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The Black Candle

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The Black Candle
Directed byM. K. Asante
Written byM. K. Asante
Maya Angelou (poetry)
Produced byM. K. Asante
Ben Haaz
Kenny Gamble
Walter Lomax
StarringMaya Angelou
Chuck D
Dead Prez
Kiri Davis
Ursula Rucker
Jim Brown
Haki Madhubuti
Narrated byMaya Angelou
Music byNnenna Freelon, Derrick Hodge, Robert Glasper, Chris Dave
Release date
  • November 2008 (2008-11)
Running time
71 minutes
LanguageEnglish

The Black Candle is a documentary film about Kwanzaa directed by M. K. Asante and narrated by Maya Angelou.[1] The film premiered on cable television on Starz in November 2012.

Synopsis

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The Black Candle uses Kwanzaa as a vehicle to explore and celebrate the African-American experience. Narrated by the poet Maya Angelou and directed by author and filmmaker M. K. Asante, The Black Candle is about the struggle and triumph of African-American family, community, and culture. The documentary traces the holiday's growth out of the Black Power Movement in the 1960s to its present-day reality.

Reception

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Time magazine wrote "The first film about Kwanzaa, The Black Candle, narrated by Maya Angelou is fit for a poet."[2]

The Daily Voice wrote, "I predict that viewing The Black Candle will become an annual family tradition in homes around the world."[3]

The film won Best Full Length Documentary at the 2009 Africa World Documentary Film Festival.[4]

In December 2020, the American Film Institute selected The Black Candle as a "holiday classic" and featured the film in AFI Movie Club Presents: Home for the Holidays, "highlighting the very best of the holiday cinema".

References

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  1. ^ "Dr. Maya Angelou on Kwanzaa". Oprah.com.
  2. ^ "Top 10 Things You Didn't Know About Kwanzaa - TIME". December 26, 2008 – via content.time.com.
  3. ^ "New film explores 'The Black Candle' for Kwanzaa". December 16, 2008.
  4. ^ "Awards | Africa World Documentary Film Festival". www.africaworldfilmfestival.com.
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