Oscar Micheaux is considered the first prominent Black filmmaker in the United States.
According to the National Park Service, between 1919 and 1948, Micheaux independently wrote, directed and produced over 40 films.
Micheaux’s work highlighted a nuanced scope of the lives of Black people during that era. His films, often referred to as “race films,” challenged racist stereotypes prevalent in mainstream cinema and addressed issues such as lynching, job discrimination, and mob violence.
In 1913, Micheaux wrote and published his first book, The Conquest, loosely based on his experience as a Black man attempting to acquire land on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota during the homesteader lottery of 1904. After receiving great feedback on his first effort, Michaeux completed his second book, The Homesteader. The novel received attention from Hollywood producers who wanted to adapt it into a film; however, when Michaeux voiced that he wanted to be involved with the production and direction, they rescinded the offer.
Forging ahead, in 1919, Michaeux adapted the book into a film, making him the first known Black filmmaker and director, launching his career.
Micheaux broke barriers by establishing his own film company, retaining ownership of his work, hiring Black actors and using innovative production techniques despite limited resources. His 1920 release, Within Our Gates (1920), was one of the first movies directed by a Black director to be shown in white movie theaters.
With the progression of time, lack of distribution and consistent racism in Hollywood, Micheaux’s works were lost and sometimes disregarded in conversations revolving around the early years of cinema history.
In 2015, film distribution company Kino Lorber included Micheaux’s work in a Kickstarter to re-master and digitize classic Black films. In 2022, the company appointed media industry veteran Martha Benyam as Chief Operating Officer. Under her leadership, Benyam worked with partners, including the Library of Congress, to fully restore Micheaux’s “lost” film catalog and make it available for digital streaming and physical purchase.
The recent restoration of the Oscar Micheaux: The Complete Collection marks the first time all his films are in one collection.
Blavity’s Shadow and Act spoke with Benyam about the process behind restoring the collection and what it means to Black cinema.
Source: Lost Films Of Pioneering Black Filmmaker Oscar Micheaux Restored In New Collection
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