Category: Press Release

BlackStar Projects, the premier organization celebrating visionary Black, Brown and Indigenous film and media artists, is proud to announce the inaugural North Star Fellows, in partnership with Points North Institute and the 2025 Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab Fellows, presented with lead support by Black Experience on Xfinity.

2024 North Star Fellows

• Lokotah Sanborn
• Imani Dennison
• Zac Manuel
• Rea Tajiri

2025 Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab Fellows

• Andrew Bilindabagabo
• Kristal Sotomayor
• Chisom Chieke
• Walé Oyéjidé

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These fellowships demonstrate BlackStar’s ongoing commitment to providing artists of color opportunities to create genre defying work, both locally and nationally.

The fellows will be recognized at BlackStar Film Festival during a media announcement event on Saturday, August 3 at 10:30am at The Daily Jawn Stage in the Kimmel Center. 

“The selected fellows in both of these programs represent the abundance of talent and vision we saw in this year’s applications,” said Maori Karmael Holmes, Chief Executive and Artistic Officer of BlackStar, “We are thrilled to be able to support these artists and excited to be a part of their filmmaking journey.”

  The 2024 BlackStar Film Festival is currently underway, running through August 4, at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, with additional screenings, festivities and events at various venues in Center City Philadelphia. 2024 marks the 13th annual celebration of the visual and storytelling traditions of Black, Brown and Indigenous people from around the world. 

Individual program tickets are on sale here, with festival passes also available here.

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North Star Fellowship

Presented in collaboration with Points North (home of the Camden International Film Festival), the North Star Fellowship supports four innovative Black, Brown and Indigenous media artists and filmmakers who are developing projects that span the latitudes of creative nonfiction through film, video installation, audio and photo-based work, immersive experiences and performance.

The North Star Fellows – Imani Dennison, Lokotah Sanborn, Rea Tajiri and Zac Manuel – will convene on two occasions; The Camden International Film Festival (September 9-15) and The William & Louise Greaves Filmmaker Seminar. Leading up to the 20th edition of the Camden International Film Festival, fellows gather for a one week creative retreat on the coast of Maine. A series of workshops, screenings and excursions create time and space for an ongoing critical dialogue about expanded documentary aesthetics, multidisciplinary creative processes, collaborative practices and more. Fellows are joined by curators, critics, filmmakers, multidisciplinary artists, and industry professionals, each of whom provides new perspectives on the Fellows’ creative process and the evolving universe of nonfiction.

The fellowship then recommences in the spring during the William & Louise Greaves Filmmaker Seminar, a gathering for Black, Brown, and Indigenous artists working in cinematic realms, proudly presented by BlackStar where the fellows will explore the technical and creative aspects of media-making, while having open dialogues about the about the successes and challenges of their work. The environment considers the intersection of cinema and visual arts and is exclusively designed for people of color to focus, rather than manage the added burden of representation.

“In partnership with the team at BlackStar, we’re so excited to support these artists for this year’s North Star Fellowship,” said Zeshawn Ali, Artist Programs Manager of Points North Institute. “Our goal has been to support artists whose work pushes the boundaries of creative nonfiction and these fellows demonstrate this fully. We were so inspired by how personal, expansive and bold their creative visions are and we can’t wait to see the ways they continue to develop their projects in this program.” 

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Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab

BlackStar’s Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab is designed to uplift emerging and mid-career artists in the Greater Philadelphia area, supporting four projects by Black, Brown and Indigenous filmmakers with mentorship, funding and critical feedback over the course of a year-long program. 

The four fellows – Andrew Bilindabagabo, Chisom Chieke, Kristal Sotomayor and Walé Oyéjidé – will receive mentorship throughout the fellowship including feedback on works-in-progress, advice on working with crew and career guidance from a working director. BlackStar will provide $50,000 in production funds and act as an executive producer on each short film created during the Lab, which will premiere at the BlackStar Film Festival in 2025.

The BlackStar Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab is presented with lead support from Black Experience on Xfinity, with additional support from Independence Public Media Foundation, William Penn Foundation and Wyncote Foundation.

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ABOUT THE NORTH STAR FELLOWS

Lokotah Sanborn

Lokotah Sanborn (Director, he/him) (b. 1995) is an interdisciplinary artist and community organizer. He grew up on the Penobscot Nation reservation near Old Town, Maine. His art is grounded in historical analysis and shaped by his experience in community organizing for land return, cultural continuity and Indigenous sovereignty. Lokotah works for the documentary film team Sunlight Media Collective, an organization documenting stories at the intersection of Wabanaki rights and environmental justice. His work has been featured in museums and galleries across the U.S. Lokotah is currently based in Portland, Maine.

Imani Dennison

Imani Dennison (Director/Producer, she/they)  is a multidisciplinary artist, curator and award-winning filmmaker born in Louisville, Kentucky. Imani graduated from Howard University, where they studied Political Science and Photography. Through image-based mediums and sound, Imani interrogates hidden and counter histories centered around folklore, fantasy and fable. Imani has created commissioned documentary works for PBS, Tribeca, ITVS and Procter & Gamble. Imani is a 2022 Tribeca Queen Collective Directing Program grantee, where they directed their award-winning creative nonfiction film, Bone Black: Midwives vs the South. IImani is currently a 2023 Chicken & Egg/POV grant recipient, which awarded them the opportunity to produce their short creative nonfiction film, The People Could Fly, about the ritual of roller- skating and how roller rinks emerged as sanctuaries for Black culture in Louisville, Kentucky, which will screen as part of the Embodied Shorts Program on Saturday, August 3 at 8pm at BlackStar Film Festival.

Zac Manuel

Zac Manuel (Director, he/him) is a director and cinematographer from New Orleans, Louisiana. Zac’s work in documentary draws from complex legacies of Southern identity, with particular interest in the impacts of history and inheritance on Black communities. Zac’s cinematography credits include Alone (Sundance 2017 Jury Award Winner of Best Nonfiction Film), Time (2021 Academy Award nominee for Best Feature Documentary),  BuckJumping and Descendant, which was released on Netflix. His directing credits include This Body, released on PBS, Nonstop, which was acquired by the Criterion Channel and Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero, which was released on Max. Zac is currently directing the feature documentary, Ghetto Children, produced by XTR.

Rea Tajiri

Rea Tajiri (Director/Producer, she/her) is an award-winning interdisciplinary artist known for her poetic, non-traditional storytelling across installation, documentary, and experimental film. Showcasing early works at the Whitney Biennials of 1989, 1991 and 1993, her documentary History and Memory: For Akiko and Takashige has received wide acclaim and is now featured on the Criterion Channel. Tajiri’s range extends from highlighting social movements in Yuri Kochiyama: Passion for Justice to her dramatic debut Strawberry Fields, which premiered at Venice. Wisdom Gone Wild premiered at BlackStar, winning two awards, played in International Competition at 2022 IDFA and screened at DOC NYC 2022. The film had its national broadcast debut on POV ’s  Season 36. Tajiri is a recipient of the 2023 Chicken and Egg Award and a 2022 Ford Foundation/JustFilms Fellowship.

ABOUT THE PHILADELPHIA FILMMAKER LAB FELLOWS

Andrew Bilindabagabo

Andrew Bilindabagabo is a Rwandan-born filmmaker and educator. He is the co-founder of INGOMA Films. His work aims to make the specific global and the global specific, using art to highlight the worthy and uplift the marginalized. Andrew graduated from the Templeton Honors College at Eastern University, and has taught filmmaking at Pennsylvania College of Art & Design and Lancaster Bible College. He has directed and produced narrative, commercial and documentary films around the world. Andrew’s work has appeared in Time, Forbes, ABC, New Times and more.

