Kahlil Joseph

Directing

Kahlil Joseph

Known for

Directing

Credits

19 titles

Kahlil Davis, known professionally as Kahlil Joseph, is an American filmmaker, music video director and video artist. Joseph is known for creating "intellectually and emotionally dense short films" that center on the experience of African Americans in the United States.

Known for

BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions poster
7.0

Adapted from Kahlil Joseph’s renowned video art installation, BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions is a distinctive cinematic experience that mirrors the sonic textures of a record album, weaving fiction and history in an immersive journey where the fictionalized figures of W. E. B Du Bois and Marcus Garvey join artists, musicians, Joseph’s family, and even Twitter chats, in a vision for black consciousness.

BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions

2025

Lemonade poster
8.4

The second "visual album" (a collection of short films) by Beyoncé, this time around she takes a piercing look at racial issues and feminist concepts through a sexualized, satirical, and solemn tone.

Lemonade

2016

Wildcat poster
NR

Filmed in Grayson, Oklahoma, Wildcat meditatively combines documentation of a Black rodeo subculture with an abstract portrait of Joseph’s aunt who helped found the event.

Wildcat

2013

Sampha: Process poster
NR

Process is a striking, avant-garde portrait of Sampha using documentary-style footage to depict his roots in Morden, South London, and Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Sampha: Process

2026

No artwork available
NR

A one-take affair that follows Jorge as he weaves through a cliff-side mansion in the Hollywood Hills – showcases three cover songs from the album (Roy Ayers’ “Everybody Loves The Sunshine,” Martinho da Vila and João de Aquino’s “Cirandar” and Kraftwerk’s “The Model”) and features the members of Almaz (Lucio Maia and Pupillo from stalwart Brazilian band Nação Zumbi), producer Mario C and keyboardist Money Mark.

The Model: Marcello in Limbo

2010

Fly Paper poster
NR

A rich and polyphonic portrait of black art and culture in New York City

Fly Paper

2018

Behind the camera

BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions poster
7.0

Adapted from Kahlil Joseph’s renowned video art installation, BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions is a distinctive cinematic experience that mirrors the sonic textures of a record album, weaving fiction and history in an immersive journey where the fictionalized figures of W. E. B Du Bois and Marcus Garvey join artists, musicians, Joseph’s family, and even Twitter chats, in a vision for black consciousness.

BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions

2025

BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions poster
7.0

Adapted from Kahlil Joseph’s renowned video art installation, BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions is a distinctive cinematic experience that mirrors the sonic textures of a record album, weaving fiction and history in an immersive journey where the fictionalized figures of W. E. B Du Bois and Marcus Garvey join artists, musicians, Joseph’s family, and even Twitter chats, in a vision for black consciousness.

BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions

2025

BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions poster
7.0

Adapted from Kahlil Joseph’s renowned video art installation, BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions is a distinctive cinematic experience that mirrors the sonic textures of a record album, weaving fiction and history in an immersive journey where the fictionalized figures of W. E. B Du Bois and Marcus Garvey join artists, musicians, Joseph’s family, and even Twitter chats, in a vision for black consciousness.

BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions

2025

Lemonade poster
8.4

The second "visual album" (a collection of short films) by Beyoncé, this time around she takes a piercing look at racial issues and feminist concepts through a sexualized, satirical, and solemn tone.

Lemonade

2016

Wildcat poster
NR

Filmed in Grayson, Oklahoma, Wildcat meditatively combines documentation of a Black rodeo subculture with an abstract portrait of Joseph’s aunt who helped found the event.

Wildcat

2013

Sampha: Process poster
NR

Process is a striking, avant-garde portrait of Sampha using documentary-style footage to depict his roots in Morden, South London, and Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Sampha: Process

2026

No artwork available
NR

A one-take affair that follows Jorge as he weaves through a cliff-side mansion in the Hollywood Hills – showcases three cover songs from the album (Roy Ayers’ “Everybody Loves The Sunshine,” Martinho da Vila and João de Aquino’s “Cirandar” and Kraftwerk’s “The Model”) and features the members of Almaz (Lucio Maia and Pupillo from stalwart Brazilian band Nação Zumbi), producer Mario C and keyboardist Money Mark.

The Model: Marcello in Limbo

2010

Fly Paper poster
NR

A rich and polyphonic portrait of black art and culture in New York City

Fly Paper

2018

m.A.A.d poster
7.1

A double screen projection film portraying the city of Compton, and a beguiling non-linear paean to everyday moments of life, death and magic — with tracks from Kendrick Lamar's album "good kid, m.A.A.d city" as the soundtrack.

m.A.A.d

2014

Arcade Fire - The Reflektor Tapes poster
5.3

Arcade Fire’s first feature film is called 'The Reflektor Tapes'. The project is “a unique cinematic experience, meeting at the crossroads of documentary, music, art and personal history.”

Arcade Fire - The Reflektor Tapes

2015

Black Mary poster
NR

Commissioned by Tate Modern, Black Mary beautifully fuses Joseph’s documentary, performance, fiction, and music videos in a single, breathtaking presentation of the singer Alice Smith.

Black Mary

2017

Circus Maximus poster
6.3

Travis Scott takes his audience on a mind-bending visual odyssey across the globe, woven together by the speaker rattling sounds of his highly anticipated upcoming album "UTOPIA". A surreal and psychedelic journey, uniting a collective of visionary filmmakers from around the world in a kaleidoscopic exploration of human experience and the power of soundscapes.

Circus Maximus

2023

BLKNWS poster
NR

A conceptual and collaborative approach to contemporary journalism and entrepreneurship. It uses media as an ongoing work of art in the form of a two-channel video installation. The project explores the dimensionality of the news media format, interrogating the possibilities of truth while being aware that truth is also the foundation of ideology. News can be more than just current events and human interest stories. It can be a non-linear event, such as in the way Sesame Street delivers information to toddlers or ESPN to sports fans. BLKNWS is for people who have had enough of politicians, pundits, talking heads, oligarchs, and fear mongering.

BLKNWS

2018

No artwork available
NR

This film – loosely based around Almaz’s cover of Kraftwerk’s “The Model” – captures Jorge as he delves into his subconscious to examine the figure of a recurring dream: a woman – a model – who taunts and arouses; comforts and scares; perplexes and completes him.

The Model: Oshun and the Dream

2010

No artwork available
NR

In this portrait, Kahlil Joseph takes us into an enchanting recording session by musician Alice Smith. Audio and video are not synchronous but blend to form an intimate portrait of a singer and a filmmaker, in deep concentration, engaged in a creative process.

Alice™️ (you don't have to think about it)

2016

No artwork available
NR

Two young women embark on a dream-like adventure through the islands of the Maldives after an event turned both their worlds upside down.

The Mirror Between Us

2012

No artwork available
NR

Two young women embark on a dream-like adventure through the islands of the Maldives after an event turned both their worlds upside down.

The Mirror Between Us

2012

Arcade Fire: Live at Earl's Court poster
8.3

Arcade Fire released their live film recording 'Live at Earls Court,' in 2015. It was recorded during the band's shows at Earl's Court in London, during the Reflektor Tour in 2014 and it features some of the most fan-appreciated tracks.

Arcade Fire: Live at Earl's Court

2017

No artwork available
NR

In this shapeshifting new film, music is much more than mere sound and rhythm. Music herself is the central character of an unfolding drama across cultures, space, and time.

Music Is My Mistress

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