Into Film Clubs
Find out everything you need to know about starting an Into Film Club.
There is a notable lack of Black and Black British history across the UK curriculum, and while Black History Month each October is a valuable window to explore these topics, we believe that they should be embedded in young people's learning throughout the academic year.
Black History Month can help encourage schools to prioritise this area of British and world history, but more needs to be done to allow young people to understand how this history shapes the world they live in today, and how it impacts them individually. We are proud to celebrate Black History and Experiences 365 days a year with the aim to support and empower educators to discuss issues surrounding Black British stories and raise awareness using film in the classroom via our streaming service, Into Film+ , which is available and relevant for use in the classroom all year round.
In the wake of the recent racist violence across the UK, we appreciate that many educators are seeking extra resource to support their young people, and film can very often be the tool that can most effectively connect with young people. We would like to re-share the incredible anti-racism speech from this year's Into Film Awards winners My Pockets and Youth Aspire Connect from Hull, who won the Time for Action category with their courageous film Just Ignore It, a powerful short film for educators to show pupils returning to school.
Why film is key to sharing Black stories
This year's theme for Black History Month is Reclaiming Narratives, and marks a significant shift towards recognising and correcting the narratives of Black history and culture.
Film is a vital tool for this, as it can elevate stories from under-represented groups and cultures, providing a space for their voices and perspectives to be heard. As an inspiring and far-reaching medium, film has the power to amplify historical and current events that can be overlooked.
In the films below, we want to celebrate a wide variety of past and present Black stories, as well as Black figures from all walks of life who have acted as inspirational change-makers for past, present and future generations. While many films focus on the deep injustices and trauma experienced by generations of Black people, we're also keen to showcase films that demonstrate Black experiences of joy, celebration, success and love. These facets of the Black experience are just as important to acknowledge, and can transform our ways of educating, learning, and thinking about these issues.
As well as a range of feature-length films, we also have a whole host of short films, documentaries and additional material that celebrate Black history and experiences. As well as streaming films with Into Film+, you can download our free film guides and teaching resources, designed to support you to guide your students into new ways of thinking.
Browse the films below, and stream them for free* with Into Film+, where you will also find curriculum-linked resources, film guides, and exclusive extras to help you delve deeper into the issues covered by this carefully curated selection of films. Plus, if you're a state school in England that's funded by the Department for Education, you'll have access to Into Film+ Premium, which offers even more films with which to explore Black stories.
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Feature Films: Primary
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (PG) and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (PG)
These ground-breaking animations follow Miles Morales, a mixed race Spider-Man from a different universe, offering a visually dazzling and highly creative spin on the superhero's story and the many subsequent worlds of his comic book origins, touching on themes of responsibility, heroism and the importance of family.
The Princess and the Frog (U)
Tiana is a feisty young woman with big dreams in Disney's New Orleans-set re-telling of the classic fairy tale. Accompanied by a film guide that explores the film's key themes and topics.
Queen of Katwe (PG)
Phiona is a young girl born and raised in Katwe, a slum in the capital city of Uganda, before finding international renown as a master chess player. This is an uplifting film about aiming high and never giving up, and is accompanied by interviews with actors Lupita Nyong'o and David Oyelowo, and director Mira Nair.
Supa Modo (PG)
When nine-year-old Jo, an imaginative Kenyan girl, is diagnosed with a terminal illness, her sister and community come together and fulfil her wishes of becoming a superhero in this hugely charming and emotional African drama. Accompanied by our Supa Modo: Search for the Superhero resource to support filmmaking for ages 11-16.
Zarafa (PG)
This stunning animation follows a young Sudanese boy's escape from slave traders, and his incredible and perilous journey to Paris with a orphaned giraffe. Accompanied by a film guide that explores the film's key themes and topics.
Feature Films: Secondary
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (12)
This highly anticipated sequel to Black Panther follows on from the death of King T'Challa (after the real death of renowned actor Chadwick Boseman). Introducing new characters and worlds, this is another exciting addition to the Marvel universe and a visual feast of Afro-futurism.
Creed (12)
Adonis Creed, the son of boxing legend Apollo Creed, grows up in privilege after being adopted by Apollo's widow. Creed is a powerful addition to the Rocky franchise, blending sports drama with a social conscience.
12 Years a Slave (15)
Drawing upon Northup's harrowing memoir, British filmmaker Steve McQueen presents a disturbing portrayal of the brutality and injustice of the slave trade in this powerful, shocking landmark drama.
BlacKkKlansman (15)
Based on the incredible memoir by Ron Stallworth, the first African-American police officer and detective in Colorado, America, and his undercover operation of the Ku Klux Klan, this satire grapples with America's history of racism and terrorism.
Pressure (15)
This story highlights the struggles of Tony, a young black school leaver who, despite having good academic qualifications, finds it all but impossible to find a job. His growing frustration with the institutional racism that prevents him from gaining employment leads him to open up to radical ideas - and question a system that denies him opportunities and benefits.
Summer of Soul (12)
Over a six week period in 1969, a singular music and cultural festival took place in Mount Morris Park in Harlem, New York. At a time of huge social upheaval in America, the Harlem Cultural Festival celebrated Black pride, culture and fashion whilst emphasising the importance of spiritual wellbeing.
Belle (12)
A Jane Austen-style romance and politics blend in this absorbing costume drama - Dido is the illegitimate mixed-race daughter of a Royal Navy admiral in the 18th Century, who is brought as a child to be raised in the aristocratic home of her great-uncle and his wife. Her lineage leaves her an outsider too high in rank to eat with the servants but too low to eat with the family, and left on the sidelines as her cousin Elizabeth seeks suitors for marriage.