Kristal Sotomayor

Kristal Sotomayor is an acclaimed director, producer, journalist and curator based in Philadelphia. They are a 2023 DOC NYC Documentary New Leader Honoree and Rockwood Documentary Leadership Fellow. Kristal’s upcoming film Don’t Cry For Me All You Drag Queens has screened at DocLands Film Festival and GAZE International LGBTQIA Film Festival. Kristal is in-development on a slate of short and feature-length directorial projects through their company Sotomayor Productions. Kristal’s film Expanding Sanctuary has screened at St. Louis International Film Festival, San Diego Latino Film Festival and will screen as part of the Statism Shorts Program on Thursday, August 1 at 1:30pm at BlackStar Film Festival.

Chisom Chieke

Chisom Chieke is a Nigerian-American multimedia artist and second-generation storyteller with a lifelong passion for narrative. She writes, directs and produces works that examine the past, present and future of radical love, acceptance  and growth across diasporic communities. She is a 2nd Rounder for Sundance’s TV Development Track, Official Selection for the United We Heal Film Festival, OMWAN’EKHUI Film Program and Stowe Story Labs. Chisom is a member/alumna of the SuperSpecial TRIBE Writers’ Program.

Walé Oyéjidé

Walé Oyéjidé is a Nigerian-American filmmaker and designer who dispels bias with beauty. His narrative feature debut “BRAVO, BURKINA!” premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. His documentary “AFTER MIGRATION: CALABRIA” streamed on Criterion Channel.

His fashion designs appeared prominently in Marvel’s “BLACK PANTHER” and have been exhibited in museums around the globe. He employs fashion design as a vehicle to celebrate the perspectives of marginalized populations. Oyéjidé is a Fellow of: Sundance Feature Film, TED, Open Society Foundations and Google Image Equity. He is also a National Geographic Explorer.

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About BlackStar Projects

BlackStar Projects is a non-profit organization, founded in 2012 by Maori Karmael Holmes as BlackStar Film Festival. They have since expanded into year-round programs, including film screenings, exhibitions, the annual film festival, a filmmaker seminar, a film production lab and a journal of visual culture.

The organization creates the spaces and resources needed to uplift the work of Black, Brown and Indigenous artists working outside the confines of genre. Their programs provide artists opportunities for viable strategies for collaborations with other artists, audiences, funders and distributors. BlackStar is working towards a liberatory world in which a vast spectrum of Black, Brown and Indigenous experiences is irresistibly celebrated in arts and culture.

This August marks the 13th annual BlackStar Film Festival, a four-day event, featuring selections of experimental films, imaginative narrative works and groundbreaking documentaries hosted across multiple venues. From August 1-4 in the center of Philadelphia, the festival will feature artist panels, parties and numerous opportunities for filmmakers and film enthusiasts to engage with a wide network of artists working across various mediums.

About Points North

The Points North Institute is a launching pad for the next generation of documentary artists and storytellers.

Points North builds a unique, interdisciplinary community of filmmakers, artists, journalists, industry leaders and local audiences, forming a creative hub where stories and talent are discovered, collaborations are born, and the future of nonfiction media is shaped.

Our programs include the annual Camden International Film Festival and Points North Forum, as well as a growing suite of artist development initiatives: retreats, residencies, workshops, and fellowships that nurture the careers of diverse nonfiction storytellers and help them develop a stronger artistic voice.

About Black Experience on Xfinity

Black Experience on Xfinity is a first-of-its-kind destination of Black entertainment, movies, TV shows, news and more. Available at home on Xfinity X1 and Flex, and on-the-go with the Xfinity Stream app, the Black Experience on Xfinity features original and high-quality content from Comcast NBCUniversal and other major studios, in addition to content from many of Xfinity’s existing network partners, at no additional cost to Xfinity customers. The channel is the only one of its kind endorsed by the African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA), the world’s largest group of Black film critics that gives annual awards for excellence in film and television.

BlackStar Projects is pleased to announce the receipt of a grant in Arts & Culture from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. From 2024 through 2026, the Mellon Foundation will provide BlackStar $1,000,000 in funding, supporting the organization’s general operations.

Since 2012, the Philadelphia-based non-profit has celebrated important visual works produced by Black, Brown, and Indigenous artists and independent filmmakers. Through their visionary year-round programming, notably including the widely celebrated and highly anticipated annual BlackStar Film Festival, the organization has continually provided resources, catalyzed community, and celebrated creatives of color.

“We are thrilled to receive this grant from the Mellon Foundation to continue to provide Black, Brown and Indigenous moving image artists the resources, support and space they need to create visionary, necessary work,” said Maori Karmael Holmes, Chief Executive & Artistic Officer.

The Mellon Foundation grant provides BlackStar with the means to further its mission to uplift genre-defying visual art from the global majority. With this support, BlackStar will continue to create platforms and tools for artists of color to be the architects of a more liberatory world. In addition to focusing on the sustainability of their programming, the organization will focus resources on expanding its commitment to disability justice and towards maintaining a care-centered work environment for its staff of 21 full-time employees — a majority of whom are artists themselves.

About BlackStar

BlackStar Projects is a non-profit organization, founded in 2012 by Maori Karmael Holmes as BlackStar Film Festival. They have since expanded into year-round programs, including film screenings, exhibitions, the annual film festival, a filmmaker seminar, a film production lab, and a journal of visual culture.

The organization creates the spaces and resources needed to uplift the work of Black, Brown and Indigenous artists working outside the confines of genre. Their programs provide artists opportunities for viable strategies for collaborations with other artists, audiences, funders, and distributors. BlackStar is working towards a liberatory world in which a vast spectrum of Black, Brown and Indigenous experiences is irresistibly celebrated in arts and culture.

This August marks the 13th annual BlackStar Film Festival, a four-day event, featuring selections of experimental films, imaginative narrative works, and groundbreaking documentaries hosted across multiple venues. From August 1-4 in the center of Philadelphia, the festival will feature artist panels, parties, and numerous opportunities for filmmakers and film enthusiasts to engage with a wide network of artists working across various mediums.

For press inquiries, please reach out to the team at ALMA.

(Philadelphia, PA — January 11, 2024) — BlackStar Projects, the premier organization celebrating visionary Black, Brown, and Indigenous film and media artists, is thrilled to announce that the next edition of its annual film festival will take place August 1–4, 2024. The 2024 BlackStar Film Festival will be held in a hybrid format, with festival-goers able to attend in-person or online around the world. This year marks the 13th edition of the BlackStar Film Festival. Submissions are now open through April 1 via FilmFreeway.

“As BlackStar evolves and branches into new realms as an organization, our dedication to uplifting the work of genre-defying Black, Brown, and Indigenous artists remains at the core of our mission,” said Maori Karmael Holmes, Chief Executive & Artistic Officer and Founder of BlackStar Projects. “The 13th edition of the film festival will continue this legacy as the premiere destination for discovering visionary films from the global majority.” 

The 2024 BlackStar Film Festival will again take a hybrid format, with in-person screenings in downtown Philadelphia, alongside digital access. Information on additional Philadelphia events and venues is forthcoming. 

Additionally, registration is open through February 9 for the 2024 William and Louise Greaves Filmmaker Seminar, taking place March 8–10, 2024. This three-day in-person gathering for Black, Brown, and Indigenous artists working in cinematic realms will be presented in partnership with the Stanford Institute for Diversity in the Arts, on the campus of Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA. This year’s speaker for the keynote address will be multi-hyphenate actor, playwright, and director Anisia Uzeyman. Uzeyman is the co-director and cinematographer of the sci-fi punk musical Neptune Frost. She has also starred in a number of films, including Tey (2012), Aujourd’hui (2012), and Ayiti Mon Amour (2016). 

Seminar attendees can expect workshops, panels, and deep discussions about filmmaking practices. Additionally, artists’ wellness will be prioritized, with yoga classes and mindfulness sessions offered throughout the seminar’s programming.

BlackStar Projects is also thrilled to announce the appointment of Senior Director of Development and Operations Catherine Lee, a non-profit administrator and fundraiser who brings extensive experience with community-based arts and culture spaces. Prior to joining Blackstar Projects, Catherine most recently served as the Development Director at Fleisher Art Memorial in the Bella Vista neighborhood of South Philadelphia. Catherine also brings nearly a decade of experience in resource development, board engagement, program design, and development operations from her time at Asian Arts Initiative, the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, and work as a consultant managing an extensive portfolio of nonprofit clients. 

Further BlackStar initiatives include Seen, a journal of film and visual culture, which recently published Issue 006 with Emmy-award-winning actor Colman Domingo featured on the cover. And Many Lumens, BlackStar’s signature podcast, which finds BlackStar founder Maori Karmael Holmes in dialogue with the most groundbreaking artists, changemakers, and cultural workers of today. 

Last year’s 12th-anniversary BlackStar Film Festival featured 97 films, including 19 world premieres, representing 31 countries. The lineup spanned narrative features and shorts, documentary features and shorts, and experimental films and showcased 19 world, 11 North America, 5 US, and 10 East Coast premieres. 47 films were Philadelphia premieres. In addition to presenting an array of live programs, panels, and select in-person events and screenings, 2023 also marked BlackStar’s biggest festival to date and its first time taking place on Philadelphia’s Broad Street. 

BlackStar Projects and its year-round programs are generously supported by Ford Foundation/JustFilms, Forman Arts Initiative, Gucci ChangeMakers Fund, Independence Public Media Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Mellon Foundation, Michael Jordan Black Community Commitment Fund, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Mighty Arrow Family Foundation, Nathan Cummings Foundation

Perspective Fund, Philadelphia Cultural Treasures Fund, PopCultureCollaborative, Ruth Foundation for the Arts, Samuel S. Fels Fund, Surdna Foundation, Wallace Foundation, William Penn Foundation, Wyncote Foundation, in addition to its board of directors, community partners, and a host of generous individual donors and organizations.

Additional information on ticketing, jurors, sponsors, programming, and the slate of films that will be featured at this year’s festival will be announced soon. For overall information on BlackStar, including its festival and programs, visit blackstarfest.org.

About BlackStar Projects

BlackStar Projects is the producer of BlackStar Film Festival, an annual celebration of the visual and storytelling traditions of the African diaspora and global communities of color — showcasing films by Black, Brown, and Indigenous people from around the world. In addition to the acclaimed festival, BlackStar presents an array of programming across film and visual culture year-round and produces the journal Seen.

Press Contacts

Ed Winstead

Vice President, Cultural Counsel

ed@culturalcounsel.com

Devon Ma

Senior Account Coordinator, Cultural Counsel

devon@culturalcounsel.com

Jane Drinkard

Account Coordinator, Cultural Counsel

jane@culturalcounsel.com

(Philadelphia, PA — October 4, 2023) BlackStar Projects, the premier organization celebrating visionary Black, Brown, and Indigenous film and media artists, is pleased to announce five new episodes of its podcast, Many Lumens with Maori Karmael Holmes. Comprising the second half of the podcast’s third season, these latest episodes will be released on Wednesdays beginning October 11, with a trailer now available here. An additional bonus episode, featuring Holmes in conversation with writer J Wortham, is also now streaming, having been recorded live during the twelfth annual BlackStar Film Festival in August.

Featuring BlackStar’s Chief Executive & Artistic Officer in conversation with leading artists, change makers, and cultural workers, Many Lumens spotlights those making transformative contributions to today’s creative landscape. These latest episodes come on the heels of another successful year of the festival, which took place August 2–6, with screenings, panel discussions, workshops, yoga classes, parties, and more at venues across Philadelphia. The 2023 edition notably marked the transformation of The Daily Jawn—known in past years as a nightly talk show hosted by Holmes—into The Daily Jawn Stage, where conversations were led throughout each day by Holmes and a number of co-hosts, including Many Lumens Season 3 guest D’Lo.

