’Godfather of Black Cinema’ Melvin Van Peebles no more

Melvin was popularly known as the godfather of modern Black cinema

'Godfather of Black Cinema' Melvin Van Peebles no more

Representation picture

According to CNN, Melvin died at his home in Manhattan on Tuesday night. The news of his demise was announced by his family.

"Dad knew that Black images matter. If a picture is worth a thousand words, what was a movie worth? We want to be the success we see, thus we need to see ourselves being free. True liberation did not mean imitating the colonizer's mentality. It meant appreciating the power, beauty and interconnectivity of all people," Melvin's son Mario Van Peebles said in a statement.

Melvin was popularly known as the godfather of modern Black cinema. He had helped champion a new wave of modern Black cinema in the 1970s -- especially with his films 'Watermelon Man' and 'Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song'. Melvin also was also a novelist, theatre impresario, songwriter, musician and painter.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels