BlackStar

Category: Press Release

  • BlackStar Film Festival Announces 11th Edition’s Award-Winners

    BlackStar Film Festival Announces 11th Edition’s Award-Winners

    BlackStar Projects—the premier organization celebrating visionary Black, Brown, and Indigenous film and media artists—is pleased to announce the award-winning films from this year’s BlackStar Film Festival, which concluded yesterday in Philadelphia and online.

    Winners include Best Experimental film Conspiracy, which was co-directed by Simone Leigh and Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich on the occasion of Leigh’s pavilion at the Venice Biennale, and Best Feature Narrative film Mars One, Gabriel Martins’ chronicle of a Brazilian family coping with an uncertain future during a far-right leader’s rise to power. 

    This year, the first-ever Love+Grit Philadelphia Filmmaker Award—supported by Visit Philadelphia’s Love + Grit, a leading podcast that tells the authentic and diverse stories of the city—is awarded to Quarantine Kids, directed by Bilal Motley and Bria Motley. Quarantine Kids, which held its world premiere at BlackStar, tells the courageous story of nine-year-old Bria Motley in her own words, drawing attention to the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children. 

    Once again, Lionsgate and STARZ partnered with BlackStar to present the Lionsgate/STARZ Speculative Fiction Award. The winner of this prize receives $5,000 and the opportunity to showcase their films on STARZ in Black. This year’s winner is CLONES, a mockumentary short film directed by Letia Solomon that documents a suburban couple’s trial cloning experiment. 

    Another special award—the Shine Award—is decided by BlackStar members and goes to a first-time filmmaker. This year, Storming Caesars Palace director Hazel Gurland-Pooler is the winner. Her feature documentary, which premiered at this year’s festival, uplifts the story of Las Vegas activist Ruby Duncan and the mothers who launched one of the most extraordinary yet forgotten, feminist, anti-poverty movements in US history.

    The full list of honorees—selected from a slate of 76 films representing 27 countries—is below. BlackStar attendees were invited to vote for Audience Awards in each category as well. 

    “We are so grateful to this year’s jurors and to our audiences for taking such care selecting this year’s award winners,” says BlackStar Founder, Artistic Director, and CEO Maori Karmael Holmes. “We are so proud of all of their contributions to the festival and congratulate them on their achievements.”

    “It has been a joy gathering with the BlackStar family this past week—both virtually and in person,” adds Festival Director Nehad Khader. “As we reflect upon the 2022 festival, we extend our gratitude to each participating artist, viewer, and team member—old friends and new. We look forward to continued imagination, learning, and community building in the weeks and months ahead.” 

    With a lineup spanning narrative features and shorts, documentary features and shorts, and experimental films, the 2022 BlackStar Film Festival presented 16 world, 8 North America, 12 East Coast, and 8 US premieres. 25 films were Philadelphia premieres. As an Academy Award-qualifying festival for both short documentary and short narrative films, BlackStar’s Best Narrative Short and Best Documentary Short winners will be eligible for entrance at the Academy Awards.

    In addition to screenings, this year’s festival included panels, workshops, parties, morning yoga sessions, and The Daily Jawn—a talk show hosted by Maori Karmael Holmes. Festival guests included directors Moses Sumney and Kevin Jerome Everson; activist Ruby Duncan; authors Marc Lamont Hill and Jason Reynolds; and singer Durand Bernarr, among others. 

    This edition of the BlackStar Film Festival marked the world premiere of short films created through BlackStar’s Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab, presented by Black Experience on Xfinity. The opportunity is designed to uplift emerging and mid-career artists in the Greater Philadelphia area. Applications for the next cohort will open on September 1, 2022. 

    Winning Films:

    BEST EXPERIMENTAL

    Jurors: Reveca Torres, Asinnajaq, Christopher Harris

    Winner: Conspiracy, dirs. Simone Leigh and Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich

    On the occasion of her pavilion at the Venice Biennale, Simone Leigh co-directs a film with Madeleine Hunt – Ehrlich in her studio.

    Jury Comment: “The film Conspiracy is music, and it speaks of the sonic manifestations of Blackness. Working on all registers with minimal gestures—it is textured, complicated, and transparent.”

    Honorable Mention: Golden Jubilee, dir. Suneil Sanzgiri

    In Golden Jubilee, Sanzgiri reconsiders ideas of freedom, loss and recovery in the wake of colonial and neo-colonial theft. The film asks us to consider “what is liberation when so much has been lost?”

    Jury Comment: “Golden Jubilee is excellently rendered and has a dreamlike effect on its audience with the power of reality—it is both real and unreal, we are seeing one thing but feeling something different.”

    BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY

    Jurors: Janaína Oliveira, Theresa Hill, Louis Massiah

    Winner: One Take Grace, dir. Lindiwe Matshikiza

    Eclectic cinematic portrait of Mothiba Grace Bapela (58), South African mother, grandmother, film & television actor, and former domestic worker for over forty years. Narrating events from her extraordinary life, Bapela searches for a way to break out of the societal roles cast for her.

    Jury Comment: “The exceptional film One Take Grace presents a different and exciting way to make documentary with the potential to impact audiences and filmmakers alike. This film is a powerful journey and a masterful example of fugitivity.”

    Honorable Mention: Wisdom Gone Wild, dir. Rea Tajiri

    An immersive meditation on elder consciousness and the act of caregiving a parent with dementia, filmmaker Rea Tajiri weaves her mother’s storytelling wisdom into the fabric of this film. Rose’s songs provide a soundtrack for time travel as we witness her evolution across nine decades of living.

    Jury Comment: “Wisdom Gone Wild is a compelling film that will have a long life, and represents a poetic, sensitive tribute to the complexity of motherhood, aging, and love.”

    BEST FEATURE NARRATIVE 

    Jurors: Kamilah Forbes, Jason Reynolds, Naomi Johnson

    Winner: Mars One/Marte Um, dir. Gabriel Martins

    A Brazilian family copes with an uncertain future as a far-right conservative leader rises to power. Through this time of turbulent change, the family’s optimism and deep capacity for love guides them through.

    Jury Comment: “Mars One is a masterpiece about perseverance, voyaging on new terrain, and maintaining optimism in the face of adversity. A great story with compelling characters, this film receives the jury award by unanimous consensus among the jury.”

    BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY

    Jurors: Errin Haines, Michelle Ortiz, Asad Muhammad

    Winner: The Game God(S), dir. Adrian L. Burrell

    The Game God(S) shows 4 characters: Martina, Frank, Brianna and Craig. They share their experiences as the Goddess of the Crossroads pushes us between the then and the now, connecting The Game God, The Game and Capitalism to the Blackness.

