Movies Similar to The Burden

Space Is the Place(1974)

Sun Ra and his Solar Myth Arkestra return to Earth after several years in space. Ra proclaims himself "the alter-destiny", meets with inner-city youths and battles with the devil himself to save the black race.

Claustrophobia(2024)

A young black man wakes up chained in a dark room and is hypnotized by the static of a TV.

HARLEM FRAGMENTS

Harlem Fragments is an Afro-futurist scrapbook storytelling of a Harlem Black family's beautiful destruction during the 2008 recession. A natural disaster so mesmerizing you can't look away from the tragedy. Based on true events- The film explores the haunting societal pressures of achieving the Black American dream, told in the POV of 10 year old TJ revisiting his family's home that's up for sale. By empowering this Black boy in this film with the agency to imagine, TJ, through his own journey, finds a way to process and come to terms with his family's divorce. It's important for every Black child out there enduring the same foreign emotions to know that it's okay to feel them, and affirm that there is a future trajectory forward out of the initial destruction.

Neptune Frost(2022)

In the hilltops of Burundi, a group of escaped coltan miners form an anti-colonialist computer hacker collective. From their camp in an otherworldly e-waste dump, they attempt a takeover of the authoritarian regime exploiting the region's natural resources – and its people. When an intersex runaway and an escaped coltan miner find each other through cosmic forces, their connection sparks glitches within the greater divine circuitry.

Mulika(2022)

An 'afronaut' emerges from the wreckage of a spaceship in the volcanic crater of Mount Nyiragongo. As he descends into the city below, encountering the people of present-day Goma, he begins to understand what he must do to change the future for his people.

Afro Algorithms(2022)

This 3D animated short film in the Afrofuturist genre explores the topics of AI and bias. In a distant future, an artificial intelligence named Aero is inaugurated as the world's first AI ruler. But Aero soon learns that important worldviews are missing from her databank, including the experiences of the historically marginalized and oppressed.

They Charge for the Sun(2016)

In a dystopian future where people live nocturnally to avoid the harmful rays of the sun, a young black girl unravels the lie that has kept her and her sister in the dark.

O Disco das Histórias(2024)

After a flying saucer containing all the stories of humanity crashes in his backyard, a young artist seeks help to interpret its messages.

Departure(2017)

An alien couple named Addem and Efa live on Earth as human beings in order to determine if it has proper living conditions for their race. They are suddenly called back to their mothership and must face a disgruntled Special Agent and growing, uncontrollable human urges to stay on Earth before it's too late to return.

Tecnoismo(2018)

Clipping: Splendor & Misery(2016)

A surreal post-apocalyptic drama by Patrick Kennelly inspired by the clipping. album “Splendor & Misery”

White Mirror(2023)

A young Black game designer comes face to face with covert racism after he’s transformed to look like a white man.

The Woman at the End of the World(2019)

The Woman at the End of the World, inspired by the album "A Mulher do Fim do Mundo (2015)" by singer Elza Soares, tells the story of Benedita and the girl Lua, two black women who saw the old world succumb and are now the only ones survivors. In this post-apocalyptic scenario, the short film portrays a journey through the search for breaking the silence, thinking about the innumerable processes of silence passed by the characters in the old world. In this sense, the end of the world is also a character, being the personification of a state of mind that permeates the loneliness of the black woman. The short film reveres female power, rescues memories, discusses affection and thinks about paths to be followed.

Outside the Aquarium(2021)

"Outside the Aquarium" is the new exhibition of protagonist Jonas. In his paintings he portrays his experiences as a black immigrant and part of the LGBT Community expressing his fears, loneliness and dreams for the future.

Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise(1980)

Robert Mugge filmed jazz great Sun Ra on location in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. between 1978 and 1980. The resulting 60-minute film includes multiple public and private performances, poetry readings, a band rehearsal, interviews, and extensive improvisations. Transferred to HD from the original 16mm film and lovingly restored for the best possible viewing experience.

The Story of Funk: One Nation Under a Groove(2014)

A documentary on funk and P-funk and the bands and artists that made it all happen: James Brown, Sly Stone, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Maurice White and his Earth Wind & Fire, Average White Band, Kool & The Gang and lots more. It tells the story of black American music and how it evolved from funk to more main stream to disco to hiphop to contemporary R 'n B and its impact on society. Music and live footage from the bands, interviews with artists and band members of Kool & The Gang, Earth Wind & Fire, George Clinton and lots more.

Sankofa

A short documentary that emerge at the center of round table debate, participating in it there's three students from the Superior School of Arts and Design, Caldas da Rainha - Portugal. This conversation go along with a video essay about Afrofuturism and Pop Culture. Also, during the debate, an interview with another student gives some real example of how afrofuturism can be applied when it comes to in taking control of the colonial narratives into a black person perspective.

Estação: Liberdade

Dark Matter: A History of the Afrofuture(2021)

An exploration – from Jean-Michel Basquiat to Grace Jones – of how black artists use the sci-fi genre to examine black history and imagine new, alternative futures.

Liminality

Zari and Aina are a young couple, orbiting each other but struggling to connect. We first see each of them in their own element: Zari painting to finish a piece for a gallery opening, and Aina coding her own video game designed to increase self-awareness. When Aina makes an effort to connect and Zari shuts her out again, Aina is triggered to send her girlfriend into the video game. In the game, Zari meets different versions of herself and her ego's desires. Ultimately, she has to decide what she's willing to let go of in order to advance to the next level. When the game malfunctions, Aina launches her back into reality and they finally confront each other.