I recently had the opportunity to speak to filmmaker Sam Pollard about his new HBO art documentary “Black Art: In The Absence of Light,” but I also couldn’t resist asking about his critically-acclaimed Martin Luther King Jr. documentary, “MLK/FBI,” which centers on the way the civil rights leaders like King are often treated by U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies like an enemy of the state (yes, he released two docs in 2021, a month apart, Pollard is having a moment). One of the things I asked Pollard was whether or not he had seen, “Judas And The Black Messiah,” given its many spiritual parallels. The film centers on the life and death of Black Panther leader Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya) and demonstrates FBI director J. Edgar Hoover displaying the same kind of hostility, hatred, and aggression against Hampton and the Black Panther party, that his agency had towards Martin Luther King Jr with various insidious COINTERLPRO techniques. Pollard hadn’t seen ‘Judas’ at the time, but it was on his radar as a must-watch.
Well, someone also had a similar idea, and IFC Films recently brought together Pollard and Shaka King, the director of “Judas & The Black Messiah” together to discuss their two films, the way they overlap, their similarities, and how U.S. law enforcement agencies in America have always been systematically working overtime for decades to discredit, surveil and harass black civil rights leaders whenever they became too outspoken and thus perceived as a threat. Obviously, this speaks to a lot of white American fear and racism. Hoover feels that black civil rights leaders undermined American Democracy, aka, white American democracy.
The compelling conversation was held this past weekend, during the re-opening of the Queens Drive-In, in New York, where a double feature of “MLK/FBI” and “Judas And the Black Messiah” was screened.
Meanwhile, we don’t want to spoil it since ‘Judas’ is still relatively new, but if the ending of that movie kind of blows you away and raises a lot of questions about William “Bill” O’Neal (the character played by Lakeith Stanfield), who betrays Fred Hampton, and perhaps his mental health or state of mind, the two directors dive into that a little and its a fascinating detour.
READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2021
There are so many poignant, trenchant parallels between the two excellent and important films. You should definitely see them both if you haven’t. Both these filmmakers are essential figures in cinema today. Below, we’re proud to exclusively present the entire Q&A conversation the two directors had this past weekend. It’s a terrific conversation, so please give it a listen.
![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://dev.theplaylist.net/directors-shaka-king-sam-pollard-discuss-mlk-fbi-exclusive-20210309/&media=https://cdn.theplaylist.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/14180719/Directors-Shaka-King-Sam-Pollard-Discuss-MLKFBI-Judas-The-Black-Messiah-.jpg&description=Directors Sam Pollard and Shaka King discuss their two timely films about black civil rights leaders, "MLK/FBI" and "Judas And The Black Messiah."){kind=link}