The film selected for a Golden Globe is based on the true story of the great philanthropist pathologist Dr. Omalu, played by Will Smith. You can read our interview with the physician here: https://megadiversities.com/index.php?option=com_content and the review of the feature film here: https://megadiversities.com/index.php?option=com.  You will also find an interview with the lead actress at this link: https://megadiversities.com/index.php?option=com.  The specialist doctor discovered the existence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in NFL athletes1. This professional had the courage to expose the dangers of American football despite the backlash. It's a real David versus Goliath fight.

The Lori Jackson Story is based on a true story. It’s about a young African American man wrongly accused of raping a white American woman. They wanted to sentence him to 30 years in prison. Activist Lori Jackson fought to make sure justice was served.

 Mr.  Civil Rights is a documentary which chronicles the life of the late great jurist Thurgood Marshall who became the first African-American judge at the Supreme Court of America.  In this link https://megadiversities.com/index.php?option=com_content, you will find the review of the film.  Here is the French version: https://megadiversite.com/musique-et-dvd/491-critique-du-documentaire-mr-civil-rights.html.   In the documentary, lawyers such as Vernon Jordan and Kimberly Crewnshaw (who created and developed the famous socio-political concept of intersectionality) talk about how Marshall was important in the history of the nation.

This feature film is about a society run by Black people where the protagonist, played by John Travolta, faces various forms of discrimination. In this movie, White people are at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder. In other words, the socio-economic realities of the two ethnic groups are reversed. The story of this film can create cognitive dissonance for some since the portrayal of the ethnic groups in the movie doesn’t match the stereotypes often seen.

The movie Michael Landon The Father I knew, shows thoroughly what it meant to kids who had a well-known father to publicly live through their parents’ divorce and have to deal with a stepmother and new siblings.  The film was directed by the son of Michael Landon.

This documentary received a Genie Award nomination.  It questions the civic and institutional responsibility for protecting children in Quebec.  It exposes grave abuse cases like the well-known situation of the singer Nathalie Simard, one of the most beautiful voices in Quebec.  Thus, a beautiful theme song was produced for this film: https://www.megadiversite.com/md-tv/204-nathalie-simard.html.  The title of the song is La vie me tue which means “Life is killing me”.

This movie is about the true story of the duo that caused a scandal in the music world and among fans because the members neither sang nor rapped on the album Girl You Know It’s True, which made them internationally famous in the late 80s.  Unfortunately, since the 80s because of the creation of music videos, the image of artists has become more important than ever until now in commercial music.  Often, more importance is given to the form than to the content and substance. What we can take away here is that shortcuts in life and skipping steps will never lead to a long professional career because there was not a strong foundation to begin with.  To achieve longevity in this business being a “triple threat” is the minimum requirement.  Instant success is a mirage.  In pop music, there is a lot of flash in the pan.

The film Hidden Figures is about the story of three brilliant African-American female scientists working at NASA who, among other things, helped astronaut John Glenn get into space during the 1960s. You can read a review of this film here: https://megadiversities.com/index.php?option=com_content& as well as an interview with one of the actors from this feature film: https://megadiversities.com/index.php?option=com_content.  Moreover, the movie stars major actors like Kevin Costner, etc.

This movie concerns the Senegalese riflemen who fought during World War I. The main character is played by Omar Sy, a César award winner (see an interview with him at this link: https://megadiversities.com/index.php?option=com_content&;view=article). In 1917, Bakary Dialoo, played by Sy, joins the French army to be with his son Thierno (to protect him), a teenager who was forcibly enlisted.

The feature film is based on Malcolm X's autobiography written by Alex Haley, the same author of the famous book Roots.  You can read here  https://megadiversities.com/index.php?option=com_content&;view a review regarding the memoir of Malcolm X. The movie was directed by Spike Lee. The main character is played by Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington. The film tells the story of activist and Pan-Africanist Malcolm X, from his fall into hell until his rebirth.  Here is in Spanish https://www.megadiversidad.co/entrevistas/209 an interview with Washington.

Crazy Rich Asians is about the life of a young Asian-American couple who has to deal in Singapore with the family of the male.  The couple is caught between two worlds, the Western and Asian values with intergenerational differences.  Here is a review of the film https://www.megadiversities.com/index.php?option. 

This feature film is based on the true story of Waris Dirie, played by former model Liya Kebede, the first black woman to become a face of Estée Lauder. You can read the interview (the most read for a woman on our trilingual webmag) with the former top model and a review of the movie (in French) at these links: https://megadiversities.com/index, https://www.megadiversite.com/musique-et-dvd/189-fleur-du-desert-un-film-de-sherry-hormann.html.  The story of this woman is like a modern-day Cinderella tale.

Wonder is about the life and struggles of August Pullman, a little boy born with a facial deformity called Treacher Collins syndrome. The movie is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by R.J. Palacio. You can find some thoughts on this movie at this link https://megadiversities.com/index.php?option=com_content&;view=article.

This documentary narrates the life of Lizzie Velasquez, who gained notoriety from a viral YouTube video titled "The Ugliest Woman in the World".  This video was done by bullies and sociopaths who knew her, and they posted it on the Internet behind her back when she was only 17.   The film offers a thorough look at her journey from being harassed to becoming a respected speaker. It shows her resilience, her activism and the impact she has had on her community and beyond.  It is important to note that we live in a world which does not take the harm that psychological violence can create seriously enough.  Thus, right now, since 2020, France is the only country in the world which criminalized forced suicide and suicide attempts due to the mental violence of psychopaths.

The documentary Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child tells the life story of the renowned painter Basquiat. It features rare interviews from 1985. The film covers his rapid rise and his death, as well as his connections, particularly with Warhol, the American artist and one of the main figures of pop art. In this way, the graffiti work that Jean-Michel Basquiat did in 1979 led him to discover hip-hop culture as a whole. You can read the review of this film at this link https://megadiversities.com/index.php?option=com_content&;view=article&id.

Disappearing acts has many talented actors in it like Sanaa Lathan (who interprets the role of Zora), Wesley Snipes, etc.  The characters like Franklin (played by Snipes) are well-developed in the film.  We see in some parts of the movie his lack of confidence, which may be partially explained by his lack of education; he  sometimes felt inadequate.  We can also observe in the movie that his mother does not have faith in him.   This movie shows the realistic life of an African-American couple.  The film covers many themes:  misogyny in the music industry, discrimination on the job market, the realities of motherhood.  All these subjects are presented in a mature way in the movie.   Franklin had to question himself by going through an introspection process.  The film shows truthfully the strengths and weaknesses of Franklin and Zora (named after the renowned authoress Zora Neale Hurston.  In addition, it showcases how the couple deals with their struggles.  You can read an interview with Sanaa Lathan here https://megadiversities.com/index.php?option=com.

These films are not ranked in any particular order. Most of them are available on www.amazon.ca, co.uk and .com.

.----------------------------------------

1 According to the documentary "The Empathy Gap" (2015), in 2013, over 4,500 NFL players suffered from dementia (like Alzheimer) and depression because of head injuries. The NFL had to pay 765 million dollars in punitive damages.