Above: Nia DaCosta and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II on the set of Candyman. Below: Writer/director Darnell Martin (left) and filmmaker Julie Dash.
THIS AUGUST, NIA DaCosta’s Candyman became the first film by a Black female director ever to open at number one at the US box office. It’s a milestone — but also one that should have come sooner. As well as being something to celebrate, it shows how few Black women get to make major films, and how many roadblocks they still face.