There’s a major movie movement going on in the Motor City

Story by Marshalle Montgomery Favors

Detroit is famous for cars and music, but local area moviemakers are working hard to add film to the city’s notoriety.

African American filmmakers are making their mark in the world of independent movies. More than 25 feature films have been produced in the past two years by indie filmmakers from the Motor City. These movies can be seen in theatres and are also found on major distribution platforms such as Hulu, Amazon Prime, Tubi and Netflix. It’s an astounding accomplishment, because these movies are not made and marketed with funding from big budget studios.

Detroit has become a hotbed for independent film production. It can be attributed to the self-motivation, determination and entrepreneurial spirit of the filmmakers themselves. The successful rise in distribution of these films have been accomplished by the sheer grit and the relentless will of these content creators who want to tell their stories and have them seen worldwide. They have either self-distributed their own projects or secured deals themselves. Below are just a handful of African American directors that have created a buzz for this movie movement happening in Detroit: