BlackStar Film Festival

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BlackStar Film Festival

Celebrating Black, Brown and Indigenous artists globally.

The BlackStar Film Festival is an annual celebration of the visual and storytelling traditions of the African diaspora and of global indigenous communities, showcasing films by black people from around the world.For press inquiries, please email [email protected]

12/12/2024

We are so excited and honored to announce that BlackStar has been awarded a 2024 Core Grant from the Ruth Foundation of the Arts!! ✨

12/03/2024

We're looking back with warmth at what we were able to accomplish together at BlackStar this year and looking forward with excitement — and determination — as we continue our mission to create liberatory spaces that center and uplift Black, Brown, and Indigenous artists.

Today, on , we invite you to make a contribution to fuel this work. Contributions of up to $5,000 will be matched by an anonymous donor. Visit blackstarfest.org/support to help us reach our year-end goal.

12/02/2024

Nominees for the 40th International Documentary Association Documentary Awards have been announced and IDA members have cast their votes!

are on December 5, 2024, at 7:00 PM PT / 10:00 PM ET at The Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles. Purchase tickets today! Become a member and learn more, https://www.documentary.org/awards2024/vote

11/27/2024

Ticket sales for our second annual Luminary Gala close today! Get yours and join us for a night to remember: https://secure.givelively.org/event/blackstar-projects-inc/help-blackstar-shine/luminary-gala-2024?utm_campaign=button_list_AttendtheLuminaryGala&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=later-linkinbio

11/25/2024

Ticket sales for our Luminary Gala close this Wednesday, Nov 27!

Join us for a celestial evening where we will honor genre-defying luminaries, while raising essential funds for our work to provide platforms to artists of the global majority.✨

Tickets: https://secure.givelively.org/event/blackstar-projects-inc/help-blackstar-shine/luminary-gala-2024

10/17/2024

Issue 007 of Seen, guest edited by multi-hyphenate artist Ja'Tovia Gary is officially on stands today!

This timely and timeless issue features a thoughtful conversation between Gary and Dr. Joy James on rebirth, black feminism, and hope as struggle. A moving essay from Bridgett M. Davis on the second life of her 1996 debut feature, NAKED ACTS. An essay on the complexities of Black Women and AI from Hanna Phifer. And so much more.

Order a copy at shop.blackstarfest.org/collections/seen.

Seen is a journal on film and visual culture, published by BlackStar. It features nuanced and rigorous writing by and about Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities globally.

10/03/2024

Get a behind-the-scenes look into programming for the 2025 BlackStar Film Festival!

We’re looking for students and emerging professionals to join us for our Screening Internship. Selected interns will assist programmers who are overseeing our five submission categories: Experimental, Short Documentary, Feature Documentary, Short Narrative, and Feature Narrative.

All work will take place remotely, and interns are not required to reside in Philadelphia to participate. Learn more and apply by Oct 22: https://www.blackstarfest.org/opportunities/screening-internship-winter-spring-2025/

10/02/2024

Curators, film programmers, filmmakers, and film scholars share your knowledge at our 2025 William and Louise Greaves Filmmaker Seminar!

Individuals and collectives (especially those based in the Bay Area) are invited to submit a proposal for a workshop or panel to present at the Seminar, our annual gathering for Black, Brown, and Indigenous artists working in cinematic realms.

Learn more and submit your proposals by November 1 at blackstarfest.org/seminar. The 2025 Greaves Filmmaker Seminar will take place March 7-9 in Palo Alto, CA in partnership with the Institute for Diversity in the Arts at Stanford University.

https://www.blackstarfest.org/seminar/

Call for Proposals: Submit your idea for the 2024 Filmmaker Seminar for Black, Brown, and Indigenous artists working in cinematic realms.

09/12/2024

The 2024 BlackStar Film Festival was electric! Thank you for joining us for four days of films, conversations, community, and connection. 💛 We can’t wait to do it again next year!

