Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band (2015)

(8) based on 2 votes
Jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams was a genius ahead of her time. From child prodigy to "Boogie-Woogie Queen" to groundbreaking composer to mentoring some of the greatest musicians of all time, she never ceased to astound those who heard her play. But for a Black woman in the early 1900s, life as a star did not come easy.
Directors
Release Date
Apr 01, 2015
Runtime
01h 10m
Genre
Available in streaming on

Jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams was a genius ahead of her time. From child prodigy to "Boogie-Woogie Queen" to groundbreaking composer to mentoring some of the greatest musicians of all time, she never ceased to astound those who heard her play. But for a Black woman in the early 1900s, life as a star did not come easy.

Movies like Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band

Border

When a border guard with a sixth sense for identifying smugglers encounters the first person she cannot prove is guilty, she is forced to confront terrifying revelations about herself and humankind.
Search similar movies
6.7
Border
Joker

During the 1980s, a failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City while becoming an infamous psychopathic crime figure.
Search similar movies
8.1
Joker
Money Trap

Asim Noyan swindles people with his lies and games. Asim Noyan and his gang, who no one else has been able to catch, get into a ruse again.
Search similar movies
5.6
Money+Trap
Money Trap

2019

Search similar movies
Zombie Fight Club

It's the end of the century at a corner of the city in a building riddled with crime - Everyone in the building has turned into zombies. After Jenny's boyfriend is killed in a zombie attack, she faces the challenge of surviving in the face of adversity. In order to stay alive, she struggles with Andy to flee danger.
Search similar movies
5.6
Zombie+Fight+Club
Zombie Fight Club

2014

Search similar movies
The Zone of Interest

The commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife Hedwig, strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the camp.
Search similar movies
7.0
The+Zone+of+Interest
The Zone of Interest

2023

Search similar movies
Judy

Thirty years after starring in "The Wizard of Oz," beloved actress and singer Judy Garland arrives in London to perform sold-out shows at the Talk of the Town nightclub. While there, she reminisces with friends and fans and begins a whirlwind romance with musician Mickey Deans, her soon-to-be fifth husband.
Search similar movies
6.7
Judy
Knox Goes Away

A contract killer, after being diagnosed with a fast-moving form of dementia, is presented with the opportunity to redeem himself by saving the life of his estranged adult son. But to do so, he must race against the police closing in on him as well as the ticking clock of his own rapidly deteriorating mind.
Search similar movies
7.0
Knox+Goes+Away
Knox Goes Away

2024

Search similar movies
Colors of Evil: Red

When a girl's body is found on a beach in Poland's Tricity, a prosecutor teams up with the victim's mother on an impassioned quest for the truth.
Search similar movies
6.7
Colors+of+Evil%3A+Red
Colors of Evil: Red

2024

Search similar movies
King Kong vs. Godzilla

The advertising director of Pacific Pharmaceuticals, frustrated with the low ratings of their sponsored TV program, seeks a more sensationalist approach. He orders his staff to Faro Island to capture King Kong for exploitation. As Godzilla re-emerges, a media frenzy generates with Pacific looking to capitalize off of the ultimate battle.
Search similar movies
6.9
King+Kong+vs.+Godzilla
King Kong vs. Godzilla

1962

Search similar movies
Here

An odyssey through time and memory, centered on a place in New Jersey where—from wilderness, and then, later, from a home—love, loss, struggle, hope and legacy play out between couples and families over generations.
Search similar movies
6.5
Here
Gladiator II

Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people.
Search similar movies
6.6
Gladiator+II
Gladiator II

2024

Search similar movies
Wicked Little Letters

When the denizens of Littlehampton – including conservative Edith – begin receiving letters full of hilarious profanities, rowdy Irish migrant Rose is charged with the crime. Suspecting something amiss, the town's women band together to investigate.
Search similar movies
6.9
Wicked+Little+Letters
Wicked Little Letters

