Mother of George, Andrew Dosunmu (U.S., 2012)

Mother of George, a film emblematic of a “new renaissance moment for American black cinema” (Village Voice) is set against the backdrop of Brooklyn’s Yoruba Nigerian community. A joyful wedding celebration (filmed with an attention to color and costume on par with a Bollywood film) unites Ayodele (Jim Jarmusch favorite Isaach De Bankolé) and Adenike (Danai Gurira, The Walking Dead), but divisions begin to appear when the couple is unable to conceive a child. Aided by the hypnotic, ever-hovering camerawork of the award-winning Bradley Young (Pariah), the Nigerian-born fashion photographer Dosunmu (Restless City) creates one of the most successful American indies of the year, a portrait of a vibrant community split between old worlds and new, the homeland and Brooklyn. Lingering on the colors that saturate the community—whether the rich oranges and blues of the characters’ traditional clothes, or the painted hues of their homes—it’s certainly one of the year’s most beautiful films. “Ravishing,” raves Film Comment, “it entices us with a world of abundant sensory riches.”

—Jason Sanders

• Written by Darci Picoult. Photographed by Bradley Young. With Isaach De Bankolé, Danai Gurira, Yaya Alifia, Anthony Okungbowa. (106 mins, Color, DCP, From Oscilloscope Pictures)