Movies: Stanley Nelson

A cheap, powerful drug emerges during a recession, igniting a moral panic fueled by racism. Explore the complex history of crack in the 1980s....

An immersive look at the eventful life and brilliant artistic career of visionary American jazz trumpeter Miles Davis (1926-1991)....

Featuring never-before-seen footage, this documentary delivers a startling new look at the Peoples Temple, headed by preacher Jim Jones who, in 1978, led more than 900 members to Guyana, where he orchestrated a mass suicide via tainted punch....

From award-winning filmmakers comes the story of how a simple idea shaped a nation, and the quiet revolutionaries who made it happen....

A haven for Black intellectuals, artists and revolutionaries—and path of promise toward the American dream—Black colleges and universities have educated the architects of freedom movements and cultivated leaders in every field. They have been unapolo...

The story of the Black Panthers is often told in a scatter of repackaged parts, often depicting tragic, mythic accounts of violence and criminal activity; but this is an essential story, vibrant, human; a living and breathing chronicle of a pivotal m...

Stanley Nelson's syncopated voyage through the history of funk music, from early roots to 1970s urban funk and beyond....

This documentary examines the fraught relationship between African Americans and the police, often rife with tension, fear, suspicion and hostility on all sides. Framed by some of the most recent conflicts between Black Americans and police officers,...

Birthing A Nation: The Resistance of Mary Gaffney explores the story of forced reproduction in the antebellum South and reveals the agency of Mary Gaffney, an enslaved woman who takes control of her body and fertility....

Follows the largest prison uprising in US history, conducting dozens of new interviews with inmates, journalists, and other witnesses....

Jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams was a genius ahead of her time. From child prodigy to "Boogie-Woogie Queen" to groundbreaking composer to mentoring some of the greatest musicians of all time, she never ceased to astound those who heard her play. But f...

Jesse Owens details Jesse's early career; describes Adolf Hitler s outsized ambitions for the 1936 Olympics; explores the movement in Western democracies to boycott the event; and explains the pressures on Owens to attend. The film also explores why,...

The history of black newspapers in America....

Following a cancer diagnosis, Sister Úna—a mischievous, rule-breaking Catholic nun dedicated to social justice—chooses to live as she’s dying. In this touching end-of-life documentary, the self-proclaimed “leader of the misfits” plans her funeral in ...

In Becoming Frederick Douglass, acclaimed director Stanley Nelson and co-director Nicole London bring to life the story of an American icon. Using Douglass's own powerful, profound speeches and writing, the story retraces his journey from a man born ...

After Jackie celebrates the 75th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s integration into Major League Baseball. Robinson opened the door for other African Americans to join the league and this documentary taps into key people and events in the aftermath....

Executive produced by NBA superstar and philanthropist Russell Westbrook, and directed by Peabody and Emmy-Award® winning director Stanley Nelson (“Freedom Riders”) and Peabody and duPont-Award winner Marco Williams (“Two Towns of Jasper”), the docum...

This director's cut of the William Greaves' documentary short film dramatizes the life and deeds of the noted abolitionist Frederick Douglass....

In the summer of 1964, more than 700 students descended on violent, segregated Mississippi. Defying authorities, they registered voters, created freedom schools, and established the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. Fifty years later, eyewitness ...

Focus Forward: Short Films, Big Ideas is an award-winning series of 30 three-minute stories about innovators—people who are reshaping the world through act or invention—directed by the world's most celebrated documentary filmmakers....