Bryn Mawr Film Institute

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Community Curated: Movies About Activism

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 18, we asked you for the best films about fighting for a cause. From documentaries (She's Beautiful When She's Angry) to films based on a true story (Selma), or not so much (Sorry to Bother You), BMFI patrons share their recommendations.

Block or Report
  • Norma Rae
  • Milk
  • Erin Brockovich
  • Just Mercy
  • Matewan
  • Philadelphia
  • Harriet
  • Do the Right Thing
  • A Civil Action
  • Julia
  • Empire Records
  • Cry Freedom
  • The Insider
  • Mask
  • King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
  • To Be or Not to Be
  • When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts
  • On the Waterfront
  • Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin
  • We Are Many
  • American Dream
  • Black Panthers
  • The Best of Enemies
  • Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
  • Ruby Bridges
  • One Sings, the Other Doesn't
  • The Intruder
  • Cry, the Beloved Country
  • Hidden Figures
  • The Battle of Algiers
  • Glory Road
  • Malcolm X
  • Angels in America
  • Rollerball
  • One of the Hollywood Ten
  • To Kill a Mockingbird
  • Salt of the Earth
  • Born in Flames
  • The Agronomist
  • Harlan County U.S.A.
  • Catch a Fire
  • The Organizer
  • The Square
  • An Unreasonable Man
  • Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
  • Sorry to Bother You
  • She's Beautiful When She's Angry
  • Born on the Fourth of July
  • Silkwood
  • Selma
  • How to Survive a Plague
  • The Times of Harvey Milk
  • The Glorias
  • Union Maids
  • 9to5: The Story of a Movement