Titles including Maya Angelou’s classic Down in the Delta (1998) and Cheryl Dunye’s The Watermelon Woman (1996) are now free to watch on Criterion’s streaming platform. The decision to lift the paywall came earlier this week as the Criterion Collection joins others in the industry to help fight systemic racism.
In a post written on Twitter, the streaming service said “the anguish and fury unleashed all across the country are rooted in centuries of dehumanisation and death. This pattern must stop. We support the protesters who have taken to the streets to demand justice, and we share their hopes. We are committed to fighting systemic racism.”
The collection spans almost 100 years, from African American filmmaker Oscar Micheaux’s Body and Soul (1925) that critiques the power of the cloth, to Khalik Allah’s 2018 documentary Black Mother which introduces the audience to the candid testimonies of Jamaican souls.
Read more: Where To Donate To Help Support The #Blacklivesmatter Movement
The Criterion Collection usually offers a subscription based streaming platform, but the paywall has been lifted on certain titles from Black filmmakers and white filmmakers who have made documentaries about Black experiences. Ordinarily, a subscription would cost $10.99 a month for access to the whole site.
Not only this, the company has pledged an initial $25,000 contribution to organisations supporting the Black Live Matter movement in America. The contribution will be followed by a monthly donation of $5,000. It has not yet been decided which organisations the money will be donated to; however, Criterion has said it will go towards bail funds, community organisations, legal defense funds and advocacy groups.
The titles can currently be watched on Criterion Channel.
Words by Kate Goodyer