Coded Black
Synopsis
This is an experience designed to be difficult – mentally and emotionally. Drawing from primary sources, historical records and scholarly analysis, CODED BLACK offers a journey through past atrocities and moments of triumph.
Explore two distinct, atmospheric scenes – a plantation and a modern 20th-century city – each filled with real historical documents and audio visual storytelling. With a structure that surfaces different content in each run, CODED BLACK is a narrative crafted for both personal reflection and educational engagement.
The game deals with the historical topic of slavery and racism, and therefore includes descriptions of violent acts, images of devices used for the chastisement of enslaved people, and archival imagery depicting victims of lynching. (Note, there is a museum version available with the lynching images disabled).
Official Selection International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) 2025 - Digital Storytelling Competition
Official Selection CPH:DOX 2026
Details
- Year
- 2025
- Type of project
- Game
- Running time
- 120 min
- Director
-
Maisha Wester
- Producer
- Nick Bax
- Editor
- Mary Going
- Screenwriter
- Maisha Wester; Desiree Reynolds
- Production Designer
- Abby Hambleton
- Composer
- Brandon Tanner
- Principal cast
- Karen David; Bel Odawa
- Other Lead Creative(s)
- Lucas Bax
Genre
Production Status
Production Company
Human Studio
Nick Bax27 Gilbert Street
Park Hill
Sheffield
S2 5QY
Page updates
This page was last updated on 6th March 2026. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.
See also
You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.
Monolith
Director: Stevan Riley
Year: 2026
How Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 A SPACE ODYSSEY revolutionized science fiction cinema through groundbreaking visual effects, innovative storytelling, and profound themes about human evolution and technology.
Yuja
Director: Lorna Tucker
Year: 2027
Classical pianist Yuja Wang balances fame and the pursuit of perfection while seeking happiness.
Cantona
Director: David Tryhorn, Ben Nicholas
Year: 2026
The most gifted footballer of his generation was finished. Retired in disgrace at 25, he appeared destined for permanent exile from the sport he loved. Incapable of blind obedience, Eric Cantona was a libertine who bridled against conformity whenever he felt its grip tighten. The French branded him unmanageable. But the fire that burned in Eric became the spark to ignite a dynasty at Manchester United. At turns thoughtful and explosive, CANTONA reveals how legendary manager Alex Ferguson channelled the brilliance of this most captivating and unpredictable of athletes. A tale of friendship and fatherhood, Cantona and Ferguson's testimonies reveal how a man misread as hostile and unknowable was finally understood, loved, and forgiven, by the strictest disciplinarian in football. Official Selection Cannes Film Festival 2026 - Special Screenings - World premiere