2024

Search similar movies
The Two Popes

Frustrated with the direction of the church, Cardinal Bergoglio requests permission to retire in 2012 from Pope Benedict. Instead, facing scandal and self-doubt, the introspective Pope Benedict summons his harshest critic and future successor to Rome to reveal a secret that would shake the foundations of the Catholic Church.
Search similar movies
7.5
The+Two+Popes
The Two Popes

2019

Search similar movies
Queen & Slim

While on a forgettable first date together in Ohio, a black man and a black woman are pulled over for a minor traffic infraction. The situation escalates, with sudden and tragic results.
Search similar movies
7.1
Queen+%26+Slim
Queen & Slim

2019

Search similar movies
1

Set in the golden era of Grand Prix Racing '1' tells the story of a generation of charismatic drivers who raced on the edge, risking their lives during Formula 1's deadliest period, and the men who stood up and changed the sport forever.
Search similar movies
6.6
1
Long Day's Journey Into Night

Luo Hongwu returns to Kaili, the hometown from which he fled many years ago. He begins the search for the woman he loved and whom he has never been able to forget.
Search similar movies
7.0
Long+Day%27s+Journey+Into+Night
Long Day's Journey Into Night

2018

Search similar movies
Sing Sing

Divine G, imprisoned at Sing Sing for a crime he didn't commit, finds purpose by acting in a theatre group alongside other incarcerated men in this story of resilience, humanity, and the transformative power of art.
Search similar movies
7.5
Sing+Sing
The Good Witch's Garden

Middleton prepares for its bicentennial, and Grey House is to be the party venue. Good witch Cassie is remodeling it as B&B. her first and only guest, Nick Chasen, claims to be a distant relative. He produces papers to prove he's the heir of the builder, colonial era captain Hamblin, while the Grey lady was his mistress and stole it. Police chief and lover Jake Russell goes all the way to motivate her to fight and disprove the claim before she's effectively disowned. Brandon is dared to pass a rascals-initiation by local brat Steve and Duke. George's gardening skills lead to romance.
Search similar movies
7.4
The+Good+Witch%27s+Garden
The Good Witch's Garden

2009

Search similar movies
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla

An Okinawan prophecy that foretells the destruction of the Earth is seeming fulfilled when Godzilla emerges to return to his destructive roots. But not all is what it seems after Godzilla breaks his ally Anguirus's jaw. Matters are further complicated when a second Godzilla emerges, revealing the doppelgänger as a mechanical weapon.
Search similar movies
7.0
Godzilla+vs.+Mechagodzilla
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla

1974

Search similar movies
The Seed of the Sacred Fig

Investigating judge Iman grapples with paranoia amid political unrest in Tehran. When his gun vanishes, he suspects his wife and daughters, imposing draconian measures that strain family ties as societal rules crumble.
Search similar movies
7.6
The+Seed+of+the+Sacred+Fig
The Seed of the Sacred Fig

2024

Search similar movies
The Substance

A fading celebrity decides to use a black market drug, a cell-replicating substance that temporarily creates a younger, better version of herself.
Search similar movies
7.1
The+Substance
The Substance

2024

Search similar movies
Annette

In present-day Los Angeles, controversial stand-up comedian Henry McHenry and internationally renowned opera singer Ann Defrasnoux form the façade of a happy couple in the spotlight. Ann gives birth to a baby girl named Annette, who possesses an exceptional gift that will change all of their lives forever.
Search similar movies
6.7
Annette
A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding

A year after Amber helped Richard secure the crown. The two are set to tie the knot in a royal Christmas wedding — but their plans are jeopardized when Amber finds herself second-guessing whether or not she's cut out to be queen, and Richard is faced with a political crisis that threatens to tarnish not only the holiday season but the future of the kingdom.
Search similar movies
6.4
A+Christmas+Prince%3A+The+Royal+Wedding
A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding

2018

Search similar movies
Gemini Man

Henry Brogan is an elite 51-year-old assassin who's ready to call it quits after completing his 72nd job. His plans get turned upside down when he becomes the target of a mysterious operative who can seemingly predict his every move. To his horror, Brogan soon learns that the man who's trying to kill him is a younger, faster, cloned version of himself.
Search similar movies
6.3
Gemini+Man
Gemini Man

2019

Search similar movies
Godzilla vs. Gigan

Manga artist Gengo Odaka lands a job with the World Children's Land amusement park only to become suspicious of the organization when a garbled message is discovered on tapes. As Gengo and his team investigate, Godzilla and Anguirus quickly decipher the message and begin their own plan of action.
Search similar movies
6.4
Godzilla+vs.+Gigan
Godzilla vs. Gigan

1972

Search similar movies
The Mayor of Rione Sanità

Antonio Barracano is a respected figure among the Neapolitan underworld, keeping order and administering justice according to his own criteria, beyond the law. One day he's faced with a dilemma after a youth asks him permission to kill his father.
Search similar movies
6.1
The+Mayor+of+Rione+Sanit%C3%A0
The Mayor of Rione Sanità

2019

Search similar movies
12th Fail

Based on the true story of IPS officer Manoj Kumar Sharma, 12th Fail sheds limelight on fearlessly embracing the idea of restarting the academic journey despite the setbacks and challenges and reclaiming one's destiny at a place where millions of students attempt the world's toughest competitive exam: UPSC.
Search similar movies
8.0
12th+Fail
Now, Voyager

A woman suffers a nervous breakdown and an oppressive mother before being freed by the love of a man she meets on a cruise.
Search similar movies
7.4
Now%2C+Voyager
Now, Voyager

1942

Search similar movies
Vivre Sa Vie

Twelve episodic tales in the life of a Parisian woman and her slow descent into prostitution.
Search similar movies
7.7
Vivre+Sa+Vie
Vivre Sa Vie

1962

Search similar movies
Into the Labyrinth

When a kidnapping victim turns up alive after fifteen years, a profiler and a private investigator try to piece together the mystery.
Search similar movies
6.4
Into+the+Labyrinth
Into the Labyrinth

2019

Search similar movies
Betty Blue

A lackadaisical handyman and aspiring novelist tries to support his younger girlfriend as she slowly succumbs to madness.
Search similar movies
7.2
Betty+Blue
Betty Blue

1986

Search similar movies
Wendy

A re-imagining of "Peter Pan" from the point of view of Wendy Darling, who finds herself lost on a mysterious island where aging and time have come unglued. She must fight to save her family, her freedom and the joyous spirit of youth.
Search similar movies
5.7
Wendy
Hiroshima Mon Amour

The deep conversation between a Japanese architect and a French actress forms the basis of this celebrated French film, considered one of the vanguard productions of the French New Wave. Set in Hiroshima after the end of World War II, the couple -- lovers turned friends -- recount, over many hours, previous romances and life experiences. The two intertwine their stories about the past with pondering the devastation wrought by the atomic bomb dropped on the city.
Search similar movies
7.7
Hiroshima+Mon+Amour
Hiroshima Mon Amour

1959

Search similar movies
Emilia Pérez

Rita, an underrated lawyer working for a large law firm more interested in getting criminals out of jail than bringing them to justice, is hired by the leader of a criminal organization.
Search similar movies
6.5
Emilia+P%C3%A9rez
Emilia Pérez

2024

Search similar movies
One Night in Miami...

In the aftermath of Cassius Clay's defeat of Sonny Liston in 1964, the boxer meets with Malcolm X, Sam Cooke and Jim Brown to change the course of history in the segregated South.
Search similar movies
7.0
One+Night+in+Miami...
One Night in Miami...

