Melvin Van Peebles

Mario Van Peebles directs an honest and revealing portrait of his pioneering father Melvin. (Sony Pictures Classics)

A dramatized account of the story of The Black Panther Party of Self-Defense. (imdb)

After saving a Black Panther from some racist cops, a black prostitute goes on the run from "the man" with the help of the ghetto community and some disillusioned Hells Angels. (imdb)

This film is based on the true life story of Wendell Scott, the first black stock car racing champion in America. (imdb)

Film version of Melvin Van Peebles' Broadway musical. A pair of devil-bats take human form and crash a Harlem house party in an attempt to break it up. But somehow, their attempts to ruin the party fail. (imdb)

A tale of innocence abroad, with racial overtones. Turner is a Black American, stationed at an air base in France. His captain thinks Turner's a good Negro, obedient, cheerful, and frightened, so he gives him a promotion and a three-day pass. On the first night, at a club, he meets Miriam, a White Parisian shop clerk... (imdb)

A semi-autobiographical story about an adventurer whose journeys take him from Harlem to the high seas and back again.

Melvin Van Peebles walks through the history of the portrayal of African Americans in Hollywood films. Through the use of numerous film clips he exposes the racism, sometimes hidden, sometimes blatantly in the open, that these films contained.

Leroy is a misfit boy. The other boys and girls in the town only pass over him. One day he saves an elder woman from being run over a bus. The woman has voodoo powers and concedes him two wishes. He chooses to have a motorcycle that transforms into a woman when he rides it at night. (imdb)

A closed-minded conservative couple masquerade as liberal do-gooders in late 60's France. With orders piling up at their bistro, The Full Belly, Loretta and Henri, self-described "pillars of the community," hire Diamantine as a waitress in order to give a poor black orphan a break. At home, they tell their trusting, new live-in employee that she's "one of the family," yet in town they encourage widespread disapproval of her. (imdb)

A man returns to his family following a stint in jail.

The second short film Melvin Van Peebles made in San Francisco before decamping for Europe is a striking portrait of a group of day labourers competing to secure a job. (Letterboxd)

A boy sees a 500-franc note under a sewer grate and tries to retrieve it. (Letterboxd)