    Jury Comment: “The Game God(S) plays like a sermon, and is brimming with thoughtful, tender, exciting images. The perspective is unique and unexpected to the point of knocking the jury members off their seats.”

    BEST SHORT NARRATIVE

    Jurors: D’Lo, Dagmawi Woubshet, Lynnee Denise

    Winner: Sunday Morning/Manhã de Domingo, dir. Bruno Ribeiro

    Gabriela is a young pianist who will perform at her first major recital. However, a dream about her dead mother destabilizes Gabriela’s mind and heart, putting her presentation at risk.

    Jury Comment: “Sunday Morning is a gem of a film, imbued with a quiet, interior power that beautifully renders the ghosts of our lives, and whose music propels the narrative, becoming a conduit for nostalgia.”

    Honorable Mention: For Love, dir. Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor

    Nkechi, lives happily in the shadows with her partner Martha, but when immigration officers turn up unexpectedly, they have to make difficult decisions about their future together.

    Jury Comment: “For Love uses minimalism to effectively cultivate emotional intensity. From a technical perspective the film slows down time, each frame so well chosen and sequenced beautifully together.”

    Special Prizes:

    LOVE+GRIT PHILADELPHIA FILMMAKER AWARD (VISIT PHILADELPHIA)

    Winner: Quarantine Kids, dirs. Bilal Motley and Bria Motley

    The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children has been devastating. Quarantine Kids tells the courageous story of nine year old Bria Motley, in her own words. Using previously recorded audio notes, home video and animation, Quarantine Kids is an honest testimony from a child’s point of view.

    Jury Comment: “Quarantine Kids is a rich, real, and emotional short film with relatable content and an important perspective. This jury felt infatuated by the story, and are excited for other kids to see it.”

    LIONSGATE/STARZ SPECULATIVE FICTION AWARD

    Winner: CLONES, dir. Letia Solomon 

    Suburban couple Calvin and Lisa document their experience of a trial cloning experiment in a mockumentary short film. The film starts off productively with three Calvin clones and three Lisa clones. Groceries are placed away, dinner is cooked, and the house is cleaned, however, they quickly realize that the copies aren’t the life hack they thought they would be.

    Jury Comment: “Who has ever thought that having a clone would make life easier? Well in Letia Solomon’s Clones that thought becomes a reality for a young suburban couple who elect to become a part of a trial cloning experiment. Letia’s voice was clever, fresh, and wholeheartedly entertaining as she portrays mockumentary style filmmaking with incredible performances. Letia, a chemical engineer turned filmmaker, is an excellent example of why we at Lionsgate and Starz are so excited about supporting this award, because it means we get to uplift and amplify voices like Letia’s – a voice that will continue to carry through the future.”

    BLACKSTAR PITCH

    Winner: Postcolonial Piñata dir. Daniel Larios

    Postcolonial Piñata delves into the tangled & historically destructive relationship Christianity has with both piñatas and myself.

    Honorable Mention: Occupy dir. Sonali Gulati

    Occupy is a landscape using portraits of people who have encountered gendered spaces in hostile, violent, humorous, and life-changing ways.

    Audience Awards: 

    BEST EXPERIMENTAL 

    Winner: Foreign in a Domestic Sense, dir. Sofía Gallisá Muriente and Natalia Lassalle Morillo

    A constellation of testimonies and imaginaries of Puerto Ricans who have migrated to Central Florida as a result of political and environmental disasters in the Caribbean archipelago. The 4-channel video unsettles space and time through the layering of fictional and non-fictional narrative forms.

    BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY

    Winner: Wisdom Gone Wild, dir. Rea Tajiri

    An immersive meditation on elder consciousness and the act of caregiving a parent with dementia, filmmaker Rea Tajiri weaves her mother’s storytelling wisdom into the fabric of this film. Rose’s songs provide a soundtrack for time travel as we witness her evolution across nine decades of living.

    BEST FEATURE NARRATIVE 

    Winner: Lingui, the Sacred Bonds, dir. Mahamat-Saleh Haroun

    On the outskirts of the capital of Chad, determined single mother Amina works tirelessly to provide for herself and her 15-year old daughter Maria. When Amina discovers Maria is pregnant and does not want a child, the two women begin to seek out an abortion, condemned by both religion and law.

    BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY

    Winner: Still Waters, dir. Aurora Brachman

    A daughter asks her mother a question about her mother’s childhood. Her answer begs them to wade through its rippling effects throughout their lives.

    BEST SHORT NARRATIVE

    Winner: Glitter Ain’t Gold, dir. Christian Nolan Jones

    A sixth grader takes a trip with his best friend to the flea market in order to buy his first fake chain.

    SHINE AWARD

    Winner: Storming Caesars Palace, dir. Hazel Gurland-Pooler

    This film uplifts the story of Las Vegas activist Ruby Duncan and a band of ordinary mothers who launched one of the most extraordinary, yet forgotten, feminist, anti-poverty movements in U.S. history providing a blueprint today for an equitable future.

    This year’s festival is presented with the support of the following sponsors: AmDoc/POV, Annenberg School For Communication, Black Public Media, Catapult Film Fund, Center For Cultural Power, Drexel Westphal College of Media Arts, Expressway Grip, Eventive, Firelight Media, Gotham Film & Media Institute, Impact Partners, Indego, ITVS, Leeway Foundation, Lionsgate/STARZ, MediaJustice, Meta, NEON, Open Society Foundations, PBS, PECO, Philadelphia Foundation, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Red Bull, Scattergood Foundation, The Study Hotels, Temple University Film and Media Arts Department, Unique Photo, Urban Affairs Coalition, Urban Outfitters, Warner Bros./Discovery, Wyncote Foundation and Xfinity.

    BlackStar Projects and its year-round programs are generously supported by Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Critical Minded, Ford Foundation/JustFilms, Gucci Changemakers Fund, Independence Public Media Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Mellon Foundation, Mighty Arrow Family Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Nathan Cummings Foundation, Perspective Fund, Pew Center for Arts and Heritage, Philadelphia Cultural Treasurers, Philadelphia Foundation, Ruth Foundation for the Arts, 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.

    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

    Senior Director, Cultural Counsel

    ed@culturalcounsel.com

    Sam Riehl 

    Senior Account Executive, Cultural Counsel

    sam@culturalcounsel.com 

    Emma Frohardt

    Account Executive, Cultural Counsel

    emma@culturalcounsel.com

    Devon Ma

    Account Coordinator, Cultural Counsel

    devon@culturalcounsel.com

  • 11th BlackStar Film Festival Kicks Off August 3rd

    11th BlackStar Film Festival Kicks Off August 3rd

    BlackStar Projects, the premier organization celebrating visionary Black, Brown, and Indigenous film and media artists, is pleased to announce the opening tomorrow of the 2022 BlackStar Film Festival, which will run August 3rd through 7th, 2022. Taking place both online and in-person in Philadelphia, this year’s festival will include in-person screenings at Penn Live Arts at Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts; panel discussions, workshops, and parties at sites across Philadelphia; and virtual events accessible to a global audience.