2020

Search similar movies
A Little Something Extra

To escape the police, a father and his son are forced to find refuge in a summer camp for young adults with mental disabilities, taking on the role of an educator and a boarder. The beginning of troubles and a wonderful human experience that will change them forever.
Search similar movies
7.1
A+Little+Something+Extra
A Little Something Extra

2024

Search similar movies
The Irishman

Pennsylvania, 1956. Frank Sheeran, a war veteran of Irish origin who works as a truck driver, accidentally meets mobster Russell Bufalino. Once Frank becomes his trusted man, Bufalino sends him to Chicago with the task of helping Jimmy Hoffa, a powerful union leader related to organized crime, with whom Frank will maintain a close friendship for nearly twenty years.
Search similar movies
7.6
The+Irishman
The Irishman

2019

Search similar movies
Human Capital

The destinies of two families are irrevocably tied together after a cyclist is hit off the road by a jeep in the night before Christmas Eve.
Search similar movies
7.4
Human+Capital
Human Capital

2013

Search similar movies
Muxˣ

Mux spent many years in a coma in a clinic with a constant stream of television. But at least he survived a serious car accident! Now he has woken up, and he has a plan: during his time in hospital, he came up with the idea of a fairer society. From now on, Mux sees it as his task to save the world from neoliberalism and goes to France, the motherland of revolutions, with his long-term nurse Karsten and a self-written manifesto.
Search similar movies
5.5
Mux%CB%A3
O Seasons, O Castles

A short documentary on the chateaux of the Loire in France was commissioned by the French Tourist Bureau.
Search similar movies
6.2
O+Seasons%2C+O+Castles
O Seasons, O Castles

1958

Search similar movies
Jacqueline du Pré: Genius and Tragedy

Yo-Yo Ma narrates a documentary about the remarkable cellist Jacqueline du Pré, whose life and career were cut short by multiple sclerosis.
Search similar movies
Jacqueline+du+Pr%C3%A9%3A+Genius+and+Tragedy
Jacqueline du Pré: Genius and Tragedy

2025

Search similar movies
Melek Leaves

In 1970, Melek Tez came to Berlin as a young worker from Turkey. A confident woman, she first countered racist resentments and remarks with irony and wit. Jokingly, she even referred to herself as a "Kümmeltürkin", a derogatory German term for Turkish migrants. Yet after fourteen humiliating years, her fighting spirit has given way to resignation: Melek Tez is returning to Turkey. Blending documentary, interviews and re-enacted scenes, director Jeanine Meerapfel chronicles Melek Tez' life experience.
Search similar movies
Melek+Leaves
Melek Leaves

1985

Search similar movies
We Need to Talk About A.I.

Conflict between man and machine has been a science fiction staple for over a century. From 2001: A Space Odyssey to The Terminator the perceived threat posed by super-intelligent robots has been exploited by Hollywood for decades. But do advances in Artificial Intelligence mean we are now facing a future in which that threat could become a reality?
Search similar movies
6.4
We+Need+to+Talk+About+A.I.
We Need to Talk About A.I.

2020

Search similar movies
Armbryterskan från Ensamheten

The tiny village in the far north of Sweden called Ensamheten (Solitude) has sixteen inhabitants. They all share an unusual passion - armwrestling.
Search similar movies
5.3
Armbryterskan+fr%C3%A5n+Ensamheten
Armbryterskan från Ensamheten

2004

Search similar movies
A Thousand Pieces

A documentary about the Swedish singer Björn Afzelius, his life and work, told by interviews with friends, family and bandmates and through unique and never-seen-before archive material.
Search similar movies
7.1
A+Thousand+Pieces
A Thousand Pieces

2014

Search similar movies
Saroyanland

Saroyanland is a docu-drama focusing on the journey of famous writer William Saroyan to the birthplace of his Armenian family Bitlis, in Turkey in 1964. While retaking the same road, the film aims to understand Saroyan's unique attitude to belonging, witnessing the self-discovery of a man who followed the traces of his Armenian ancestors.
Search similar movies
6.5
Saroyanland
Saroyanland

