The Criterion Collection
Four surrealist dreams, a portrait of Bombay’s street life, a 1980s touchstone, an ecstatic documentary, a windswept enchantment, and one of the fastest and funniest films ever made
The playwright and actor praises Do the Right Thing as the best film of the eighties, talks about the comfort of watching his favorite westerns, and selects Chicago cinema classics like Hoop Dreams and love jones.
The actor shares how she finds comfort in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, talks about helping to create a theatrical adaptation of Town Bloody Hall, and selects favorites including Shampoo, Paper Moon, and Hoop Dreams.
The award-winning writer and director of Tótem shares her love for Aki Kaurismäki’s “strange, funny filmmaking spirit,” dedicates her selection of Barbra Streisand’s The Prince of Tides to her mom, and talks about Werner Herzog as a “warrior” in Burden...
Delve deep into the experiences, dreams, struggles, desires, and art of Black communities across the globe with these essential films.
Sep 18, 2026 — Shatara Michelle Ford is an African American filmmaker. Their debut feature, Test Pattern, was released by Kino Lorber in 2021 to critical acclaim, landing on over a dozen best-of-2021 lists. It received nominations at the Gotham Awards, Spirit Awards, and...
Robin D. G. Kelley is a professor of history at the University of California Los Angeles. His books include Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination; Africa Speaks, America Answers: Modern Jazz in Revolutionary Times; Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times...
Paul Coates is a professor emeritus of film studies at Western University, Ontario. Previously, he taught at Georgia, McGill, and Aberdeen, and his books include The Story of the Lost Reflection (1985), The Gorgon’s Gaze (1991), Lucid Dreams: The Cinema...
Howard Hampton has written for Film Comment, Artforum, and many other publications. He is the author of Born in Flames: Termite Dreams, Dialectical Fairy Tales, and Pop Apocalypses.
Jonathan Rosenbaum’s books include Cinematic Encounters: Interviews and Dialogues (2018), Cinematic Encounters 2: Portraits and Polemics (2019), and In Dreams Begin Responsibilities: A Jonathan Rosenbaum Reader (2024).