    With a lineup spanning narrative features and shorts, documentary features and shorts, and experimental films, the 2022 BlackStar Film Festival will present a total of 76 films representing 27 countries, including 16 world, 8 North America, 12 East Coast, and 8 US premieres. 25 films will be Philadelphia premieres. As an Academy Award-qualifying festival for both short documentary and short narrative films, BlackStar’s Best Narrative Short and Best Documentary Short winners will be eligible for entrance at the Academy Awards.

    Many of this year’s in-person screenings will be accompanied by dialogues between filmmakers and special guests, illuminating the timely and impactful narratives on screen. Audiences will hear from documentary subjects, fellow filmmakers, leading academics, and trailblazing activists as they examine and unravel each film and its context. 

    Select in-person highlights include:

    [dot] The August 3rd world premiere of feature documentary Storming Caesars Palace at Penn Live Arts (8:30pm), which will also be offered virtually following its debut. The film uplifts the story of Las Vegas activist Ruby Duncan and a band of ordinary mothers who launched an extraordinary, yet largely forgotten, feminist anti-poverty movement in the 1960s and ‘70s. Hazel Gurland-Pooler, the film’s director, and Duncan, the film’s protagonist, will be in attendance, along with Duncan’s children Sondra and Kenny, who are also featured in the film

    [dot] The August 5th showing of Moses Sumney’s experimental film Blackalachia at the Barnes Foundation (6:00pm). The film features a live conceptual performance with a 7-piece band atop the Blue Ridge Mountains and its screening will be paired with a conversation between Sumney and independent filmmaker Iyabo Kwayana, known for her innovative use of sensorial and immersive techniques in cinematography, directing and editing.

    [dot] The August 6th world premiere of feature documentary Wisdom Gone Wild at Penn Live Arts (3:00pm). An immersive meditation on elder consciousness and the act of caring for a parent with dementia, filmmaker Rea Tajiri weaves her mother’s storytelling wisdom into the fabric of this film, which will also be offered virtually following its premiere. Tajiri will be in attendance and participate in a Q&A with Jamila Farwell, director of Netflix documentary series, following the in-person screening. 

    [dot] The August 6th showing of Hazing at Penn Live Arts (8:30pm), directed by Byron Hurt. Hurt’s feature documentary lifts the veil on a variety of underground hazing rituals that are abusive, and sometimes deadly, and will be followed by a conversation with academic, author, and activist Marc Lamont Hill. Virtual attendees will also be able to screen the film. 

    [dot] The August 7th showing of Mars One at Penn Live Arts (8:30pm), a film that portrays a working-class Brazilian family pursuing separate dreams of escaping the lives laid out for them by society, and by each other. The screening will include a conversation between Gabriel Martins, the film’s director, and writer and poet Jason Reynolds. Virtual attendees will also be able to screen the film. 

    Each evening at 7pm ET, BlackStar will also present The Daily Jawn—a talk show hosted by BlackStar Founder, Artistic Director, and CEO Maori Karmael Holmes. Filmed live in front of a studio audience, the evening program, also available to stream online, will feature Holmes alongside house DJ Rashid Zakat and a house band directed by Luke Carlos O’Reilly. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear directly from guests such as singer/songwriter Durand Bernarr, musical artist Swarvy, actor/writer/comic D’Lo, and filmmaker Suneil Sanzgiri.

    “Alongside the festival’s screenings, panels, workshops, and parties, we are thrilled to bring The Daily Jawn to a live studio audience for the first time in its history,” said Holmes. “Many of the films in this year’s festival depict the joy and beauty inherent in Black, Brown, and Indigenous lives, and with an evening talk show that features music, artists, filmmakers, comedians, and actors, we hope to create spontaneous moments of joy and beauty beyond those that will appear on screen.” 

    In addition to The Daily Jawn, various events will highlight BlackStar’s year-round initiatives, including a recording of BlackStar’s signature podcast Many Lumens, featuring BlackStar Founder, Artistic Director, and CEO Maori Karmael Holmes in conversation with 2022 Richard Nichols Luminary Award recipient Mira Nair. Another highlight: a conversation between Dessane Lopez Cassell—Editor-In-Chief of Seen, BlackStar’s journal of film and visual culture—and visual artist Dindga McCannon, extending Zoé Samudzi’s profile of the artist in the journal’s recently released fourth issue. This edition of the BlackStar Film Festival will also mark the world premiere of short films created through BlackStar’s Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab, presented by Black Experience on Xfinity.

    “We could not be more excited to debut four films created by the inaugural cohort of fellows in BlackStar’s Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab. Following a year of mentorship and feedback, we are proud to support these emerging filmmakers. Their creativity has been impressive to witness, and their bold contributions to the festival will surely expand audiences’ understanding of the Black, Brown and Indigenous experience,” remarked Festival Director Nehad Khader. 

    In addition to film screenings, conversations, and panels—the full list of which is available here—in-person festival-goers will be invited to attend morning group yoga sessions at Drexel Square and opening and closing night parties. The parties and yoga sessions will be free and open to the public, and registration is available for both the opening and closing night parties.

    Passes for the festival are still available for purchase here. Offerings include an all-access pass ($250) and a virtual festival pass ($125). Individual tickets for virtual and in-person screenings are $5 and $15, respectively. 

    Press passes remain available upon request. To inquire about a press pass, please complete the form here or reach out to one of the press representatives listed below.

    All venues will be wheelchair accessible, and most in-person events will have American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters. Select films will also feature Audio Description (AD) for blind & low-vision audiences.

    This year’s festival is presented with the support of the following sponsors: AmDoc/POV, Annenberg School For Communication, Black Public Media, Catapult Film Fund, Center For Cultural Power, Drexel Westphal College of Media Arts, Expressway Grip, Eventive, Firelight Media, Gotham Film & Media Institute, Impact Partners, Indego, ITVS, Leeway Foundation, Lionsgate/STARZ, MediaJustice, Meta, NEON, Open Society Foundations, PBS, PECO, Philadelphia Foundation, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Red Bull, Scattergood Foundation, The Study Hotels, Temple University Film and Media Arts Department, Unique Photo, Urban Affairs Coalition, Urban Outfitters, Warner Bros./Discovery, Wyncote Foundation and Xfinity.

