◄ IMDb Polls

Poll: Black Filmmakers Who Changed Cinema

A poll by rubyfruit76.
To celebrate Black History Month, take a look at who critics, scholars, and movie directors consider to be the most impactful Black filmmakers. Of those listed below, whose work has been the most influential on you or whose movies are you most interested to see?

Discuss here or go here to see the sources used when compiling this list.

Note: Filmmakers are listed in alphabetical order by last name.

See results without voting »

Make Your Choice

  1. Vote!

    Charles Burnett

    Films include Killer of Sheep (1978), My Brother's Wedding (1983), and To Sleep with Anger (1990).
  2. Vote!

    Ryan Coogler

    Films include Fruitvale Station (2013), Black Panther (2018), and Creed (2015).
  3. Vote!

    Julie Dash

    The first African American woman to have a film in wide theatrical release, her films include Daughters of the Dust (1991), Funny Valentines (1999), and Diary of an African Nun (1977).
  4. Vote!

    Ivan Dixon

    Films include The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973) and Trouble Man (1972).
  5. Vote!

    Cheryl Dunye

    Films include The Watermelon Woman (1996), Stranger Inside (2001), and Black Is Blue (2014).
  6. Vote!

    Ava DuVernay

    Films include 13th (2016), Selma (2014), and Origin (2023).
  7. Vote!

    Jamaa Fanaka

    Films include Welcome Home Brother Charles (1975), Penitentiary (1979), and Emma Mae (1976).
  8. Vote!

    Haile Gerima

    Films include Sankofa (1993), Teza (2008), and Ashes and Embers (1982).
  9. Vote!

    F. Gary Gray

    Films include Straight Outta Compton (2015), Set It Off (1996), and The Italian Job (2003).
  10. Vote!

    Albert Hughes

    Along with Allen Hughes, sometimes credited together as The Hughes Brothers. Films include Menace II Society (1993), Dead Presidents (1995), and American Pimp (1999).
  11. Vote!

    Barry Jenkins

    Films include Moonlight (2016), If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) and Medicine for Melancholy (2008).
  12. Vote!

    Spike Lee

    Films include Do the Right Thing (1989), BlacKkKlansman (2018), Malcolm X (1992), Inside Man (2006), and David Byrne's American Utopia (2020).
  13. Vote!

    Kasi Lemmons

    Films include Eve's Bayou (1997), Talk to Me (2007), and Harriet (2019).
  14. Vote!

    Oscar Micheaux

    Films include Within Our Gates (1920), The Betrayal (1948), and The Symbol of the Unconquered (1920).
  15. Vote!

    Gordon Parks

    Films include The Learning Tree (1969), Shaft (1971), and The World of Piri Thomas (1968).
  16. Vote!

    Jordan Peele

    Films include Get Out (2017), Us (2019), and Nope (2022).
  17. Vote!

    Gina Prince-Bythewood

    Films include Love & Basketball (2000), Reflections (2007), and The Woman King (2022).
  18. Vote!

    Dee Rees

    Films include Pariah (2011), Mudbound (2017), and Bessie (2015).
  19. Vote!

    RaMell Ross

    Films include Nickel Boys (2024), Hale County This Morning, This Evening (2018), and Easter Snap (2019).
  20. Vote!

    Ousmane Sembene

    Films include Moolaadé (2003), Black Girl (1966), and The Camp at Thiaroye (1988).
  21. Vote!

    John Singleton

    Films include Boyz n the Hood (1991), Rosewood (1997), and Baby Boy (2001).
  22. Vote!

    Melvin Van Peebles

    Films include Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971), The Story of a Three Day Pass (1967), and Watermelon Man (1970).
  23. Vote!

    Denzel Washington

    Films include Fences (2016) and The Great Debaters (2007) . (This is my own personal addition to the list and the reason is that he was the first to bring the work of iconic Black playwright August Wilson to a wide film audience.)

Clear your history

Recently Viewed