Movies Similar to Odessa's Reign

Big Time(2024)

Civil Rights Movement activist, TSSAA Hall of Fame Basketball Coach, swim coach, teacher, musical director, father, grandfather, and friend to many, Coach Sylvester Ford Sr. was known by many as “Big Time.” The nickname was given to him as a kid for his height, but “Big Time” showed time and time again why his nickname was about way more than his looks– it’s also because of how he showed up big for his community. Hometown Feature Audience Award winner at Indie Memphis 2024, Big Time chronicles the life of legendary Memphis basketball coach, Sylvester Ford Sr., while inspiring us all to live “big time” lives along the way.

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The Tulsa Lynching of 1921: A Hidden Story(2000)

Documents the race riot of 1921 and the destruction of the African-American community of Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma. With testimony by eyewitnesses and background accounts by historians.

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The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults(1986)

The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults is a two-hour live American television special that was broadcast in syndication on April 21, 1986, and hosted by Geraldo Rivera. It centered on the live opening of a secret vault in the Lexington Hotel in Chicago once owned by noted crime lord Al Capone.

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Spellbound(2002)

This documentary follows 8 teens and pre-teens as they work their way toward the finals of the Scripps Howard national spelling bee championship in Washington D.C.

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The Picture Taker(2022)

From his Memphis studio, Ernest Withers’ nearly 2 million images were a treasured record of Black history but his legacy was complicated by decades of secret FBI service revealed only after his death. Was he a friend of the civil rights community, or enemy—or both?

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Miss Alma Thomas: A Life in Color(2021)

Alma W. Thomas lived a life of firsts: the first Fine Arts graduate of Howard University (1924), the first Black woman to mount a retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art (1972), and the first Black woman to have her paintings exhibited in the White House (2009). Yet she did not receive national attention until she was 80.

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Hidden Colors 5: The Art of Black Warfare(2019)

The history of warfare as it relates to global Black society, broken down into 7 chapters that examines the ways the system of racism wages warfare from a historical, psychological, sexual, biological, health, educational, and military perspective.

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In the Shadow of Hollywood: Race Movies and the Birth of Black Cinema(2007)

This documentary captures the sounds and images of a nearly forgotten era in film history when African American filmmakers and studios created “race movies” exclusively for black audiences. The best of these films attempted to counter the demeaning stereotypes of black Americans prevalent in the popular culture of the day. About 500 films were produced, yet only about 100 still exist. Filmmaking pioneers like Oscar Micheaux, the Noble brothers, and Spencer Williams, Jr. left a lasting influence on black filmmakers, and inspired generations of audiences who finally saw their own lives reflected on the silver screen.

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Is That Black Enough for You?!?(2022)

A look at the Black revolution in 1970s cinema, from genre films to social realism, from the making of new superstars to the craft of rising auteurs.

7.4

TETHERS(2023)

Prepare for an eye-opening journey into the heart of identity and division. 'Tethers' is a groundbreaking interview-style documentary that delves deep into the complex tapestry of cultural differences, racial tension, and the ethnocentric divide between Africans, African Americans, and Foundation Black Americans.

10.0

JazzTown(2021)

Denver’s iconic and Grammy Award-winning musicians reveal the secrets of their success and longevity in the music business while warning the young lions to whom they pass the torch to stay relevant in a marketplace both treacherous and brutal. The majestic Rocky Mountains tower over a bustling metropolis filled with steamy and romantic nightclubs where jazz flourishes on stage. JazzTown features never seen before live concert footage on historic stages that have now crumbled due to economic stresses of the Covid Pandemic. ~ Dianne Reeves, 5-time Grammy Award winner for Best Jazz Vocalist ~ US Senator John Hickenlooper (former jazz club owner) ~ Ron Miles (Colorado Music Hall of Fame, Joshua Redman, Bill Frisell, Ginger Baker) ~ Charlie Hunter (Snarky Puppy, Christian McBride, Stanton Moore) ~ Art Lande (Mark Isham, Gary Peacock) ~ Ayo Awosika (Session Singer on Soundtracks to: Wakanda Forever, Nope, Dune, The Lion King ... tours with Miley Cyrus,) and many more.

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August 28: A Day in the Life of a People(2017)

Documentary film on events that happened on August 28th in African-American history, shown at the Smithsonian African-American History Museum.

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Sing! Fight! Sing! Fight! From LeRoi to Amiri(2024)

The story of how Everett Leroy Jones became Amiri Baraka, from his childhood to the mid '60s, is told through interviews recorded in the late '90s.

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No Harm No Foul(2017)

In the tendency to assume that science-based conclusions are objective and reliable, public health tragedies are allowed to occur repeatedly.

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Our Alexandria(2020)

Two artists from Alexandria, Virginia, revisit the town’s segregated past and tell the story of family, friendship, loss, and love through historical dollhouses.

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Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back(2019)

Maurice Hines, a charming, gay African-American entertainer navigates the complications of show business while grieving the loss of his more famous, often estranged younger brother, tap dance legend Gregory Hines.

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Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives(2003)

When the Civil War ended in 1865, more than four million slaves were set free. Over 70 years later, the memories of some 2,000 slave-era survivors were transcribed and preserved by the Library of Congress. These first-person anecdotes, ranging from the brutal to the bittersweet, have been brought to vivid life in this unique HBO documentary special, featuring the on-camera voices of over a dozen top African-American actors.

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Illicit: The Dark Trade(2008)

Documenting the shadowy world of illegal trade that in this era of globalization spans the entire planet with a growing web of criminal networks. Counterfeiting is not just about knock-off brand handbags or pirated DVDs; these global supply chains also carry much more dangerous items: drugs, weapons, fake pharmaceuticals, knock-off car and airline parts, and more.

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America's Greatest Monuments(2007)

Explore some of the best-loved structures in the United States with this tour of D.C.'s monuments. The program goes behind the famous façades to tell the stories of how these structures came into existence and their importance to the country. It features everything from the Washington Monument and Arlington National Cemetery's eternal flame to war memorials and the monuments erected as tributes to America's founding fathers.

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Al Capone: Icon(2014)

Al Capone - The quintessential self-made American man, ruthless killer, or both? To this day we are fascinated with this celebrity gangster. Americans love a bad boy; a tragic anti-hero. Al Capone is one of the originals, one of the most notorious bootleggers and gangsters of the twentieth century, believed to have personally murdered dozens of people and ordered the killing of hundreds of others. But that’s only one side of this complicated man. He was also a hugely popular public figure, dynamic and charismatic; he opened one of the nation's first soup kitchens, and was a devoted patron and guardian of jazz, giving African American musicians opportunities that they would otherwise never have had. So what made him a crime boss instead of a powerful politician?

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