    BlackStar Projects and its year-round programs are generously supported by Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Critical Minded, Ford Foundation/JustFilms, Gucci Changemakers Fund, Independence Public Media Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Mellon Foundation, Mighty Arrow Family Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Nathan Cummings Foundation, Perspective Fund, Pew Center for Arts and Heritage, Philadelphia Cultural Treasurers, Philadelphia Foundation, Ruth Foundation for the Arts, 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.

    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

    Senior Director, Cultural Counsel

    ed@culturalcounsel.com

    Sam Riehl 

    Senior Account Executive, Cultural Counsel

    sam@culturalcounsel.com 

    Emma Frohardt

    Account Executive, Cultural Counsel

    emma@culturalcounsel.com

    Devon Ma

    Account Coordinator, Cultural Counsel

    devon@culturalcounsel.com

  • BlackStar Projects Releases Full Schedule of Programs for 2022 Film Festival

    BlackStar Projects Releases Full Schedule of Programs for 2022 Film Festival

    BlackStar Projects, the premier organization celebrating visionary Black, Brown, and Indigenous film and media artists, is pleased to announce its full slate of programming for the 2022 BlackStar Film Festival. Taking place both online and in-person in Philadelphia, this year’s festival includes in-person screenings at Penn Live Arts at Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts; panel discussions, workshops, and parties at sites across Philadelphia; and virtual events accessible to a global audience.

    Attendees will have the opportunity to hear from actors, filmmakers, visual artists, and radical thinkers, including Arthur Jafa, Coco Fusco, Dindga McCannon, and dream hampton, among others. Panels and conversations, the full list of which is below, will address topics including youth perspectives on screen, Black spiritual traditions rendered through the moving image, accessibility within filmmaking practices, the affective power of sound in Black and Indigenous storytelling, healing-centered production practices, and more.

    Various events will highlight BlackStar’s year-round initiatives, including a recording of BlackStar’s signature podcast, Many Lumens, featuring BlackStar Founder, Artistic Director, and CEO Maori Karmael Holmes in conversation with 2022 Richard Nichols Luminary Award recipient Mira Nair. Another highlight: a conversation between Dessane Lopez Cassell—Editor-In-Chief of Seen, BlackStar’s journal of film and visual culture—and visual artist Dindga McCannon, extending Zoé Samudzi’s profile of the artist in the journal’s recently released fourth issue. This edition of the BlackStar Film Festival will also mark the world premiere of short films created through BlackStar’s Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab, presented by Black Experience on Xfinity.

    “With everything going on in the world, we hope that through the festival we can provide a space of joy, reflection, and healing. We are excited to present another hybrid edition of the festival with both IRL and virtual programming with audiences across the globe,” said BlackStar Founder, Artistic Director, and CEO Maori Karmael Holmes.

    Each evening, at 7pm ET, the festival will present The Daily Jawn, a talk show hosted by Holmes, with sidekick filmmaker-artist Rashid Zakat and house band directed by Luke Carlos O’Reilly, and featuring interviews with filmmakers and panelists, musical guests, games, and much more.

    In addition to the conversations and panels, and daily film screenings at Penn Live Arts, there will be a variety of community events and parties in Philadelphia this August. These include morning group yoga sessions at Drexel Square and opening and closing night parties. The parties and yoga sessions will be free and open to the public — registration is available for both the opening and closing night parties on the festival site.

    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, Brown and Indigenous artists from around the world. The 2022 edition is set to feature a total of 76 films representing 27 countries, including 16 world, 8 North America, 12 East Coast, and 8 US premieres. It will include narrative features and shorts, documentary features and shorts, and experimental films. 

    “Our programs are an integral part of each year’s festival, as they introduce our audiences to the visionary creatives bringing these powerful stories to life,” said Festival Director Nehad Khader. “This year’s slate of events promises to further illuminate the many themes and ideas drawn across the screenings.”

    Passes for the festival are available for purchase here. Offerings include an all-access pass ($250) and a virtual festival pass ($125). Individual tickets for virtual and in-person screenings are $5 and $15, respectively.

    An overview of events is below, and the full list of film screenings and program descriptions is available via the festival schedule here. All venues will be wheelchair accessible, and most in-person events will have American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters. Select films will also feature Audio Description (AD) for blind & low-vision audiences.

    Panels & Conversations

    [dot] Conversation: The Passion of Remembrance  

    Wednesday August 3, 2-4:30pm, Penn Live Arts – Zellerbach Theater with Coco Fusco and Louis Massiah 

    [dot] Conversation: Seen with Dindga McCannon

    Wednesday August 3, 5-6pm, Penn Museum – Rainey Auditorium

    [dot] Panel: Childhood on Screen

    Thursday August 4, 1-2pm, Penn Live Arts – Montgomery Theater with Alaa Zabara, Bria and Bilal Motley, Iyana Le’Shea, and Jo Rochelle, moderated by Stormy Kelsey

    [dot] Panel: Horror and Sound

    Thursday August 4, 5-6pm, Virtual Event with Lisa Taouma, Mario Gaoa, Nikyatu, Tanerélle, Mario Gaoa and Lisa Taouma moderated by Sultana Isham

    [dot] Workshop: From Reflection to Release: Uplifting a Values-Based Filmmaking Practice

    Friday August 5, 1-2:30pm, Annenberg School – Room 110 with Bhawin Suchak, Dr. Kameelah Mu’Min Rashad, Natalie Bullock Brown, Sherry Simpson, and Sonya Childress 

    [dot] Panel: Expressions of Spirit

    Friday August 5, 5-6pm, Virtual Event with Ashon Crawley, Dr. Kokahvah Zauditu-Selassie, Koko Selassie, Rashid Shabazz, Rashid Zakat, and Taylor Aldridge

    [dot] Many Lumens: Mira Nair and Maori Karmael Holmes

    Saturday August 6, 1-2pm, Virtual Event, Sponsored by Temple University School of Theater, Film and Media Arts

    [dot] Panel: Closed Door Industry Roundtable

    Saturday August 6, 5-6pm, Event for Filmmakers Only, Presented by STARZ/Lionsgate

    [dot] Panel: Disability Justice and Filmmaking

    Sunday August 7, 1-2pm, Virtual Event, Sponsored by MediaJustice, with Andres “Jay” Molina, Natasha Ofili, Reveca Torres, moderated by Andraéa LaVant

    [dot] Panel: Loss, Grief, Legacy

    Sunday August 7, 5-6 pm, Virtual Event, Sponsored by the Scattergood Foundation, with Arthur Jafa, dream hampton, Lynneé Denise, and Marcia Smith; moderated by alexis pauline gumbs