2013

Search similar movies
American Hardcore

Inspired by Steven Blush's book "American Hardcore: A tribal history" Paul Rachman's feature documentary debut is a chronicle of the underground hardcore punk years from 1979 to 1986. Interviews and rare live footage from artists such as Black Flag, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, SS Decontrol and the Dead Kennedys.
Search similar movies
6.8
American+Hardcore
American Hardcore

2006

Search similar movies
Microcosmos

A documentary of insect life in meadows and ponds, using incredible close-ups, slow motion, and time-lapse photography. It includes bees collecting nectar, ladybugs eating mites, snails mating, spiders wrapping their catch, a scarab beetle relentlessly pushing its ball of dung uphill, endless lines of caterpillars, an underwater spider creating an air bubble to live in, and a mosquito hatching.
Search similar movies
7.6
Microcosmos
Microcosmos

1996

Search similar movies
Ouaga Girls

A group of young women from Ouagadougou study at a girl school to become auto mechanics. The classmates become their port of safety, joy and sisterhood, all while they are going through the life changing transition into becoming adults in a country boiling with political changes. In a country with youth unemployment at 52 percent, jobs are a hot issue. The young girls at a mechanics school in Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou are right in the middle of a crucial point in life when their dreams, hopes and courage are confronted with opinions, fears and society’s expectations of what a woman should be. Using interesting narrative solutions, Theresa Traore Dahlberg depicts their last school years and at the same time succeeds in showing the country’s violent past and present. This is a feature-film debut and coming-of-age film with much warmth, laughs, heartbreak and depth.
Search similar movies
6.2
Ouaga+Girls
Ouaga Girls

2017

Search similar movies
One Night Stand

One Night Stand is a funny, intimate, behind-the-scenes journey as top Broadway and Hollywood artists take the challenge to produce four original short musicals in 24 hours. The film provides a personal glimpse of some of America's favorite actors as they step out of their comfort zones--from Cheyenne Jackson's "fear, sweat, adrenaline and Red Bull" to Rachel Dratch's mounting dread at the prospect of singing alongside Broadway's finest voices. Richard Kind sums it up: "It's like a roller-coaster. You're terrified, but it's fun!" Watching this insane theatrical challenge keeps you on the edge of your seat and laughing.
Search similar movies
5.8
One+Night+Stand
One Night Stand

2013

Search similar movies
Faya Dayi

A spiritual journey into the highlands of Harar, immersed in the rituals of khat, a leaf Sufi Muslims chewed for centuries for religious meditations – and Ethiopia’s most lucrative cash crop today. A tapestry of intimate stories offers a window into the dreams of youth under a repressive regime.
Search similar movies
7.6
Faya+Dayi
Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero

A remarkably intimate portrait of an artist on tour navigating identity, family, expectations, and acceptance, all while reflecting on his place within the legacy of Black, queer performers.
Search similar movies
5.8
Lil+Nas+X%3A+Long+Live+Montero
Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero

2023

Search similar movies
John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky

Film telling the untold story of John Lennon's 1971 album Imagine, exploring the creative collaboration between Lennon and Yoko Ono and featuring interviews and never-seen-before footage.
Search similar movies
7.1
John+%26+Yoko%3A+Above+Us+Only+Sky
John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky

2018

Search similar movies
Always in Season

When 17-year-old Lennon Lacy is found hanging from a swing set in rural North Carolina in 2014, his mother's search for justice and reconciliation begins while the trauma of more than a century of lynching African Americans bleeds into the present.
Search similar movies
6.8
Always+in+Season
Always in Season

2019

Search similar movies
David Crosby: Remember My Name

You thought you knew him. Meet David Crosby now in this portrait of a man with everything but an easy retirement on his mind. With unflinching honesty, self-examination, regret, fear, exuberance and an unshakable belief in family and the transformative nature of music, Crosby shares his often challenging journey.
Search similar movies
7.0
David+Crosby%3A+Remember+My+Name
David Crosby: Remember My Name

