Two hours of trailers better than most movies—Black Hollywood's chaotic greatest hits reel.
Co-curated by Jenni Olson and the late Black gay activist Karl Knapper, this entertaining showcase of vintage movie trailers traces the evolution of African American cinema through its most crucial period, 1952-1976. Filled with insights on race and social dynamics, this fascinating compendium of coming attractions explores an extensive range of stylistic approaches—Blaxploitation, Comedy, Music Bio, Plantation Drama and more—offering an outrageous joyride through motion picture history. Beyond mere camp, these marvelously condensed gems crystallize a range of African American identities and personalities, tracking the meteoric careers of Sidney Poitier, James Earl Jones, Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor, Pam Grier and others through their bold performances in movies both hugely popular and practically forgotten. Afro Promo provides a compact glimpse at the representation of African Americans through twenty-five dynamic years of American cinema history.
Editing
Razor-sharp trailer juxtapositions that roast Hollywood's own marketing.
Production
Curatorial genius from two radically different queer perspectives.
Director
Jenni Olson
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Karl Knapper was a pioneering Black gay activist who co-founded the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's people of color caucus—his perspective as both insider and critic fundamentally shaped this archive's radical reframe.
Many trailers here are the only surviving visual records of their films—original negatives for numerous Black-cast movies from this era were deliberately destroyed or lost by studios who saw no commercial value in preservation.
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