    In-Person Events & Screenings

    [dot] Feature Screening: Lingui

    Wednesday August 3, 11am, Zellerbach Theater

    [dot] Feature Screening and Panel: The Passion of Remembrance 

    Wednesday August 3, 2-4:30pm, Zellerbach Theater

    [dot] Shorts Screening: Gather Me

    Wednesday August 3, 5pm, Montgomery Theater 

    [dot] Feature Screening and Q & A: Storming Caesar’s Palace

    Wednesday August 3, 8:30pm, Zellerbach Theater

    [dot] Opening Night Party

    Wednesday August 3, 9:30pm-12:30am, Bartram’s Garden

    [dot] Yoga Class for Children

    Thursday August 4, 9am, Drexel Square

    [dot] Shorts Screening: Revivify 

    Thursday August 4, 10am, Montgomery Theater

    [dot] Shorts Screening: Sillage

    Thursday August 4, 11am, Zellerbach Theater

    [dot] Feature Screening: One Take Grace

    Thursday August 4, 3pm, Zellerbach Theater

    [dot] Feature Screening: Jasmine Is A Star

    Thursday August 4, 5pm, Montgomery Theater

    [dot] Feature Screening: Teine Sa

    Thursday August 4, 8:30pm, Zellerbach Theater

    [dot] Yoga Class at Drexel Square

    Friday August 5, 9am, Drexel Square 

    [dot] Shorts Screening and Q & A: Savvy 

    Friday August 5, 10am, Montgomery Theater

    [dot] Screening and Q & A: The African Desperate 

    Friday August 5, 11am, Zellerbach Theater

    [dot] Shorts Screening and Q & A: Pulsate

    Friday August 5, 1pm, Montgomery Theater

    [dot] Screening and Q & A: Aftershock 

    Friday August 5, 3pm, Zellerbach Theater

    [dot] Feature Screening and Q & A: Silent Beauty

    Friday August 5, 5pm, Montgomery Theater

    [dot] First Friday! with BlackStar Film Festival featuring Omar’s Hat and Blackalachia (by Moses Sumney)

    Friday August 5, 6-9pm, The Barnes Foundation

    [dot] Shorts Screening and Q & A: Locomote

    Friday August 5, Zellerbach Theater

    [dot] Yoga Class at Drexel Square

    Saturday August 6, 9am, Drexel Square  

    [dot] BlackStar Bazaar

    Saturday August 6, 10am-8pm and Sunday August 7, 10am-3pm, Penn Live Arts – Courtyard

    [dot] Feature Screening and Q & A: Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power

    Saturday August 6, 10am, Montgomery Theater

    [dot] Shorts Screening and Q & A: Effectuate

    Saturday August 6, 11am, Zellerbach Theater

    [dot] Shorts Screening and Q & A: Observer Effect

    Saturday August 6, 1pm, Montgomery Theater

    [dot] Feature Screening and Q & A: Wisdom Gone Wild

    Saturday August 6, 3pm, Zellerbach Theater

    [dot] Feature Screening and Q & A: Kash Kash

    Saturday August 6, 5pm, Montgomery Theater

    [dot] Feature Screening and Q & A: Hazing 

    Saturday August 6, 8:30pm, Zellerbach Theater

    [dot] Yoga Class at Drexel Square

    Saturday August 6, 9am, Drexel Square  

    [dot] Shorts Screening and Q & A: Rising Tides

    Sunday August 7, 10am, Montgomery Theater

    [dot] Feature Screening and Q & A: Tug of War

    Sunday August 7, 11am, Zellerbach Theater

    [dot] Feature Screening and Q & A: Rewind & Play

    Sunday August 7, 1pm, Montgomery Theater

    [dot] Screening and Reception: Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab Films 

    Sunday August 7, 3-5pm, Zellerbach Theater

    [dot] Shorts Screening and Q & A: Withstand

    Sunday August 7, 5pm, Montgomery Theater

    [dot] Feature Screening and Q & A: Marte Um/Mars One 

    Sunday August 7, 8:30pm, Zellerbach Theater

    [dot] Closing Night Party

    Sunday August 7, 9:30pm-12:30am, Penn Live Arts – Courtyard

    All times in ET. For more information on festival programming, and to register for these events, please visit https://www.blackstarfest.org/festival/

    This year’s festival is presented with the support of the following sponsors: AmDoc/POV, Annenberg School For Communication, Black Public Media, Catapult Film Fund, Center For Cultural Power, Drexel Westphal College of Media Arts, Expressway Grip, Eventive, Firelight Media, Gotham Film & Media Institute, Impact Partners, Indego, ITVS, Leeway Foundation, Lionsgate/STARZ, MediaJustice, Meta, NEON, Open Society Foundations, PBS, PECO, Philadelphia Foundation, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Red Bull, Scattergood Foundation, The Study Hotels, Temple University Film and Media Arts Department, Unique Photo, Urban Affairs Coalition, Urban Outfitters, Warner Bros./Discovery, Wyncote Foundation and Xfinity.

    BlackStar Projects and its year-round programs are generously supported by Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Critical Minded, Ford Foundation/JustFilms, Gucci Changemakers Fund, Independence Public Media Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Mellon Foundation, Mighty Arrow Family Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Nathan Cummings Foundation, Perspective Fund, Pew Center for Arts and Heritage, Philadelphia Cultural Treasurers, Philadelphia Foundation, Ruth Foundation for the Arts, 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.

    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

    Senior Director, Cultural Counsel

    ed@culturalcounsel.com

    Sam Riehl 

    Senior Account Executive, Cultural Counsel

    sam@culturalcounsel.com 

    Emma Frohardt

    Senior Account Coordinator, Cultural Counsel

    emma@culturalcounsel.com

    Devon Ma

    Account Coordinator, Cultural Counsel

    devon@culturalcounsel.com

  • BlackStar Projects Launches Fourth Issue of Seen

    BlackStar Projects Launches Fourth Issue of Seen

    BlackStar Projects—producer of the BlackStar Film Festival—is proud to announce the launch of the fourth issue of Seen, its twice-annual journal of film and visual culture made for and about Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities globally.

    Seen 004 is available for order here, and the print and digital editions will be officially released on June 23. Guest-edited by artist Darol Olu Kae, the issue includes essays, reviews, interviews, original art and photography, and more.

    “With this fourth issue, we seek to extend Seen’s ongoing exploration of what it means to see and bear witness for Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities globally,” writes Kae in his introduction to the issue. “Each piece in this issue explores the complexities of vision and visual culture in an ever-shifting world, from Jasmine Weber’s discerning feature on the groundbreaking architect Amaza Lee Meredith, to Jenzia Burgos’s incisive interrogation of music videos by the emerging Dominican rapper Tokischa, to Yume Murphy’s expansive profile of acclaimed artist Martine Syms, which centers her debut narrative feature film, The African Desperate (2022).”