A quick reminder to take a moment to complete our Audience Survey, if you haven’t yet! Your responses help us secure more funding to continue to move more money to artists, and provide a guide for next year’s events. Responses close this Sunday, September 15: https://blackstar.formstack.com/forms/audience

09/10/2024

Have you completed our Festival Audience Survey yet? Your responses help us secure more funding to continue to move more money to artists, and provide a guide for next year’s events. Responses close this Sunday, September 15: https://blackstar.formstack.com/forms/audience

08/29/2024

We are thrilled to announce our Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab and North Star fellows!

Designed to uplift Black, Brown, and Indigenous artists from Greater Philadelphia, the Filmmaker Lab is a year-long program that supports fellows with mentorship, funding, and critical feedback. The short films produced in the Lab will premiere at the 2025 BlackStar Film Festival. The 2025 Lab fellows are Andrew Bilindabagabo, Kristal Sotomayor, Chisom Chieke, and Walé Oyéjidé

Presented in collaboration with Points North Institute, the North Star Fellowship supports four innovative artists who are developing projects that span the latitudes of creative nonfiction. The inaugural North Star Fellows are Lokotah Sanborn, Imani Dennison, Zac Manuel, Rea Tajiri.

Read more about these incredible individuals:

BlackStar Projects, the premier organization celebrating visionary Black, Brown and Indigenous film and media artists, is proud to announce the …

08/05/2024

A huge congratulations goes out to the winners of our 2024 BlackStar Film Festival Jury Awards and the BlackStar Pitch!

“To be honored by BlackStar, [who] are really about honoring work that is pushing the genre…and decolonizing our storytelling practices, it means a lot,” said Contessa Gayles, director of SONGS FROM THE HOLE. “We made this film for all of our collective liberation, and we hope that our offering in that department helps us all get a little bit more free.”

The winners include:

Best Feature Documentary
Songs From the Hole
dir. Contessa Gayles

Best Short Narrative
Boat People
dir. Al'Ikens Plancher

Best Experimental Film
Two Refusals (Would We Recognize Ourselves Unbroken?)
dir. Suneil Sanzgiri

Best Feature Narrative
After the Long Rains
dir. Damien Hauser

Best Short Documentary
And Still, It Remains
dirs. Arwa Aburawa & Turab Shah

Philadelphia Filmmaker Award
EXPANDING SANCTUARY, dir. Kristal Sotomayor

The Center for Cultural Power’s Climate Change Award
BRING THEM HOME dir. Ivan MacDonald, Ivy MacDonald and Daniel Glick

BlackStar Pitch Winner
HIGHWAYS, dir. Zeshawn Ali

BlackStar Pitch Runner-up
HALAL BODIES, dir. Nausheen Dadabhoy

Thank you to The Gotham for co-presenting the 2024 Director’s Brunch & Award Ceremony.

08/04/2024

End BSFF24 with us this year at our Closing Night soirée. We’re dancing and celebrating starting at 9:30 PM tonight. Be ready to sweat 🥵🎶 with tunes by DJ lil’dave and Oluwafemi, and host Catzie Vilayphonh.

The FREE event is hosted at Star|Bolt, make sure to RSVP here: https://www.blackstarfest.org/festival/events/closing-night-party-4/

08/04/2024

The legacy of rap lives on in IT WAS ALL A DREAM, a visual ode to the golden age of hip hop. BlackStar alum and award-winning filmmaker dream hampton pieces together an archival documentary you don’t want to miss. Join us tonight at 6 PM EDT for a must-see for hip-hop enthusiasts and documentary lovers alike. 🎶
🎫https://www.blackstarfest.org/festival/events/it-was-all-a-dream-2/

