Movies Like Bush Mama

If you liked Bush Mama (1979), a drama movie directed by Haile Gerima, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
What Maisie Knew (2013)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
In New York City, a young girl is caught in the middle of her parents' bitter custody battle.
2
O.G. (2018)
★ 5.9/10Also drama
Louis Menkins is five weeks away from being released after 26 years in prison. He is faced with the decision to put his own release at risk in order to protect a young man named Beecher from growing gang controversies.
3
The Young One (1960)
★ 7/10Also drama
A jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions.
4
Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
A prisoner leads his counterparts in a protest for better living conditions which turns violent and ugly.
5
Bastard Out of Carolina (1996)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as…
6
Girl in the Box (2016)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
The true story of 20-year-old Colleen Stan, a hitchhiking woman abducted by a young couple and held captive for seven years, during which time she's tortured and forced to live as a slave to her captors.
7
The House on Carroll Street (1988)
★ 5.9/10Also drama
A reporter, fired after refusing to give names to a 1951 House Un-American Activities Committee, takes a part-time job as companion to an old lady. While working she overhears a noisy argument in the neighboring house…
8
Skin (2009)
★ 6.4/10Also drama
Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.
9
Holy Lands (2019)
★ 6.1/10Also drama
When lapsed Jew and former cardiologist Harry suddenly decides to spend his retirement as a pig farmer in Nazareth, Israel, the move deeply shocks his family and his new neighbours. Back in New York, Harry’s ex-wife…
10
The Trials of Cate McCall (2013)
★ 6.4/10Also drama
In order to be reinstated to the bar and recover custody of her daughter, a hotshot lawyer, now in recovery and on probation, must take on the appeal of a woman wrongfully convicted of murder.
11
The Mustang (2019)
★ 6.9/10Also drama
While participating in a rehabilitation program training wild mustangs, a convict at first struggles to connect with the horses and his fellow inmates, but he learns to confront his violent past as he soothes an…
12
El Chicano (2019)
★ 6.6/10Also drama
A pair of twin brothers from East L.A. choose to live their lives differently and end up on opposite sides of the law.
13
The Hate U Give (2018)
★ 8.1/10Also drama
Raised in a poverty-stricken slum, a 16-year-old girl named Starr now attends a suburban prep school. After she witnesses a police officer shoot her unarmed best friend, she's torn between her two very different worlds…
14
Nowhere to Run (1993)
★ 6.6/10Also drama
Escaped convict Sam Gillen single-handedly takes on ruthless developers who are determined to evict a widow with two young children.
15
The Girl in the Book (2015)
★ 5.8/10Also drama
The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.
16
The Color of Friendship (2000)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
Mahree Bok lives on a farm in South Africa. Her father is a policeman who cannot hide his joy when activist Steve Biko is caught by the South African authorities. Piper Dellums is the daughter of a US congressman from…
17
Lorelei (2020)
★ 6/10Also drama
A man is released from prison after 15 years. He reunites with his high school girlfriend, now a single mother of three. What follows is a lyrical take on love, regret and second chances.
18
A Dry White Season (1989)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
During the 1976 Soweto uprising, a white school teacher's life and values are threatened when he asks questions about the death of a young black boy who died in police custody.
19
Charm City Kings (2020)
★ 7.8/10Also drama
Mouse desperately wants to join The Midnight Clique, the infamous Baltimore dirt bike riders who rule the summertime streets. When Midnight’s leader, Blax, takes 14-year-old Mouse under his wing, Mouse soon finds…
20
Gracie (2007)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
A teenager faces an uphill battle when she fights to give women the opportunity to play competitive soccer.