    Highlights from Seen 004 include Yume Murphy’s profile of acclaimed artist Martine Syms; a tribute to the late critic Greg Tate, from Jeff Chang, Elizabeth Méndez-Berry, and Deborah Thomas; Zeba Blay on Issa Rae’s Insecure; Sky Hopinka on process and memory in Kicking the Clouds; a profile of multimedia artist Dindga McCannon by Zoé Samudzi; dream hampton interviewed by Beandrea July; a behind the scenes look at Apichatpong Weerasethekul’s Memoria, and more.

    To celebrate the launch of the new issue, Seen will present a free screening and conversation on the nuances of color and craft through the lenses of Black creators at 2220 Arts + Archives in Los Angeles on June 23rd. Featuring films by Rikkí Wright, Darol Olu Kae, and Kya Lou, the event will include a post-screening conversation with all three filmmakers discussing their work. Refreshments will be served, and copies of Seen 004 will be available for purchase. More information on the launch event may be accessed here. 

    This issue of Seen also marks the first edition with Dessane Lopez Cassell in the role of Editor-in-Chief. Cassell, who guest-edited issue 002, has been a longtime BlackStar Film Festival program committee member, last serving on the experimental committee in 2022. Most recently, she worked as the reviews editor at Hyperallergic. 

    “With Seen 004, we look forward to expanding the journal’s vision and reach. The LA launch event on the 23rd marks a growing commitment to connecting with new audiences and championing artists and cultural critics of color across the globe and beyond our home in Philadelphia,” Cassell noted. 

    The full list of Seen 004 contributors includes Alia Swastika, Beandrea July, Bedatri D. Choudhury, Camae Ayewa, Darol Olu Kae, Deborah A. Thomas, Elizabeth Méndez-Berry, Jasmine Weber, Jeff Chang, Jenzia Burgos, Mahasen Nasser-Eldin, Poulomi Das, Sky Hopinka, Yume Murphy, Zeba Blay, and Zoé Samudzi. 

    The issue’s cover features a photograph of filmmaker Martine Syms by Elliott Jerome Brown Jr. 

    In addition to Kae and Cassell, the editorial staff includes: Caroline Washington⁠⁠, Art Director; Nehad Khader⁠⁠, Managing Editor⁠⁠; Leo Brooks⁠⁠, Design Manager; Imran Siddiquee, Chief Communications Officer; Jasmine Weber⁠⁠, Reviews and Features Editor⁠⁠; Kavita Rajanna⁠⁠, Essays Editor⁠⁠; Yasmine Espert⁠⁠, Interviews & Profiles Editor⁠⁠; Shauna Swartz⁠⁠, Copyeditor⁠⁠⁠⁠; Sydney Alicia Rodriguez, Program Associate; Ashley Ijoema Omoma, Program Coordinator; Chili Shi, Editorial & Design Intern, and Maori Karmael Holmes, Founding Editor.⁠⁠

    Seen’s Editorial Advisory Board consists of Jeff Chang, Akiba Solomon, John L. Jackson, Jr., Louis Massiah, Adam Piron, Roya Rastegar, Sally Singer, Elizabeth Méndez Berry, Tarana Burke, Greg Tate (In Memoriam), Gina Duncan, and Zaheer Ali.

    Seen may be purchased via local, international, and online outlets, including: BYE BYE NEIGHBOR, Forin Cafe, Hammer Museum, Harriett’s Bookshop, magCulture, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, McNally Jackson, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia Printworks, Reparations Club, The Sable Collective, The Studio Museum in Harlem, Tomorrow Today, Ulises, Uncle Bobbie’s, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and YOWIE. 

    To purchase a copy, visit http://blackstarfest.org/seen for more information.

    Among BlackStar Projects’ continuing initiatives are the BlackStar Film Festival, celebrating its eleventh edition this summer from August 3 – 7 with a lineup of seventy-six films from across the globe; the William and Louise Greaves Filmmaker Seminar; and Many Lumens with Maori Karmael Holmes—BlackStar’s signature podcast, which finds BlackStar founder Holmes in dialogue with the most groundbreaking artists, changemakers, and cultural workers of today. The organization also celebrated the beginning of this decade of expansion with the opening of a new headquarters this spring.

    For more information on Seen, the BlackStar Film Festival, and other BlackStar programs, visit blackstarfest.org.

    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

    Senior Director, Cultural Counsel

    ed@culturalcounsel.com

    Sam Riehl

    Senior Account Executive, Cultural Counsel 

    sam@culturalcounsel.com

    Emma Frohardt

    Senior Account Coordinator, Cultural Counsel

    emma@culturalcounsel.com

  • BlackStar Projects Announces Film Lineup for 2022 Festival

    BlackStar Projects Announces Film Lineup for 2022 Festival

    BlackStar Projects, the premier organization celebrating visionary Black, Brown, and Indigenous film and media artists, today announced the films selected for inclusion in this year’s 11th annual BlackStar Film Festival. 

    The festival will take place August 3-7, 2022 in a hybrid format, with select in-person screenings, live programs, and panels at Penn Live Arts at Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, and online events accessible to a global audience. It will include narrative features and shorts, documentary features and shorts, and experimental films. Festival attendees will also have access to a range of programs, conversations, and parties across the city. 

    Passes for the festival are now available for purchase here. An all-access pass is currently available for an early bird rate of $200 (normally $250), and a virtual festival pass is currently available for an early bird rate of $100 (normally $125). Individual tickets for virtual and in-person screenings, which go on sale in early July, will be $5 and $15, respectively.

    The 2022 BlackStar Film Festival is set to feature a total of 76 films representing 27 countries, including 16 world, 8 North America, 12 East Coast, and 8 US premieres. 25 films will be Philadelphia premieres. 

    “Following the success of last year’s 10th anniversary celebration, we are thrilled to present this year’s festival and hope it allows filmmakers of the global majority to forge new connections with their audiences,” says BlackStar Founder, Artistic Director, and CEO Maori Karmael Holmes. “We curate every aspect of our events to be intentional community building efforts, centered on joy, radical care, and thriving, and we are excited to witness how this year’s festival embodies that spirit.” 

    “We are excited to continue connecting with and welcoming our community in-person and virtually. This festival is a storytelling celebration with programming that has lots of people in mind—from yoga for families to parties to issue-based documentaries and horror films,” added Festival Director Nehad Khader. 

    Stills of four of the films that will be featured in the 2022 BlackStar Film Festival.

    Stills from (clockwise from top left): Jasmine is a Star, ᎤᏕᏲᏅ (What They’ve Been Taught), The Spirit God Gave Us, and Tug of War.

