, will be in this film. We’d love to see more of them.

However, their return isn’t likely considering their characters’ stories being so closely intertwined with the Carpenter sisters. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Savoy Brown hasn’t received a call from the studio Spyglass Media Group as of January 2024. Gooding also affirmed he knew no solid details about the seventh Scream film. Sadness.

We assume Courteney Cox and Roger L. Jackson will return as Gale Weathers and the voice of Ghostface, respectively. When asked if he might return as Mark Kincaid, Sidney Prescott’s Scream husband, Patrick Dempsey said it was possible. Dempsey noted of reprising his role in Scream 7, “I’m waiting on the script, “There has been a conversation about it. I haven’t seen anything yet, so we’ll see what happens. … It’s always good to have a job.”

We do know that at least one of Sidney’s kids is making an appearance. Deadline reports that Isabel May (1883) will portray Sidney’s currently unnamed daughter in Scream 7. It is not clear if she will be a main target like her mom was back in 1996. Considering the film releases in February 2026, it is possible that someone wants to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the original killings by targeting Sid’s kid. She would be at least 14 years old by that time, according to the universe’s timeline. In December, Deadline also reported genre staple McKenna Grace has joined the cast in an undisclosed role. Possibly another Sidney kid, or just fodder for Ghostface.

Scream 7 Release Date 

Scream 7 will arrive in theaters on February 27, 2026. The cast and crew shared the release date on social media.

Originally published on March 13, 2024.

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https://www.essence.com/entertainment/de-la-soul-legacy-high-and-rising/

By Okla Jones ·Updated December 12, 2024

When Marcus J. Moore set out to write High and Rising—a cultural biography of De La Soul—he wasn’t only documenting the journey of one of hip-hop’s most influential groups. He was also celebrating the humanity of three Black men who dared to be different in an industry that often demands conformity.

This ethos of self-acceptance and creative exploration lies at the heart of the iconic collective’s legacy. Formed in Long Island in 1988 by Kelvin “Posdnuos” Mercer, Dave “Trugoy the Dove” Jolicoeur, and Vincent “Maseo” Mason, the trio redefined what hip-hop could be. Their 1989 debut, 3 Feet High and Rising, was a masterpiece that embraced positivity, humor, and experimentation—a stark contrast to the gritty realism dominating the genre at the time.

Moore’s connection to De La Soul goes far beyond admiration. As he worked on the book, he found himself revisiting his own journey as a “left-of-center” Black kid who felt seen in their music. “When De La came along, they felt more attainable to me,” he explains. “They just looked like my older cousins. They let me know that I could like hip-hop music but also get into jazz, R&B, and gospel. They made it cool to be a multifaceted Black person.”

High and Rising isn’t just a biography; it’s a love letter to the group’s enduring impact on music and culture. Moore meticulously traces their rise, from the groundbreaking success of their first album, to the creative shifts in De La Soul Is Dead and Stakes Is High. Along the way, he reveals the challenges the group faced, including industry pressures, legal battles, and their own tendency to underrate themselves.

“They were scarred early,” Moore says, reflecting on the group’s struggles with record labels. “After a while, that builds calluses. They started to underrate themselves and think, ‘Let me just stay low and out the way,’ not realizing that they were hampering their own legacy.” Despite these tribulations, De La Soul’s commitment to creative evolution ensured their longevity. “With every album, they would add these very new and subtle creative wrinkles,” Moore notes. “That’s the way you stick around in any industry—you stick to your sound, but you do something a little bit different each time to not lose your fan base while gaining new fans.”

The release of the book paralleled the renewed interest in De La Soul, spurred in part by the group’s catalog finally arriving on streaming platforms in March of 2023. Moore acknowledges the serendipity of these events but emphasizes that his work began long before their return to DSPs was confirmed. “The timing was more so about the grief surrounding Dave’s passing and my mom’s passing,” he explains. “It encouraged me to lean into celebrating this group as much as I could.”

Jolicoeur’s passing earlier this year added a poignant layer to High and Rising, with Moore approaching the project with sensitivity, weaving personal memoir into the narrative to create a work that honors both the group’s legacy and the human connections that shaped it. As the first book dedicated to De La Soul, it stands as both a tribute and a testament—a reminder that their story isn’t just music history; it’s a vital part of Black history, world history, and our history. Through their creativity and courage, these three artists changed the game, and this book ensures their impact will continue to inspire for years to come.

“I want people to read about Black people being regular,” Moore says. “De La made it cool for Black people to be weird and to show love and smile and hug. They taught us that you can be creative, operate with integrity, and still evolve over time.”