2019

Search similar movies
Tell Me

Chantal Akerman meets with elderly Jewish women in Paris, all of them survivors of the Shoah, and listens to their family stories. Between interviews, Akerman's mother Natalia speaks of her own family. Made for a French miniseries on grandmothers.
Search similar movies
5.6
Tell+Me
The Pearl

"The Pearl" explores the raw emotional and physical experience of being a middle aged to senior transgender woman against the backdrop of post-industrial logging towns in the Pacific Northwest. The film leans into the struggle of those who were reared and successful as men and have reached middle age or later with a burdensome secret that they can no longer keep.
Search similar movies
5.0
The+Pearl
Born in Evin

Follows filmmaker and actress, Maryam Zaree, on her quest to find out the violent circumstances surrounding her birth inside one of the most notorious political prisons in the world.
Search similar movies
6.5
Born+in+Evin
Born in Evin

2019

Search similar movies
This Is Personal

While the 2016 election catalyzed the Women’s March and a new era of feminist activism, Tamika Mallory and Erika Andiola have been fighting for their communities for decades. Their stories expose the fundamental connection between personal and political and raise the question: what's intersectionality and can it save the world?
Search similar movies
8.0
This+Is+Personal
This Is Personal

2019

Search similar movies
When Elephants Were Young

A young man and his young elephant street beg in gritty Bangkok amid the controversial elephant business that threatens their survival, until the opportunity comes to release the elephant to the wild.
Search similar movies
8.5
When+Elephants+Were+Young
When Elephants Were Young

2016

Search similar movies
A Magical Substance Flows Into Me

Robert Lachmann was a German-Jewish ethnomusicologist. In the 1930s, his radio show "Oriental Music" explored the musical traditions of Palestine and included regular live performances by musicians from different ethnic and religious groups. Inspired by Lachmann’s musicological studies, Palestinian artist Jumana Manna travels through Israel and the Palestinian territories of today with recordings from the programme. What do these songs sound like now when performed by Moroccan, Kurdish, or Yemenite Jews, by Samaritans, members of the urban and rural Palestinian communities, Bedouins and Coptic Christians?
Search similar movies
6.8
A+Magical+Substance+Flows+Into+Me
A Magical Substance Flows Into Me

2015

Search similar movies
Riotsville, USA

An archival documentary about the U.S. military’s response to the political and racial injustices of the late 1960s: take a military base, build a mock inner-city set, cast soldiers to play rioters, burn the place down, and film it all.
Search similar movies
4.9
Riotsville%2C+USA
Riotsville, USA

2022

Search similar movies
A Great Day in Harlem

Art Kane, now deceased, coordinated a group photograph of all the top jazz musicians in NYC in the year 1958, for a piece in Esquire magazine. Just about every jazz musician at the time showed up for the photo shoot which took place in front of a brownstone near the 125th street station. The documentary compiles interviews of many of the musicians in the photograph to talk about the day of the photograph, and it shows film footage taken that day by Milt Hinton and his wife.
Search similar movies
6.2
A+Great+Day+in+Harlem
A Great Day in Harlem

1994

Search similar movies
Delphine and Carole

In the 70s, actress Delphine Seyrig and director Carole Roussopoulos, both militant feminists, were the pioneers of video activism in France. They documented the demonstrations of French feminists and used the new technologies to counter the poor representation of women in the public media.
Search similar movies
6.5
Delphine+and+Carole
Delphine and Carole

2020

Search similar movies
Der dritte Bruder

While searching for her grandmother, the director comes across the story of three brothers who are torn between the fronts of political ideologies in the Third Reich and divided Germany: "the third brother" is the filmmaker's grandfather, who, in confronting her father, tries to overcome decades of speechlessness and, in the process, to understand where in the past her father's sense of family fell by the wayside.
Search similar movies
Der+dritte+Bruder
Der dritte Bruder

2025

Search similar movies