New black cinema: a “nova onda” de diretores afro-americanos nas décadas de 1980 e 1990 nos EUA

Abstract

We investigated, through this research, a period of film production in the United States in the 1980s and 1990s associated with African-American directors, commonly known as New Black Cinema, a moment in which these filmmakers, through their respective works, brought new social representations, cultural and imagery related to blacks in the industry. We aim to understand how the production of these filmmakers in the field originated, who independently financed their first projects, raising public and critical attention to this new wave of black directors and films. In addition, the present work also seeks to understand, subsequently, the success and high financial profitability of his works. Later, according to the context and the research carried out, it was noticed some of these directors absorbed by the system of the big studios with specific distribution rules and agreements. Some ended up succumbing to industry pressures, not directing to the movies again. Aiming to rescue the memory of this period, we used digitalized materials from printed sources, such as newspapers and interviews with the directors, which help us in the construction of the historical context in which these filmmakers are inserted.