Within Our Gates (partially found silent film; 1920)

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"Within Our Gates" advertisement
Chicago advertisement for "Within Our Gates," the oldest surviving film by an African American director.

"Within Our Gates", directed by Oscar Micheaux, is the oldest surviving film by an African American. [1] Released in 1920, the film was extremely controversial with various scenes being cut at different screenings.[2] Shortly after the film's release, it was lost for decades.[2]

In 1970, a print was found in Spain. However, all but four of the original English intertitles had been replaced with Spanish.[2] In 1992 "Within Our Gates" was selected by the Library of Congress to be restored and added to the National Film Registry.[3]

Aside from the four surviving English intertitles, Micheaux's original text remains lost. The Library of Congress's restoration of "Within Our Gates" contains only approximations of what Micheaux originally said.[1]