Melvin Van Peebles

Van Peebles made a film in France when Hollywood would not have him, then came back and made the one that changed the business. The Story of a Three-Day Pass follows a Black American soldier on leave in France. Watermelon Man has a white racist insurance agent wake up Black. Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, which he wrote, directed, scored and starred in, sends a man raised in a brothel on the run from the police.

Signature

• Black independence in financing and in the story.
• Satire of white racism (Watermelon Man).
• Jump cuts, split screens and a funk score.
• The film that showed Hollywood a Black audience (Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song).