Pariah (15)
This trailblazing film is a much-needed story from the perspective of a Black lesbian girl which explores the importance of friendship and creative outlets in growing up and finding self-acceptance.
The Hate U Give (12)
This a powerful film that encourages self-expression and introduces young audiences to current topics on racism and oppression, and how they manifest in society in both stark and subtle ways.
Do The Right Thing (15)
This essential piece of cinema captures Brooklyn at a time when it was predominantly home to communities of African-American, Latin American and Italian families, amongst others.
Hidden Figures (PG)
Set in the early 1960s as NASA vied with the USSR for supremacy in the Space Race, this is based on the true story of three African American mathematicians who contributed to the success of the first American to orbit Earth.
Rye Lane (15)
Showcasing an immersive filming style and gorgeous, colourful cinematography, Rye Lane is a truly fresh, authentic, and highly enjoyable regeneration of the British romantic comedy genre.
Short Films
Faces (Unclassified)
This short documentary is comprised of four subjects who each talk about the various aspects of their mixed-race identity and how it's influenced their lives.
Black Barbie (Unclassified)
In this vibrant short animation, a woman recounts her reaction when, as a child, she was given a Black Barbie doll by her mother. Accompanied by our Celebrating Yourself: Body Image (11-16) resource, which uses the film to explore body image and mental wellbeing.
Being Black (Unclassified)
Inspired by a series of tweets, this short film explores the daily struggles faced by young Black people in the UK. Despite its sometimes heavy subject matter, the film also celebrates Black experiences and identities through spoken word poetry.
Clotilda: Last American Slave Ship (Unclassified)
An important geographical, historical and human document that the impact of slavery can have for generations into the future.
The March on Washington: Keepers of the Dream (Unclassified)
At the height of the Civil Rights Movement, 250,000 people gathered peacefully in the US capital city for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous speech invoking an end to violence and discrimination. By looking back through history, this documentary cries out for accountability and a change in systems today.
Short films, documentaries and series
As well as the feature films and shorts listed above, Into Film+ also features an ever-growing collection of films and TV content provided by ERA (the Educational Recording Agency). This includes I Am Not a Negro, a searing documentary in which late writer James Baldwin looks back at his experiences throughout recent American history, most notably the Civil Rights Movement.
Also available is the Our Black History Heroes collection - a part-animated and part-live action series of two-minute short films giving young people the opportunity to speak freely and celebrate their Black history heroes.
Another new title added to Into Film+ is A Story of Bones, a rousing documentary that follows Annina, an Environmental Officer living on the small island of Saint Helena, a British Overseas Territory, which remains a burial ground for those transported across the Atlantic Ocean by the Royal Navy around the time of the abolition of the slave trade at the start of the 1800s. Annina is relentlessy campaigning for a proper re-burial and memorial for the Africans whose ghostly presence still remains on the island.
Black and Welsh is another ERA title new to Into Film+. When film-maker Liana Stewart was growing up in Butetown, Cardiff, there were very few Black and Welsh role models on TV. She has long wanted to make a film that brings together people from across Wales to share their experiences of what it means to be Black and Welsh.
Small Axe is a collection of five films from Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen, which explore many different facets of the Black British experience over recent decades. Each of these films is accompanied by its own film guide to help you further explore the topics and themes covered.
Stephen: the Murder that Changed a Nation is a harrowing but essential three part documentary on the racist murder of Black teenager Stephen Lawrence, which led to a landmark inquiry that exposed institutional racism within the police force - a topic sadly still all-too relevant today.
We also have several episodes of short documentary series Inside Cinema, which provide valuable insights from some of the most prominent Black directors in Hollywood today, including Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay and Jordan Peele.
- Note: These titles require an ERA Licence to view. The vast majority of educational establishments in the UK are already covered by an ERA Licence. You can check the ERA Licence status of your organisation here.
Resources for Black History Month
Particularly relevant for this year's theme of Reclaiming Narratives, our Coming of Age: Perception vs Reality resource helps young people consider their pre-conceived ideas surrounding stereotypes of race, age and social background, using film clips to spark classroom discussion with an eye to reconsidering these notions.
Meanwhile, the latest in our Black Filmmakers series focuses on the work of Amma Asante, award-winning director of films such as Belle and A United Kingdom.
How Do I Get Started?
To access Into Film+, all you'll need is an Into Film Account - it's completely free*, and only takes a moment to set up. Into Film+ is free to use for all UK state schools that hold a valid Public Video Screening (PVS) Licence from Filmbankmedia.
Filmbankmedia PVS Licences are paid for on behalf of schools by all local authorities in England and by some local authorities in both Wales and Scotland. Into Film NI cover the license cost for some schools in Northern Ireland. For further information on licensing in your locality please see our FAQs.
If you're a state school in England that's funded by the Department for Education, you will automatically have access to Into Film+ Premium, which offers an extended catalogue of 500+ titles. Find out more about Into Film+ Premium in our FAQs.
If you don't have a PVS Licence, or aren't already covered, then a licence can easily be obtained from Filmbankmedia.
Filmbankmedia
Filmbankmedia licenses and distributes film and TV entertainment to many groups and is the licensing authority we work with to ensure schools, libraries and youth groups have the permissions to screen films from our catalogue.
* Screenings for an entertainment or extra-curricular purpose require a PVS (Public Video Screening) Licence from Filmbankmedia. State-funded schools in England are covered by the PVS Licence.
The core Into Film programme is free for UK state schools, colleges and other youth settings, thanks to support from the BFI, awarding National Lottery good cause funding, and through other key funders including Cinema First and Northern Ireland Screen.