TOPICS:  black authors black books De La Soul

The post Celebrating De La Soul’s Legacy Through ‘High And Rising’ appeared first on Essence.

https://nerdist.com/article/tolkien-animated-movies-were-very-weird-explainer/

During this time of the year, there are traditions a lot of us return to. Drinking way too much nog is a big one. Spending time with family, of course, but if you’re like us, there’s a good chance you mainline all three extended editions of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings in one day and fall into a Hobbit-fueled fugue state. You know the feeling. You’re watching Saruman get stabbed by Wormtongue and it’s somehow three in the morning. And just in time for the long winter nights, a new Tolkien animated Lord of the Rings film is on the horizon. The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim hits theaters this weekend, from producer Peter Jackson and director Kenji Kamiyama.

The animated feature tells the story of Helm Hammerhand, the ninth king of Rohan, and his daughter Hera, as they defend their people and homeland against the violent forces of the Wildmen of Dunland. They’re those big beardy guys Saruman recruits. We here at Nerdist really liked it, read our review here! But that is by no means the first film to adapt the world and works of J.R.R. Tolkien.

Between 1977 and 1980, three different animated productions adapted—roughly—the entirety of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. But a proper trilogy it isn’t.

The Hobbit (1977)

Produced for NBC, the 78 minute film of The Hobbit was directed by Arthur Rankin Jr and Jules Bass, who were the studio that made all of those Christmas specials—your Rudolphs, your Frosties, your Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkeys. As far as adaptations go, this one is pretty by the book. Pun obviously intended. We meet Bilbo as he’s about to smoke out of his steampunk bong, when suddenly Gandalf shows up faster than the Flash to join the smoke session. He goes about his standard introduction schtick and before Bilbo knows it, he’s been recruited as burglar number one, and strikes out with the dwarves, who all got a big glow up in the Jackson films.

And did we mention the music? It is a Rankin/Bass film, it’s gotta have music, after all. The soundtrack contains ten songs written by Tolkien himself, and several of them performed by Thurl Ravenscroft. Who, despite his name, isn’t a warlock but he was the original voice of Tony the Tiger. 

Even if you’re not a musical fan, “Down Down to Goblin Town” is a jam.

The whole film has such a fantastic aesthetic and design that it feels like watching storybook pages in motion, partially helped by the influence of English illustrator Arthur Rackam, according to Rankin.

Let’s talk about the crazy good voice cast, too. It’s a who’s who of ‘70s people. Orson Bean, who you may remember from Being John Malkovich, plays Bilbo. Hans Conreid, who’d previously voiced Captain Hook in Disney’s Peter Pan, voices Thorin Oakenshield. Acclaimed director Otto Preminger, most famous to me for playing the second Mr. Freeze plays the Elvenking.

Late Night with David Letterman regular and co-star of The Burbs, Brother Theodore, a very weird little German performer known for stand-up tragedies, played the most terrifying Gollum in the whole wide world. And Gandalf was another acclaimed film director, John Huston.

Another big factor is the actual animation was done by the Japanese studio, Topcraft, who would later morph into Studio Ghibli under Hayao Miyazaki. It’s just so much fun. The creature designs are all great. The goblins, the spiders, the trolls, Smaug, the wood elves look like creepy little ghouls. Fantastic stuff all around.

The Lord of the Rings (1978)

Where the Rankin-Bass Hobbit feels like a warm cup of tea, the next film is more of a warm cup of tea with low grade LSD in it. 

The 1978 animated film The Lord of the Rings, by Ralph Bakshi is what we like to call a beautiful mess. There’s a lot of gorgeous animation and painting and illustration throughout the film, but the film’s biggest flaw might be that it’s too faithful an adaptation to the source material.  There’s a lot of running in The Lord of the Rings, and they really, really stick to that in the film.

The script for a Lord of the Rings film was commissioned in 1969 by United Artists, who hired John Boorman to write a draft. A year later, Boorman’s script was deemed “too expensive”. If you know John Boorman’s work, you can imagine what he’d do with Lord of the Rings. Just look at Zardoz.

Bakshi learned that Boorman’s script was abandoned by the studio. Most likely scrapped because Boorman wanted to produce all three stories into a single film. A plan that Bakshi called “madness”.

In 1975, Bakshi convinced United Artists to produce The Lord of the Rings as two or three animated films. They also accepted Bakshi’s pitch to quote: “do the books as close as we can, using Tolkien’s exact dialogue and scenes.”

Ralph Bakshi – Rotoscope Pioneer

To better understand the 1978 film and its animation style, we need to talk about Ralph Bakshi. 

Ralph Bakshi is a Palestinian-American animator and director who got his start directing short cartoons like James Hound, Deputy Dog, and Rocket Robinhood. But Bakshi is more commonly known as a vanguard of adult animation, with his films like Fritz the Cat, Cool World, Heavy Traffic, Coonskin, Fire & Ice, Wizards, and American Pop.

A lot of Bakshi’s films, Lord of the Rings included, used a style of animation called rotoscoping. Animated films have used actors as reference for years. There’s vaults worth of Disney footage of people acting out scenes for Snow White or Alice in Wonderland. 

