American filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles, popularly known as the "Godfather of modern Black cinema" in the 1970s, passed away at his Manhattan home on Tuesday night at the age of 89.
Melvin's son, actor and director Mario Van Peebles, took to Instagram to break the news and release a statement announcing his father's death.
"Dad knew that Black images matter. If a picture is worth a thousand words, what was a movie worth? We want to be the success we see, thus we need to see ourselves being free. True liberation did not mean imitating the colonizer's mentality. It meant appreciating the power, beauty, and interconnectivity of all people", Mario said in the statement.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, on 21 August 1932, Melvin left a mark on global art and culture with his writing and direction.
He launched his artistic career as a writer, publishing his first book "The Big Heart" in 1957.
In 1965, Melvin became the editor-in-chief of the French edition of "Mad" magazine and also published several novels, short stories, and plays.
From writing, he went on to filmmaking and debuted his first feature film, "The Story of a Three-Day Pass", based on a novel by the same name.
Melvin shot to fame for his 1971 film "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song" which became one of the highest-grossing indie movies of all time and triggered a dialogue around blaxploitation.
Calling him a legend, celebs and netizens are sending out their condolences on social media as they pay tribute to the veteran filmmaker by remembering his life and work that championed a new wave of modern Black cinema in the 1970s.