08/04/2024

Experience the world premiere of Devin Jie Allen’s experimental short, FORBIDDEN CITY, and a Black q***r love story in the short documentary WHAT CHANNEL IS LOVE by BSFF alum Michael Donte 🎬✨ These movies offer unique perspectives on identity and love. Celebrate the creativity and vision of these talented filmmakers today at 4 PM for the ‘Spillikin’ Shorts program.
🎫 https://www.blackstarfest.org/festival/schedule/

08/04/2024

Join us today at BSFF24 on The Daily Jawn Stage at the Kimmel Center for two essential panels 🗣️First, at 2:30 PM, don’t miss the conversation on “Media-Making in the Time of Genocide.” After recentering, return at 5:30 PM for A LITANY FOR SURVIVAL: THE LIFE AND WORK OF AUDRE LORDE, co-presented by Black Feminist Film School.

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http://www.blackstarfest.org/

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We're looking back with warmth at what we were able to accomplish together at BlackStar this year and looking forward with excitement — and determination — as we continue our mission to create liberatory spaces that center and uplift Black, Brown, and Indigenous artists. Today, on #GivingTuesday, we invite you to make a contribution to fuel this work. Contributions of up to $5,000 will be matched by an anonymous donor. Visit blackstarfest.org/support to help us reach our year-end goal.

BlackStar Film Festival 2024

The 2024 BlackStar Film Festival was electric! Thank you for joining us for four days of films, conversations, community, and connection. 💛 We can’t wait to do it again next year! A quick reminder to take a moment to complete our Audience Survey, if you haven’t yet! Your responses help us secure more funding to continue to move more money to artists, and provide a guide for next year’s events. Responses close this Sunday, September 15: https://blackstar.formstack.com/forms/audience #BSFF24 #ByIndieMeansNecessary

A huge congratulations goes out to the winners of our 2024 BlackStar Film Festival Jury Awards and the BlackStar Pitch! “To be honored by BlackStar, [who] are really about honoring work that is pushing the genre…and decolonizing our storytelling practices, it means a lot,” said Contessa Gayles, director of SONGS FROM THE HOLE. “We made this film for all of our collective liberation, and we hope that our offering in that department helps us all get a little bit more free.” The winners include: Best Feature Documentary Songs From the Hole dir. Contessa Gayles Best Short Narrative Boat People dir. Al'Ikens Plancher Best Experimental Film Two Refusals (Would We Recognize Ourselves Unbroken?) dir. Suneil Sanzgiri Best Feature Narrative After the Long Rains dir. Damien Hauser Best Short Documentary And Still, It Remains dirs. Arwa Aburawa & Turab Shah Philadelphia Filmmaker Award EXPANDING SANCTUARY, dir. Kristal Sotomayor The Center for Cultural Power’s Climate Change Award BRING THEM HOME dir. Ivan MacDonald, Ivy MacDonald and Daniel Glick BlackStar Pitch Winner HIGHWAYS, dir. Zeshawn Ali BlackStar Pitch Runner-up HALAL BODIES, dir. Nausheen Dadabhoy Thank you to The Gotham for co-presenting the 2024 Director’s Brunch & Award Ceremony.

Discover indie film from the global majority at the 2024 BlackStar Film Festival! We’re screening over 90 films from 40 countries, here’s a snapshot of the incredible stories that you can expect to see.✨ Check out the full schedule at blackstarfest.org/festival, and start planning your festival experience! Tickets are available for screenings, panels, parties, and special events. Or purchase an All Access or Virtual Pass so you don’t miss a moment.

Seminar registration closes in two weeks on February 9! Secure your spot via blackstarfest.org/seminar. Gather and connect with fellow artists, scholars, cultural workers and filmmakers for a one-of-a-kind seminar exploring the technical and creative aspects of media-making! The Seminar presents numerous opportunities for individuals working in film and media arts to share and receive feedback on works-in-progress, network and explore emerging storytelling models. We hope you join us in Palo Alto, California from March 8-10. The Seminar is hosted in partnership with the Institute for Diversity in the Arts at Stanford with additional support from the Center for Cultural Power.