Black Track: What to Watch in London this Week

New Releases

Clean Slate

Harry, an Alabama car wash owner is surprised when his estranged child returns home after 17 years, now a determined, proud trans woman named Desiree.

When and Where? Thursday February 6th, Amazon Prime

The Fire Inside

The story of Claressa 'T-Rex' Shields, a boxer from Flint, Michigan who trained to become the first woman in her country's history to win an Olympic gold medal in the sport.

When and Where? Friday February 7th, Curzon, Vue, Picturehouse and ODEON

What’s On?

The Learning Tree

When and Where? Wednesday February 5th,  BFI NFT3

Renowned photographer Gordon Parks wrote, directed, produced and scored this adaptation of his 1963 novel. A deeply personal and semi-autobiographical drama, it follows Newt Winger, a Black teenager navigating adolescence and manhood in 1920s Cherokee Flats, Kansas. This poignant coming-of-age story vividly captures the challenges of racial injustice, community and self-discovery during a turbulent era. Among the first films to be inducted into the American National Film Registry in 1989, it remains a touchstone of American cinema – BFI

Sud + Hanging Out Yonkers

When and Where? Thursday February 6th, 18:10, BFI NFT2

Part of BFI Southbank’s Chantal Akerman: Adventures in Perception Season

Akerman was due to make a portrait of the American south that inspired both William Faulkner and James Baldwin, but changed focus after learning of the racially-motivated murder of James Byrd Jr by three white supremacists just a year before. Interviewees reflect on the attack, racism and the legacy of slavery, but the most searing moments are the contemplative shots of the lush Texas hinterland, as Akerman posits what horrors this beautiful landscape has witnessed.

An unfinished 1973 portrait of a New York juvenile rehabilitation center (the sound rushes were lost) that would have been Akerman’s first documentary. - BFI

Skin Game

When and Where? Thursday February 6th, 20:40, BFI NFT3

Part of BFI Southbank’s Black Rodeo: A History of the African American Western Season

In the pre-Civil War West, Gossett and Garner’s buddies and professional conmen Jason O’Rourke and Quincy Drew beat racist slave owners at their own game. Traveling through small towns, they swindle auction buyers out of their ill-gotten gains and abscond with their money. But what will these gamblers do when their luck runs out? Bogart and Douglas’ comedy balances action and quick-fire dialogue, and features its two stars at their very best. - BFI

Duel at Diablo

When and Where? Friday February 7th, 20:40, BFI NFT3

Part of BFI Southbank’s Black Rodeo: A History of the African American Western Season

Set in 1880, this adaptation of Marvin Albert’s best-selling 1957 novel Apache Rising arrived at a moment when the Western genre was undergoing significant revision. The film employs the Anglo-Native American conflict as a metaphor for Black-white relations in contemporary US society. In his first Western, Sidney Poitier delivers a commanding performance alongside James Garner, fresh from the hit TV series Maverick. Together, they confront prejudice on the frontier, in a groundbreaking precursor to the interracial buddy films that became a hallmark of US cinema. – BFI

Take a Hard Ride

When and Where? Saturday February 8th, 15:00, BFI NFT2

Part of BFI Southbank’s Black Rodeo: A History of the African American Western Season

Ranch owner Morgan unexpectedly dies after selling his cattle in town. Pike, his loyal foreman, is charged with delivering the final payroll to Sonora. But the journey is perilous, with all manner of scoundrels wanting to get their hands on the money. This quintessential ‘Westploitation’ film, drawing as much on the popularity of urban Blaxploitation films as it does the classic American Western, revels in its campiness. – BFI

Buck and the Preacher

When and Where? Saturday February 8th, 20:30, BFI NFT2

Part of BFI Southbank’s Black Rodeo: A History of the African American Western Season

In the post-Civil War era, a group of African American migrants moves westward to escape the tyranny of ‘nightriders’ and the Klan. Poitier’s Buck, an intrepid wagon master, leads these Exodusters on their perilous journey. He is aided by his steadfast wife, played by Ruby Dee, and Belafonte’s crafty preacher, who they encounter along the way. Poitier’s groundbreaking solo directorial debut features standout performances from the trio as it weaves a compelling tale of courage and resilience. – BFI

Outlaw Posse

When and Where? Sunday February 9th, 18:15, BFI NFT1

In the untamed Wild West of 1908, men in power take advantage of an unfair world where corruption and greed run deep. Renegade cowboy Chief, eager to restore balance, assembles a daring group of outcasts and saddles up on a cross-country odyssey to reclaim stolen gold in unsettled territory. The posse is caught in a deadly game of survival and redemption, navigating the treacherous terrain of gunfights, showdowns, and horse chases. As they venture closer to the hidden treasure, they soon learn survival is the only justice. – BFI

Still In Cinemas

The Wild Robot

After a shipwreck, an intelligent robot called Roz is stranded on an uninhabited island. To survive the harsh environment, Roz bonds with the island's animals and cares for an orphaned baby goose.

Mufasa: The Lion King

Mufasa, a cub lost and alone, meets a sympathetic lion named Taka, the heir to a royal bloodline. The chance meeting sets in motion an expansive journey of a group of misfits searching for their destiny.

Nickel Boys

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Colson Whitehead, "Nickel Boys" chronicles the powerful friendship between two young African-American men navigating the harrowing trials of reform school together in Florida.

Hard Truths

Pansy is a woman tormented by anger and depression, hypersensitive to the slightest possible offence and ever ready to fly off the handle. She criticises her husband and their adult son so relentlessly that neither bothers to argue with her. She picks fights with strangers and sales clerks and enumerates the world's countless flaws to anyone who will listen, especially her cheerful sister Chantal, who, despite their clashing temperaments, might be the only person still capable of sympathising with her.