Five Coming-of-Age Movies for the Black Female Experience

A few years ago, I tweeted about wanting coming-of-age movies where Black girls got to be “horrible and funny or be cute and fall in love,” like in movies centering white characters. Nijla Mu’min, a writer and filmmaker, responded, saying, “I made one.”  Her coming-of-age movie, Jinn, would become one of my favorite movies of the year. It was exactly the type of film I had been asking for—and I had no clue it existed. 

I often feel like I’m searching for movies that represent my experiences and the ones I talk about with my friends, even though the number of Black speaking characters hit an all-time highs as recently as 2018. That should leave me with an abundance of options, but I still feel like there aren’t enough. Perhaps the relative lack is not due to overall volume, but the type of films that are getting made. Why there aren’t more quirky, sharply funny, and realistic coming-of-age movies centering Black girls? A Lady Bird or Eighth Grade or Booksmart for people who look like me?

It’s possible that this is because there aren’t enough Black women behind the camera. According to UCLA’s 2021 Hollywood Diversity report, women of color are still underrepresented as film writers and directors. When women of color do get the chance to direct, they typically helm lower-budget films. This means independent movies with small budgets like Jinn aren’t marketed to the broadest audience. We’re lucky to hear about them at all.  

This needs to change. Stories centering Black women and girls need to be given real production and marketing budgets. I want to learn about them on billboards or see their trailers on TV. But until we can make this dream a reality, we should celebrate some of the Black coming-of-age movies we already have, especially since they’re pretty damn good. Movies like Love and Basketball and Pariah made me feel like the specific way I see the world is important. I hope it does the same for others, too. 

Selah and the Spades, written and directed by Tayarisha Poe

Five factions run the underground life of Haldwell School, a prestigious east coast boarding school. At the head of the most powerful faction, The Spades, is Selah Summers, walking the fine line between being feared and loved.’ Selah and the Spades, which premiered at Sundance in 2019, is the perfect option for someone who wants a familiar story with a twist. The film puts a darker spin on the “unfriendly Black hotties” trope by using classic mob movies and Rihanna’s album Anti as inspiration. Honestly, what could be better? Maybe the TV show Poe is developing at Amazon.