In another nod to the festival, the second half of the season will kick off with an episode featuring producer and director Lisa Cortés and model, modeling agent, and activist Bethann Hardison, collaborators on the documentary film Invisible Beauty. Invisible Beauty—chronicling Hardison’s indelible impact on diversity in the fashion industry—made its Philadelphia premiere during the festival, and was one of a total of 93 films in this year’s lineup.

Several of this season’s guests transcend disciplines, including pianist, composer, and artist Jason Moran, whose career has spanned multimedia installations, collaborations with visual artists, and compositions for film and theater, among other projects. Subsequent episodes will also spotlight multidisciplinary artist Fariha Róisín, whose second collection of poetry, Survival Takes A Wild Imagination, will be released on October 17, and actress and artist Danielle Deadwyler, known for her critically-acclaimed portrayal of Mamie Till in the 2022 film Till. Lastly, the season will conclude with an episode featuring Omar Tate and Cybille St. Aude-Tate, Philadelphia-based chefs and founders of West Philadelphia’s Honeysuckle Provisions, together building community, celebrating Black culinary traditions, and creating more equitable and sustainable food systems.

In addition to actor, writer, and comic D’Lo, guests from the first half of Season 3—released earlier this year—included filmmaker and television showrunner Sterlin Harjo, the visionary behind Reservation Dogs; curator and writer Meg Onli, appointed in June as Curator-at-Large at the Whitney Museum; and director, writer, and actor Cherien Dabis, who last year became the first Arab American woman nominated for an Emmy in the directing category.

“These new episodes take us in exciting new directions, with some of today’s most engaging cultural figures,” said Maori Karmael Holmes. “We look forward to sharing discussions tackling a range of themes, from Black food and Soul Music, to representation and the enduring power of poetry.”

Previous seasons of Many Lumens have featured notable guests including fashion impresarioTelfar Clemens, filmmaker dream hampton, artists Arthur Jafa, Terence Nance, and Amy Sherald, scholars Imani Perry, Jeff Chang and Yaba Blay, and poet Sonia Sanchez. Reflecting the emblematic dynamism of BlackStar’s programs and offerings, several past guests have also shown films and cinematic projects at past BlackStar Film Festivals, including hampton, Jafa, and Nance.

The momentum continues this fall with the sixth issue of Seen, BlackStar’s journal of film, art, and visual culture, hitting shelves later in October, featuring cover star Colman Domingo. Seen Issue 006 also features an interview with Many Lumens Season 3 guest Danielle Deadwyler, in addition to other interviews, essays, prose, and artwork, with additional details forthcoming. A launch event will be hosted on November 1, 2023, at the New Museum in New York City.

This winter, community members can also look forward to the inaugural BlackStar Luminary Gala, taking place on December 4, 2023. As well as seeding support for BlackStar’s year-round cultural programming, the Gala will present the 2023 BlackStar Luminary Awards, including honorees Shannon Maldonado, Founder & Creative Director of YOWIE; June Givanni, Curator & Director of the June Givanni Pan African Cinema Archive; and COUSIN, a collective (including season 2 guest Sky Hopinka) supporting Indigenous artists expanding the form of film. Formerly presented during the festival, the Luminary Awards honor individuals and collectives for their contributions as artists and cultural workers. The gala will be hosted by South Side stars Bashir Salahuddin and Chandra Russell, with tickets now available for purchase here.

Many Lumens listeners can tune into new and previous episodes on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, and other podcast outlets. For more information about Many Lumens, visit manylumens.com.

For information about BlackStar Projects, including its festival and programs, visit blackstarfest.org.

About Many Lumens

BlackStar founder Maori Karmael Holmes chats with the most groundbreaking artists, change makers, and cultural workers—finding meaning in the intersections of art, social change, and popular culture.

About BlackStar Projects

BlackStar Projects is the producer of the BlackStar Film Festival, an annual celebration of the visual and storytelling traditions of the African diaspora and global communities of color—showcasing films by Black, Brown, and Indigenous people from around the world. In addition to the acclaimed festival, BlackStar presents an array of programming across film and visual culture year-round, including the twice-annual journal Seen, the podcast Many Lumens, the William and Louise Greaves Filmmaker Seminar, and the Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab, among other initiatives.

Press Contacts

Ed Winstead

Vice President, Cultural Counsel

ed@culturalcounsel.com

Devon Ma

Senior Account Coordinator, Cultural Counsel

devon@culturalcounsel.com

Jane Drinkard

Account Coordinator, Cultural Counsel

jane@culturalcounsel.com

Philadelphia, PA (October 4, 2023) — BlackStar Projects, the premier organization celebrating visionary Black, Brown, and Indigenous film and media artists, announced today the recipients of the 2023 BlackStar Luminary Awards, an annual program honoring individuals and collectives for their contributions as artists and cultural workers in the fields of art, film, and visual culture. This year’s honorees include Shannon Maldonado, Founder & Creative Director of YOWIE, June Givanni, Curator & Director of the June Givanni Pan African Cinema Archive, and COUSIN, a collective supporting Indigenous artists expanding the form of film.

The honors will be presented at the inaugural BlackStar Luminary Gala, BlackStar’s signature fundraising event, supporting a suite of year-round cultural programming that provides artists with the resources, support, and shine they need to thrive. The gala, hosted by South Side stars Bashir Salahuddin and Chandra Russell, will take place at the W Philadelphia hotel on December 4, 2023, and will feature a cocktail hour followed by a seated dinner and award ceremony.

“The Luminary Gala stands as a testament to the power of ingenuity, intelligence, and innovation, and we are thrilled to honor and spotlight this year’s trailblazing luminaries,” said Maori Karmael Holmes, Founder and Chief Executive & Artistic Officer of BlackStar Projects. “Each recipient has not only excelled in their respective fields but has also paved the way for future generations of artists and creatives, all leaving an indelible mark on our cultural landscape.”

2023 honorees include:

Shannon Maldonado, Founder & Creative Director of YOWIE

After working in Fashion Design for over 12 years (Ralph Lauren, American Eagle Outfitters, and Urban Outfitters), Shannon launched her inspiring storefront via a series of experimental pop-ups and a small but charming web shop of just 12 objects. Named “The Coolest Shop in Philadelphia” by Bon Appétit in 2019, the YOWIE brand has extended its outreach to include interactive design workshops, creative/art direction, and interior design consulting for hospitality clients that include Ethel’s Club, The Deacon, Dye House, and more. Summer of 2023, Shannon put YOWIE’s signature spin on hospitality by co-founding an all-suite boutique hotel set above an expanded retail space and new cafe, Wim, created in partnership with local proprietors ReAnimator Coffee Roasters and Eeva. The space comes on the anniversary of YOWIE’s seventh year in business and is its most ambitious project to date: nearly 10,000 sq ft of space, all designed by Shannon. Past collaborators include Nordstrom, CB2, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Gantri, and a number of emerging designers. She constantly looks to create an intersection between design and community in her work and to develop spaces that invite discovery and have unexpected references and details.

June Givanni, Curator & Director of the June Givanni Pan African Cinema Archive 

June Givanni is a leading film curator in Pan African Cinema, with a career of more than 40 years. Born in British Guiana, South America, she grew up and was educated in the UK and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. The June Givanni Pan-African Cinema Archive (JGPACA), a living archive, amassed by June, in the process of her work on 5 continents contains a unique collection of artefacts and archival material which at its core seeks to foreground African and diasporic cinema. This contribution was recognised by The British Independent Film Awards which awarded the Special Jury Prize – an award to honour unsung heroes of the film industry who have “left an indelible mark on the landscape of British film.” June’s work to protect and promote black culture across the globe is a testament to cultural activism, whether in advisory work, writing, or programming. She has worked with a range of organizations to support the golden age of black film collectives in the UK and has worked to identify young writing and directing talent with ambitions both in UK projects but working also with a team of co-advisors on ‘Africa First’, a short film support scheme developed by Kisha Cameron at Focus Features, New York to support emerging African directors from 2008 to 2013. 

COUSIN Collective, a collective supporting Indigenous artists expanding the form of film

COUSIN creates and supports work that is personal, proudly provocative, and driven by strong, artistic voices. Founded in 2018 by Sky Hopinka, Adam Khalil, Alexandra Lazarowich, and Adam Piron, COUSIN was created to provide support for Indigenous artists expanding traditional definitions and understandings of the moving image by experimenting with form and genre. Works supported by COUSIN have since been screened at the Berlin International Film Festival, Visions du Réel, New York Film Festival, Jeonju International Film Festival, the Criterion Channel, and the Whitney Biennial, among many other festivals, platforms, and screening venues.

Tickets and sponsorships for the inaugural BlackStar Luminary Gala are available now and more information can be found here: https://www.blackstarfest.org/events/gala/2023-luminary-gala/ 

Past recipients of the Luminary Awards, announced in previous years during the annual BlackStar Film Festival, have included  Mira Nair, Menelik Shabazz, Marcia Smith, Ava DuVernay, Julie Dash, RZA, and Howard University Film Program. Following the twelfth edition of the festival this past August—which included 97 films representing 33 countries—BlackStar will soon release new episodes of their signature podcast, Many Lumens with Maori Karmael Holmes, featuring BlackStar’s Founder and Chief Executive & Artistic Officer in conversation with today’s leading artists, cultural workers, and change makers. Later this month, the next issue of Seen, BlackStar’s journal of film, art, and visual culture, will also be available digitally and in print, spotlighting actor Colman Domingo as its cover star.

The host committee for the Gala includes co-chairs Anjali Kumar, Founder of Slightly Reserved, Errin Haines, Founding Mother and Editor at Large for The 19th, and Jason Ray, CEO of Zenith Wealth Partners. Additional committee members are: Alexis Rosenzweig, Entertainment Manager, Anne Ishii, Executive Director of Asian Arts Initiative, Deesha Philyaw, Author, Isaac Ewell, Founder & Creative Director at Onehunted, James Claiborne, SVP of Exhibitions and Programs at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Lauren Jane Holland, Agent at Creative Artists Agency, Lindsey Scannapieco, Managing Partner of Scout, Michelle Trotter, Noura Erakat, American activist, and Tarana Burke, Founder of ‘me too’ International.

For more information on BlackStar’s mission, visit www.blackstarfest.org.   

About BlackStar Projects

BlackStar creates the spaces and resources needed to uplift the work of Black, Brown and Indigenous artists working outside of the confines of genre. We do this by producing year-round programs including film screenings, exhibitions, an annual film festival, a filmmaker seminar, a film production lab, and a journal of visual culture. These programs provide artists opportunities for viable strategies for collaborations with other artists, audiences, funders, and distributors. We prioritize visionary work that is experimental in its aesthetics, content, and form and builds on the work of elders and ancestors to imagine a new world. We elevate artists who are overlooked, invisibilized or misunderstood and celebrate the wide spectrum of aesthetics, storytelling and experiences that they bring.

BlackStar Projects and its year-round programs are generously supported by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Ford Foundation/JustFilms, Independence Public Media Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Mellon Foundation, Mighty Arrow Family Foundation, Nathan Cummings Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Perspective Fund, The Philadelphia Foundation, PopCulture Collaborative, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Samuel S. Fels Fund, Surdna Foundation, Wallace Foundation, William Penn Foundation, and Wyncote Foundation, in addition to its board of directors, community partners, and a host of generous individual donors and organizations.