Not to simplify the art form too much, rotoscoping takes said reference footage, and animates on top of it. Even if you didn’t know what it was called, you’ve definitely seen it before. Old He-Man cartoons; A Scanner Darkly; Heavy Metal; Waltz with Bashir. Disney even rotoscoped over their own previous films sometimes, .

The Lord of the Rings has all the trademark scenes you’d expect in an adaptation. And all of our favorite Fellowship characters are here. Legolas, Gimli, Merry, Pippin, Frodo, Elrond, Théoden, Boromir with a fun Viking look happening. And I know what you’re asking. Is his death scene just as bad as in the Jackson movies? It’s worse.

And of course there’s Aragorn, sporting some high cut skirt or tiny shorts or something. Not the worst of the character designs. Gollum looks like Batboy, and Sam is done real dirty in this. He looks like a WWII propaganda cartoon against chimney sweeps. It’s REAL derog. And he gets bullied by Gandalf too. Insult to injury.

Very Ambitious, Very Weird

Rude Gandalfs aside, the one thing we can say is that Bakshi’s Lord of the Rings is ambitious, but with a budget of only four million dollars, there’s only so much ambition can do. While a lot of the rotoscoping of the orcs looks cool and creepy, towards the end the seams start to show. Just so many chimp masks on guys out in a field on horseback.

The cast of Bakshi’s film also doesn’t have quite the name recognition as the earlier Hobbit film, however we do get a pre-Alien John Hurt as Aragorn and a barely-just-after Star Wars Anthony Daniels as Legolas. 

One of the movie’s biggest problems is that the ring never gets destroyed. Due to time constraints and a lengthy post-production, the film had to be cut short, ending abruptly after the Riders of Rohan and Gandalf show up to save Helm’s Deep.

Originally the film was planned to be distributed as The Lord of the Rings Part I by United Artists, with a trilogy in the works, but that got changed into only two films because, again, four million dollar budgets.

According to Bakshi, when he finally finished the movie, the executives told him they were planning to release the film without directly saying that there’d be a sequel. The executives did this because they felt that audiences would not pay to see half of a film. Unrelated, Wicked part one has currently made over $460 million worldwide.

The film did pretty well, raking in just under 33 million dollars, which was enough to warrant a part two, but after scathing audience reactions, rough critic reviews, and a falling out with producers, Bakshi walked away from directing a sequel. 

But don’t fret, all of your people not at all fretting! We did get an ending to the trilogy just two years later. Technically speaking. 

The Return of the King (1980)

The Rankin-Bass produced Hobbit won a Peabody, and while it received good to tepid response, a sequel was already in discussion before Bakshi’s Lord of the Rings even premiered. And the most logical sequel to a Hobbit film is of course the third act of The Return of the King. 

The 1980 animated film titled The Return of the King, is…basically just a long music video. The film picks up after Sam and Frodo have already returned home to the Shire and are celebrating Bilbo’s 129th birthday.

Bilbo learns that his precious ring has gone missing, along with Frodo’s finger, and Sam and Frodo retell their experience of tossing the ring into Mount Doom, mostly from Sam’s perspective, who is voiced by Roddy McDowell.  And when Roddy isn’t talking, the movie gets some help from the the Minstrel of Gondor.

When I say it’s a long music video, it’s because the majority of the film’s information is relayed through voice over, over the animation on screen, which feels like a way to cut production costs.  And when there’s no exposition being dumped through internal monologue, the Minstrel of Gondor fills the silence with music. A lot of music. 

In addition to McDowell, the film does share some continuity with the previous Hobbit movie with Huston back as Gandalf, Brother Theodore back as Gollum, and Orson Bean back, this time voicing both Bilbo and Frodo. Casey Kasem, Shaggy himself and purveyor of goddamn dog dedications, voices Merry which is just kinda weird.

Basically, what if Return of the King was one big final battle. I guess the Jackson one is too, but with way less singing, and hundred percent more Legolas and Gimli. The best friends are totally absent from this movie, but there’s a tomatoless Denethor, and we get to see The Mouth of Sauron, as well as a deviously jolly version of the Witch King.

Compared to its 1977 predecessor, which got flack for adapting Tolkien into a kid’s cartoon, the 1980 Return of the King does let some violence slip through. Gollum’s lava death, Frodo’s finger getting chomped, Eowyn killing the Witch King. A way different vibe from The Hobbit. 

It of course ends with Frodo, Gandalf, Elrond, and Bilbo sailing away to the Grey Havens on a Bros Only Cruise while Sam, Merry, and Pippin watch from the shore. And yes, music plays over this whole thing too. 

The Return of the King got overall lukewarm reactions. One of the biggest complaints is that it tried too hard to be both a children’s animated film and properly tell the story of the third book of a trilogy, despite not making the first two. Oh, and the music. Nobody really liked the music.

At the end of the day, even with all their faults, the animated features of the Lord of the Rings universe are important and endearing pieces of art. Are some of them overly long and poorly made in some parts? Sure! But how many movies do you know with a song as good as “Goblin Town?”

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

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