August 27: Judas and the Black Messiah

This week’s film is Judas and the Black Messiah, directed by Shaka King.

In 1966, after having a brush with the law, seventeen-year-old car thief Bill O'Neal cuts a deal with an FBI agent: in exchange for having his charges dropped, Bill must infiltrate the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party led by the charismatic luminary, Fred Hampton.

It’s a true story that inspired New Jersey filmmaking duo Kenny and Keith Lucas to pitch a biopic about Hampton to A24 and Netflix back in 2014. It wasn’t until 2016 that New York-based director Shaka King got involved, penning the screenplay with the brothers and Californian writer Will Benson.

With King now as director, filming began in 2019, wrapping up in 42 days. It was originally scheduled to premiere in August 2020, but the pandemic pushed it back to February 2021.

Critic response was immediate and very favourable. The Guardian called it “a powerful tale of human frailty,” while Empire called it “a project that has a noticeable streak of unpredictability and, ultimately, an unsettling quality that lingers long after the credits have rolled on its visceral climactic scenes.”

Upon its release, Variety magazine named it one of five films that most vividly depict the “radical spirit” of the civil rights movement in the 1960s.

“Black filmmakers are offering an unvarnished look at the legacy of the 1960s civil rights era, examining America’s tortured history of racism.”

It’s a gripping and powerful biopic, a forceful condemnation of racial injustice, and a major triumph for its director and stars. Judas and the Black Messiah will be showing at the Gala Cinema to all IFS members on August 27 at 7pm. Don't miss it!