From psychological thrillers and animated comedies to documentary portraits and road trip farces, 2026 has delivered one of the most varied and compelling slates of films from Black and Brown directors in recent memory. Whether you are in the mood for a surreal Bay Area heist, a bloody Southern Gothic reckoning, a quiet grief drama shot in black and white, or a vampire action thriller set in Los Angeles, there is something on this list for you. Some of these films have already sparked major conversations. Others deserve far more attention than they have received. All of them are available to watch right now. Here are 30+ films directed by Black and Brown filmmakers that belong on your watchlist.
The Dutchman | Dir. Andre Gaines
A modern-day adaptation of Amiri Baraka’s 1964 play that follows a successful Black businessman whose life unravels during a tense, dangerous encounter on a New York City subway
Is God Is | Dir. Aleshea Harris
Harris directs her own play in her feature debut: twin sisters, disfigured by their father’s violence as children, are sent by their dying mother to track him down, and the road trip turns into a bloody reckoning.
I Love Boosters | Dir. Boots Riley
A Bay Area shoplifting crew discovers a factory worker’s teleportation device being used to redistribute stolen luxury goods, and the partnership snowballs into a surreal uprising against a fashion company’s exploitative practices.
Youngblood | Dir. Hubert Davis
Davis’s reimagining of the 1986 hockey classic follows a young player in Hamilton, Ontario chasing a shot at the pros, set against a version of the sport wrestling with its own outdated culture.
Color Book | Dir. David Fortune
Shot in black and white, this Atlanta drama follows a widowed father and his son, who has Down syndrome, on a day trip to a baseball game, quietly working through grief and what it means to raise a child alone.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple | Dir. Nia DaCosta
A boy is pulled into a cultish gang led by a self-anointed “Sir Lord,” while a doctor building a memorial to plague victims forms an unlikely connection with one of the infected — two storylines that collide into violence.
The Secret Between Us | Dir. Tamera Hill
Jack’s carefully built life, a loving wife, a devoted daughter, a reputation for honesty — comes apart when a stranger shows up at his door, exposing a vulnerable chapter from his past he’d hoped stayed buried.
Newborn | Dir. Nate Parker
Chris, recently exonerated after years in solitary confinement for a murder he didn’t commit, retreats to an isolated resort with his wife and mute son to rebuild their lives, but paranoia sets in, blurring the line between real threat and delusion.
My Father’s Shadow | Dir. Akinola Davies Jr.
The film follows two young brothers exploring Lagos with their mostly absent, estranged father during the turbulent 1993 Nigerian presidential election crisis
Earth, Wind & Fire: To Be Celestial | Dir. Questlove
Explores the origins, creative evolution, and cultural impact of the legendary band Earth, Wind & Fire and its visionary founder, Maurice White
Terri Joe: Missionary In Miami Movie | Dir. Dale S. Lewis
In this wild farce, Southern Belle Terri Joe ventures to Miami to outrun wacky criminals and find a new church where she can atone for her sins.
Michael | Dir. Antoine Fuqua
Traces Michael Jackson’s path from a kid with an extraordinary gift fronting the Jackson 5 to the driven solo artist determined to become the biggest entertainer on the planet, an origin story more than a cradle-to-grave biography.
One Spoon of Chocolate | Dir. RZA
A formerly incarcerated veteran comes home to Ohio looking for peace and instead uncovers a sheriff running an organ-trafficking scheme targeting Black men; when his cousin is taken, he puts his military training to use.
The Funny Thing About Love | Dir. Tailiah Breon
A memoir reignites old flames and exposes a secret that tore them apart, pushing Alice and Miles to confront the breakup that changed everything—and the love that never died.
GOAT | Dir. Tyree Dillihay
A Sony Pictures Animation sports comedy, produced with Stephen Curry, about a teenage anthropomorphic goat chasing pro stardom in a fictional sport called “roarball,” who gets his shot with a struggling team and helps carry them toward a championship.
Haunted Heist | Dir. Lil Rel Howery
Howery’s directorial debut sees four estranged friends reunite at a house, where one plans to find a valuable antique by robbing it. However, the haunted house’s ghosts force them to overcome differences to survive.
Night Patrol | Dir. Ryan Prows
An LAPD officer discovers the “elite” task force working his neighborhood is actually a cell of vampires preying on its residents, forcing him into an alliance with rival gangs and old ancestral magic to fight back.
Dreams in Nightmares | Dir. Shatara Michelle Ford
Three friends drive across the Midwest searching for one of their own who’s vanished off the grid, and the trip becomes as much about who they are as where they’re going.
Relationship Goals | Dir. Linda Mendoza
A TV producer angling to become the first woman to run New York’s top morning show finds the job complicated when her ex lands at the network as her direct rival for it.
Joe’s College Road Trip | Dir. Tyler Perry
Madea’s foul-mouthed brother Joe takes his sheltered, college-bound grandnephew on a chaotic cross-country trip meant to connect him with a heritage his upbringing kept him from.
Lazarus: The Awakening | Dir. Art Camacho
A vigilante resurrected from death goes after a drug empire in the fictional city of Jackson, clashing with a kingpin and a reporter in a city being consumed by a fentanyl crisis.
Undercard | Dir. Tamika Miller
Cheryl “No Mercy” Stewart, a former two-time boxing champion in recovery, reconnects with her estranged 21-year-old son Keith, an undisciplined but gifted fighter, and works to rebuild both his career and their relationship on the way to a climactic match.
The Gates | Dir. John Burr
Three friends driving through a gated community witness a murder they were never meant to see, and get dragged into the danger that follows.
Ricky | Dir. Rashad Frett
Frett’s debut follows a man readjusting to life as an adult after being locked up as a teenager, tracking the quiet, often hostile process of reentry.
Strung | Dir. Malcolm D. Lee
A gifted violinist takes a prestigious job tutoring the musically talented daughter of a wealthy family, and as she’s drawn into their lavish world, disturbing truths surface that make her question her safety, her ambitions, and her own grip on reality.
72 Hours | Dir. Tim Story
A 40-year-old man gets mistakenly added to a group chat for someone else’s bachelor party — and just goes with it, crashing the whole weekend with strangers.
Long Time Listener | Dir. Danielle Nicolet
Fame quickly turns deadly when a true-crime podcaster becomes the target of a mysterious, longtime listener. Pulled into a web of secrets that grows darker by the minute, she faces long-buried truths that blur the line between storyteller and victim.
Rockabye | Dir. Chris Stokes
A woman convinced her father’s death wasn’t a suicide starts digging for answers, and the people around him begin dying off one by one as she gets closer to the truth.
Give Me Back My Baby | Dir. Jhayla Mosley
A Tubi thriller in which a couple’s surrogacy arrangement opens the door to an obsession that threatens to cost them everything.
Deb is Boss | Dir. Trey Haley
Before shaping stars like Gucci Mane, Nicki Minaj, and French Montana, Deb Antney survived Queens and Boston’s underworlds, balancing love, ambition, and a rising drug empire.
Leave | Dir. Chris Stokes
An architect named Jesse Hughes moves his wife and two kids to an old house in a remote part of Florida to fix their troubled marriage. The story is inspired by Freemanville, a real historical settlement founded by freed enslaved people in 1866. Their fresh start goes wrong when strange, unexpected visitors show up at the house.