Paging through the pantheon of best actress winners since the inception of the Academy awards lies a single win for a black actress, Halle Berry (Monster’s Day, 2001).
Aside the not so encouraging feat in the race (blame the Oscars so white agenda over the past years), there has also been a sideline in the mention of double black actresses in the same category.
On the Oscars nomination board this year, Viola Davis and Andra Day received nominations in the best actress category for their performances in ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ and ‘The United States vs. Billie Holiday’ respectively.
Their best actress tickets broke a longstanding record held by late Cicely Tyson (Sounder) and Diana Ross (Lady Sings the Blues), as the only two black women nominated together in the lead category in the same year (1973) for nearly five decades on.
Both actresses have so far proven to be heavy contenders by winning the precursor events, which normally envelops the last victor at the Oscars. Day won at the Golden Globe, making her the second black woman to win best actress in a drama at the Globes. Davis also picked up best actress at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, tallying her SAG number at six.
Despite the uncertainties of who could possibly take home the Oscars this year, the two ladies are not behind either, thanks to their enchanting performances.
Keeping our fingers crossed for one of them to pull a Halle Berry this season, we honour the brilliant performances of the other great black players who received nominations, but missed out in getting the golden trophy.
Scroll below for the full list of films that make up our weekend watchlist this week and where you can watch them.
‘Lady Sings The Blues’
SYNOPSIS: A behind-the-scenes look at the movie ‘Lady Sings the Blues’, where actress Diana Ross discusses her role as Billie Holiday.
CAST: Diana Ross
AVAILABLE TO WATCH: Amazon Prime Video
‘Sounder’
SYNOPSIS: Black sharecroppers during the Depression fight to get their children a decent education.
CAST: Cicely Tyson
AVAILABLE TO WATCH: Amazon Prime Video
‘Cross Creek’
SYNOPSIS: In the late 1920s, columnist Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (Mary Steenburgen) moves to Cross Creek, Fla., to dedicate herself to writing a serious novel. Despite her husband’s eventual departure, the initial suspicion of the locals about her work, and the challenge of finding a worthy subject to devote herself to, Marjorie persists in her dream. With the inspiration of kindly Marsh Turner (Rip Torn) and his daughter, Ellie (Dana Hill), Marjorie discovers the perfect theme for her novel.
CAST: Alfre Woodard
AVAILABLE TO WATCH: Amazon Prime Video
‘The Colour Purple’
SYNOPSIS: This film follows the life of Celie, a young black girl growing up in the early 1900’s. At the age of 14 she was impregnated by her father, this movie follows her hardships in the next 30 years.
CAST: Oprah Winfrey
AVAILABLE TO WATCH: Hulu
‘Precious‘
SYNOPSIS: Pregnant by her own father for the second time, 16-year-old Claireece “Precious” Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) can neither read nor write and suffers constant abuse at the hands of her vicious mother (Mo’Nique). Precious instinctively sees a chance to turn her life around when she is offered the opportunity to transfer to an alternative school. Under the patient, firm guidance of her new teacher, Ms. Rain (Paula Patton), Precious begins the journey from oppression to self-determination.
CAST: Gabourey Sidibe
Available to watch: Hulu
‘The Help’
SYNOPSIS: Skeeter, an aspiring author, decides to write a book on African-American maids and the struggles they face on a daily basis
CAST: Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer
AVAILABLE TO WATCH: Amazon Prime Video
‘Beasts of the Southern Wild’
SYNOPSIS: In the wake of her father’s ill health and the flooding of her home, Hushpuppy, a six-year-old girl, must brave prehistoric creatures called aurochs and seek out her lost mother.
CAST: Quvenzhane Wallis
AVAILABLE TO WATCH: HBO Max
‘Loving’
SYNOPSIS: In 1958, Richard and Mildred Loving, an interracial couple, are arrested and thrown out of their home state of Virginia. Determined to go back to their roots, they approach the Supreme Court.
CAST: Ruth Negga
AVAILABLE TO WATCH: Amazon Prime Video
‘Harriet’
SYNOPSIS: A plantation owner promises to free a slave family. But when he fails to be true to his words, a girl from the family escapes and becomes an abolitionist.
CAST: Cynthia Erivo
AVAILABLE TO WATCH: Hulu