    Selections from this year’s lineup include: 

    Aftershock—a feature documentary directed by Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee—follows two families as they galvanize activists, birth-workers, and physicians to reckon with the US maternal health crisis after having lost loved ones due to childbirth complications.

    Blackalachia—an experimental film by Moses Sumney featuring a live conceptual performance with a 7-piece band atop the Blue Ridge Mountains—captures the intersection between nature, music, dance, and cinematography.

    Conspiracy—an experimental film co-directed by Simone Leigh and Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich—was shot in Leigh’s studio on the occasion of her historic exhibition in the United States Pavilion at the 2022 Venice Biennale.

    Jasmine is a Star—a feature narrative directed by Jo Rochelle—follows the journey of a determined 16-year-old with albinism (lack of pigment in the hair, skin, and eyes) who makes it her mission to become a professional model in her hometown of Minneapolis, while attempting to go unnoticed in every other aspect of her teenage life.

    Let the Little Light Shine—a feature documentary directed by Kevin Shaw—follows parents, students, and educators as they fight for the survival of a thriving, top-ranked Chicago African American elementary school that is threatened to be closed and replaced by a new high school that favors the community’s wealthier residents.

    Mars One—a feature narrative directed by Gabriel Martins—chronicles a Brazilian family coping with an uncertain future as a far-right conservative leader rises to power. Through this time of turbulent change, the family’s optimism and deep capacity for love guides them.

    Rewind & Play—a feature documentary directed by Alain Gomis—spotlights Thelonius Monk recording a French TV show in 1969. 

    Selahy “My Weapon”—a short narrative directed by Alaa Zabara—follows a young, deaf Arab girl, born in the ravages of a war zone, whose only weapons are her hearing aids and an old video camera.

    Storming Caesar’s Palace—a feature documentary directed by Hazel Gurland-Pooler— uplifts the story of Las Vegas activist Ruby Duncan and a band of ordinary mothers who launched one of the most extraordinary, yet forgotten, feminist, anti-poverty movements in U.S. history.

    Sub Eleven Seconds—a short documentary directed by Bafic—ruminates on time, loss, and hope; it offers a poetic imagining of the quest of Sha’Carri Richardson, a young track and field athlete, to achieve her dream of qualifying for the Olympic Games.

    The Panola Project—a short documentary directed by Rachael DeCruz and Jeremy S. Levine—highlights the heroic efforts of Dorothy Oliver to keep her small town of Panola, Alabama safe from COVID-19, chronicling how an often-overlooked rural Black community came together in creative ways to survive.

    The Spirit God Gave Us—a short narrative directed by Michael Donte—is a love story about the intersection of faith and queer love. Following two young Black men who volunteer as ushers for their Baptist church, it chronicles their journey towards love, connection and spirituality.

    Tug of War—a feature narrative directed by Amil Shivji—is a coming-of-age political love story set in the final years of British colonial Zanzibar. Denge, a young freedom fighter, meets Yasmin, an Indian-Zanzibari woman, in the middle of the night as she is on her way to be married. 

    We Still Here / Nos Tenemos—a feature documentary directed by Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi— showcases the aftermath of Hurricane Maria for the young residents of Comerio, Puerto Rico, who empower themselves to transform their lives and communities despite the disregard of the government and poor relief management.

    ᎤᏕᏲᏅ (What They’ve Been Taught)—a short documentary directed by Brit Hensel and filmed on the Qualla Boundary and Cherokee Nation—explores expressions of reciprocity in the Cherokee world, brought to life through a story told by an elder and first language speaker.

    This edition of BlackStar Film Festival also marks the world premiere of short films created through BlackStar’s Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab, presented by Black Experience on Xfinity, following the announcement of the Lab’s inaugural cohort last fall. An opportunity designed to uplift emerging and mid-career artists in the Greater Philadelphia area, the Lab has supported four filmmakers by making equipment, space, crew, mentorship, funding, and critical feedback available over the course of the past year. The Lab’s 2021–2022 fellows are Bettina Escauriza, Jasmine Lynea, Xenia Matthews, and Julian Turner.

    Bettina Escauriza’s project, Tonight, We Eat Flowers, centers on a person who sells hold music to companies, employing magical realism and the absurd to disrupt expectations. Jasmine Lynea’s hybrid film, The Love Machine, is set in 2036 North Philadelphia in a dominantly Black neighborhood and focuses on cultivating a new perspective on love. Julian Turner’s short, The Big Three, engages a conversation surrounding Black representation and artistic ownership through a musical setting. Xenia Matthews’s film Ourika! utilizes surrealism, animation, and multimedia elements to further the ongoing conversation on the colonization of Black women’s bodies in art and material culture.

    In addition to hybrid film screenings, there will be a slate of festival programming—both online and in-person in Philadelphia—this year. Select highlights include:

    • [dot] A conversation with Mira Nair, the 2022 recipient of BlackStar’s Luminary Award (Virtual)
    • [dot] Nightly episodes of The Daily Jawn—a talk show hosted by Maori Karmael Holmes and Rashid Zakat featuring interviews with filmmakers, music, and much more—live with an audience at Penn Live Arts (In-Person)
    • [dot] Opening and closing night parties, plus a co-hosted First Friday! at the Barnes Museum, featuring live music by Omar’s Hat (In-Person)
    • [dot] A panel on disability justice and filmmaking with visionary cultural workers, moderated by  Andraéa LaVant (Virtual) 

     

    BlackStar Projects has seen considerable and continued growth over the past decade, both in the scope and reach of its festival and with new and continuing initiatives for the organization year-round. Last year’s 10th anniversary BlackStar Film Festival featured approximately 80 films, including 19 world premieres, and represented 27 countries. It was attended by more than 3,000 in Philadelphia and reached nearly 1 million viewers virtually around the world. 

    In addition to presenting an array of live programs, panels, and select in-person events and screenings, 2021 also marked BlackStar’s selection by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as a qualifying festival for both short documentary and short narrative films, making BlackStar’s Best Narrative Short and Best Documentary Short winners eligible for entrance at the Academy Awards. 

    Among BlackStar Projects’ continuing initiatives are Seen, a journal of film and visual culture that will publish its fourth issue this summer, the William and Louise Greaves Filmmaker Seminar, and Many Lumens with Maori Karmael Holmes—BlackStar’s signature podcast, which finds BlackStar founder Maori Karmael Holmes in dialogue with the most groundbreaking artists, changemakers, and cultural workers of today. The organization also celebrated the beginning of this decade of expansion with the opening of a new headquarters this spring.

    Information on judging, sponsors, additional programming, and events will be announced soon. For more information on the festival and its programs, visit https://www.blackstarfest.org.

