6 Apr 2026
Boots Riley’s Closet Picks
The writer and director reminisces about seeing Black Girl in the cinema with his mom as a child, shares how True Stories and Election influenced his approach to filmmaking, and talks about the emotional truth behind the visual artifice of Pedro Almodóvar’s work.
Criterion's own upload · on criterion.com
- Choices
- 12
- Single films
- 8
- Box sets
- 4
| Chose | Director | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Three Revolutionary Films by Ousmane Sembène box set, 3 films | ||
| 2 |  Black Girl | Ousmane Sembène | 1966 |
| 3 |  Melvin Van Peebles: Essential Films box set, 4 films | ||
| 4 |  True Stories | David Byrne | 1986 |
| 5 |  Election | Alexander Payne | 1999 |
| 6 |  The Hero | Satyajit Ray | 1966 |
| 7 |  The Princess Bride | Rob Reiner | 1987 |
| 8 |  The Qatsi Trilogy box set, 3 films | ||
| 9 |  All About My Mother | Pedro Almodóvar | 1999 |
| 10 |  Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown | Pedro Almodóvar | 1988 |
| 11 |  Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters | Paul Schrader | 1985 |
| 12 |  Essential Fellini box set, 14 films |