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Yoruba Richen

Yoruba Richen

Director, producer and writer, also actor · Born January 1, 1972 (54) · New York City, New York, USA

Yoruba Richen (born 1972) is a film director, screenwriter and producer. She produced and directed The New Black (2013), which won the audience award at AFI Docs, Frameline Film Festival and Philly Q Fest. It also won best documentary at Urbanworld Film Festival. The New Black was nominated for an NAACP Image Award and a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary. She is director of the documentary program at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
January 1, 1972 (54)
From
New York City, New York, USA
Works as
Director, producer and writer, also actor
Titles
12 on MovieCove · 23 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 157 days to Oct 28Down 12% in 30 days

What are Yoruba Richen's films like?

Across their 10 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Society and Survival.

Themes

share of theme weight
Society
47%
Survival
15%
Morality
15%
Power
14%
Self
10%
Prejudice4 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity5 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice5 titles, browse their movies with this themeLegacy2 titles, browse their movies with this themeOppression2 titles, browse their movies with this themeTrauma2 titles, browse their movies with this themeTradition vs change2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 7 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 7 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 2 · Charged 3 · Intense 2

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 5 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 6 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 7 · Even-paced 0 · Relentless 0

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 2 · Engaged 5 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 5 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 1

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Contemplative
7
Melancholic
6
Hopeful
5
Tense
4
Dread
3
Other
5

How their films linger

Thought-provoking6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteInfuriating3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Bittersweet7
  • Ambiguous3

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Yoruba Richen's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 12 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Yoruba Richen's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

23 credits, 12 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

  • Free Joan Little (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

    Director

  • The Fall of Diddy(2025)

    Show 5 episodes · Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all shows

  • American Coup: Wilmington 1898 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

    Director · Producer · Writer

  • The Cost of Inheritance (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)

    Director · Producer

  • The Recall: Reframed (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    Producer

  • Storming Caesars Palace (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    Consulting Producer

  • The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks(2022)

    Director · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • American Reckoning (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    Director · Producer · Writer

  • Black and Missing(2021)

    Show 3 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all shows

  • High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America(2021)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all shows

  • How It Feels to Be Free (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

    Director

  • When Claude Got Shot(2021)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • The Killing of Breonna Taylor (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)

    Director · Producer

  • The New York Times Presents(2020)

    Show 1 episode · Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all shows

  • The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts the Tonight Show(2020)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • American Factory: A Conversation with the Obamas (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    Director

  • The Green Book: Guide to Freedom(2019)

    Director · Writer · as Self - Narrator (voice)

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • Crooked Lines (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    Director · Producer

  • Out in the Night(2014)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • The New Black(2013)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • Promised Land (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    Director

  • Brother to Brother(2004)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films

  • American Experience(1988)

    Show 1 episode · Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all shows

Career shape

A full career of 21 titles from 1988 to 2025.

Biggest box office

Brother to Brother (2004)

$81K worldwide

Highest rated

The Green Book: Guide to Freedom (2019)

Midcredits 99th

Most popular right now

The Fall of Diddy (2025)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing18 of 21: 8 only directing, 10 with another role · typical Midcredits score74thWriting5 of 21: 0 only writing, 5 with another roleProducing12 of 21: 3 only producing, 9 with another role · typical Midcredits score73rd

21 titles, 10 with more than one role — directing and producing overlap on 9 of them.

By decade

1980s1 · crew2000s1 · crew2010s5 · crew2020s14 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Yoruba Richen's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 82nd percentile, the median of all 7; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 78th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

78thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Approval · how many liked their films

80thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Reach · how many have seen their films

35thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Midcredits score across 12 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up5
  • 50th to 74th4
  • 25th to 49th2
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

7 of their 12 titles are Mixed.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Loved with Detractors1
  • Divisive1
  • Crowd Pleaser1
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed7

Most divisive · director

Black and Missing (2021)

97th percentile spread · 35% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor, director, writer

The Green Book: Guide to Freedom (2019)

Midcredits 99th · 92% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 68/100 and the pacing 47/100 in their films, across 5 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Yoruba Richen work with?

People who share at least 2 of Yoruba Richen's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Wendell Hanes shares the most, 3.

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles