6 Films Featuring Black Women to Watch in Theaters This December

All of these movies feature black actresses in prominent roles and are playing in theaters nationwide. So go and check out them out with your friends and family during the holidays.

1. FENCES

Synopsis:

An African-American father struggles with race relations in the United States while trying to raise his family in the 1950s and coming to terms with the events of his life. – from IMDB

FENCES is directed by Denzel Washington from a screenplay by August Wilson, adapted from Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play. – from the official movie site: https://www.fencesmovie.com

Release date: December 25, 2016

Notable actors/actresses: Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Saniyya Sidney

Trailer:

2. HIDDEN FIGURES

Synopsis:

HIDDEN FIGURES is the incredible untold story of Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe)—brilliant African-American women working at NASA, who served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, a stunning achievement that restored the nation’s confidence, turned around the Space Race, and galvanized the world. The visionary trio crossed all gender and race lines to inspire generations to dream big. – from the official movie site: hiddenfiguresmovie.com

Release date: December 25, 2016 (limited); January 6, 2017 (everywhere in the US)

Notable actresses: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe

Trailer:

3. BEN & ARA – black female director (Nnegest Likké)

Synopsis:

Ben Johnson is a struggling PhD candidate in the school of philosophy… He takes a break and visits a local art gallery opening where he runs into a fellow PhD candidate. Her name is Ara. She is everything he is not: a successful, focused student about to get her doctorate, and a devout Muslim (he’s fervently agnostic). She has sought some refuge that night in the art gallery as well. By happenstance (or fate) Ben catches her eye… From this first meeting, the winds of fate set in and what follows is an unlikely romance between two people from different worlds who grapple with differences in their core beliefs and lifestyle choices. They discover that when two cultures touch each other, the consequences can be magical and tragic. – from the official movie site: https://www.benandara.com

Release date: December 1, 2016

Actresses: Constance Ejuma, Akuyoe Graham

Trailer:

4. A GIRL LIKE GRACE

Synopsis:

A GIRL LIKE GRACE is a story of a 17-year-old female growing up in a small, Southern community where notions of femininity, sexual identity and survival are starkly at odds. Grace (Ryan Destiny), high school senior, is mourning the suicide of her best friend, Andrea (Paige Hurd). Grace’s single mom, Lisa (Garcelle Beauvais), is too preoccupied with her own troubles to be the support her daughter needs. So when the bullies (led by Raven-Symoné) make Grace the focus of their attacks, Grace turns to the new girl in town, the sexually savvy Share (Meagan Good). But Share is out of Grace’s league, and Grace soon learns hard lessons about the dangers of drugs and promiscuity. – from the official movie site: www.agirlikegracemovie.com

Release date: December 2, 2016

Notable actresses: Meagan Good, Garcelle Beauvais, Paige Hurd, Raven-Symone

Trailer: 

5. EVERYTHING BUT A MAN – black female director (Nnegest Likké)

Synopsis:

“Everything But A Man” follows the story of a successful but lonely career woman, who despite all her material success is a failure when it comes to love. But after a romantic encounter with a mysterious, French speaking black man from another culture, his radical lifestyle differences shake up her world and challenge her perspective on love, relationships and what it means to be a “strong” woman. The film explores the paradox many modern career women face when having to think and act like a man in the work world, but still behave like “a lady” at home in order to keep a man. – from the official movie site: https://www.facebook.com/EverythingButAMan/

Release: Currently across New York (check the movie site for schedules)

Notable actresses: Monica Calhoun, Camille Winbush

Behind the scenes:

6. MOONLIGHT

Synopsis:

A timeless story of human connection and self-discovery, MOONLIGHT chronicles the life of a young black man from childhood to adulthood as he struggles to find his place in the world while growing up in a rough neighborhood of Miami.

At once a vital portrait of contemporary African American life and an intensely personal and poetic meditation on identity, family, friendship, and love, MOONLIGHT is a groundbreaking piece of cinema that reverberates with deep compassion and universal truths. – from the official movie site: https://moonlight-movie.com

Release date: October 21, 2016 (still in theaters now)

Notable actresses: Naomie Harris, Janelle Monae

Trailer:

Which movie(s) will you go see?