    The lineup of films is as follows, with additional films to be announced in the coming weeks:

    A Morsel of Love, directed by Helia Behrooz and Sana Norouzbaki

    The African Desperate, directed by Martine Syms

    Aftershock, directed by Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee

    Ãjãí: The Headball Game of the Myky and Manoki, directed by Typju Myky and André Lopes

    Angakusajaujuq: The Shaman’s Apprentice, directed by Zacharias Kunuk

    Another Story (with esperanza spalding), directed by Adrien Gystere Peskine and Anthony Peskine

    Barry the Beekeeper, directed by Ikram Ahmed

    Big Three, directed by Julian Turner

    Black Beauty, directed by Elle Moxley

    Blackalachia, directed by Moses Sumney

    Body Language, directed by Odu Adamu

    Bonded, directed by Shobhit Jain

    By Water, directed by Iyabo Kwayana

    Clones, directed by Letia Solomon

    Conspiracy, directed by Simone Leigh and Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich

    Echolocation, directed by Nadia Shihab

    The Fire This Time, directed by Mariam Ghani

    For Love, directed by Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor

    Foreign in a Domestic Sense, directed by Sofía Gallisá Muriente and Natalia Lassalle Morillo

    Forgotten Paradise: Dream the Other Side of the River, directed by Charlotte Brathwaite

    The Fourfold, directed by Alisi Telengut

    Freedom Hill, directed by Resita Cox

    Freshwater, directed by dream hampton

    The Game God(S), directed by Adrian L. Burrell

    Glitter Ain’t Gold, directed by Christian Nolan Jones

    Golden Jubilee, directed by Suneil Sanzgiri

    Half-Day, directed by Morgan Mathews

    Hazing, directed by Byron Hurt

    Hoop Dreams, directed by Kasey Elise Walker

    Jasmine Is A Star, directed by Jo Rochelle

    Kash Kash, directed by Lea Najjar

    Let the Little Light Shine, directed by Kevin Shaw

    Lingui, The Sacred Bonds, directed by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun

    Losing Joy, directed by Juliana Kasumu

    The Love Machine, directed by Jasmine Lynea

    Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power, directed by Geeta Gandbhir and Sam Pollard

    Mars One, directed by Gabriel Martins

    Men Nan Men, directed by Wilson Edmond

    My Parents’ Bazaar, directed by Rakesh Narwani

    My Saints Recognize Your Saints, directed by Rodrigo Antonio

    Night, directed by Ahmad Saleh

    Night Shift, directed by Bim Ajadi

    One Magenta Afternoon, directed by Vernon Jordan, III

    One Take Grace, directed by Lindiwe Matshikiza

    Ourika, directed by Xenia Matthews

    The Panola Project, directed by Rachael DeCruz and Jeremy S. Levine

    The Passion of Remembrance, directed by Isaac Julien

    PATTY vs. PATTY, directed by Chris Strikes

    Piiksi/Huia (Bird), directed by Cian Elyse White and Joshua Manyheads

    Pili Ka Moʻo, directed by Justyn Ah Chong

    Quarantine Kids, directed by Bilal Motley and Bria Motley

    Rewind & Play, directed by Alain Gomis

    The Ritual to Beauty, directed by Shenny De Los Angeles and Maria Marrone

    The Season of Burning Things, directed by Gouled Ahmed Asmaa Jama

    Selahy “My Weapon,” directed by Alaa Zabara

    Show Me Other Places, directed by Rajee Samarasinghe

    Silent Beauty, directed by Jasmín Mara López

    The Spirit God Gave Us, directed by Michael Donte

    Still Waters, directed by Aurora Brachman

    Storming Caesars Palace, directed by Hazel Gurland-Pooler

    Strictly Two Wheel, directed by Ania Freer

    Sub Eleven Seconds, directed by BAFIC

    Sunday Morning, directed by Bruno Ribeiro

    The Syed Xmas Eve Game Night, directed by Fawzia Mirza

    Teine Sā – The Ancient Ones, directed by Matasila Freshwater, Mario Gaoa, Miki Magasiva, Anapela Polataivao, and Mario Faumui

    Tomorrow Is Another Day, directed by Ng’endo Mukii

    Tonight, We Eat Flowers, directed by Bettina Escauriza

    The Town, directed by Lindiwe Makgalemele

    Tug Of War, directed by Amil Shivji

    ᎤᏕᏲᏅ (What They’ve Been Taught), directed by Brit Hensel

    Vortex, directed by Rikkí Wright

    We Still Here / Nos Tenemos, directed by Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi

    Weidle’s, directed by Kevin Jerome Everson

    Wisdom Gone Wild, directed by Rea Tajiri

    Woman of the Earth, directed by Evelyn Mercedes Muñoz Marroquín

    You Can Always Come Home, directed by Juan Luis Matos

    This year’s festival is presented with the support of the following sponsors: America ReFramed and POV, Annenberg School For Communication, Black Public Media, Catapult Film Fund, Center For Cultural Power, Drexel Westphal College of Media Arts, Expressway Grip, Eventive, Firelight Media, Gotham Film & Media Institute, Impact Partners, Indego, ITVS, Leeway Foundation, Lionsgate/STARZ, MediaJustice, NEON, Open Society Foundations, PBS, PECO, Philadelphia Foundation, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Red Bull, Scattergood Foundation, Temple University Film and Media Arts Department, The Study Hotels, Unique Photo, Urban Affairs Coalition, Urban Outfitters, Warner Bros/Discovery, WestxEast, and the Wyncote Foundation.

    BlackStar Projects and its year-round programs are generously supported by 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, National Endowment for the Arts, Nathan Cummings Foundation, Perspective Fund, Pew Center for Arts and Heritage, Philadelphia 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.

    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

    Director, Cultural Counsel

    ed@culturalcounsel.com

    Sam Riehl 

    Senior Account Executive, Cultural Counsel

    sam@culturalcounsel.com 

    Emma Frohardt

    Senior Account Coordinator, Cultural Counsel

    emma@culturalcounsel.com

  • BlackStar’s Podcast, Many Lumens with Maori Karmael Holmes, Returns for a Second Season

    BlackStar’s Podcast, Many Lumens with Maori Karmael Holmes, Returns for a Second Season

    BlackStar Projects, the premier organization celebrating visionary Black, Brown, and Indigenous film and media artists, is pleased to announce a second season of its  podcast Many Lumens with Maori Karmael Holmes. The first episode—featuring producer, professor, cultural consultant, self-described “maroon academic,” and author Dr. Yaba Blay in conversation with Holmes—debuts today. Following the success of the first season, which highlighted  guests such as  dream hampton and Arthur Jafa, the second season includes twelve episodes, available weekly on Wednesdays through July 27. 

    Audiences will hear from trailblazers such as interdisciplinary scholar Imani Perry, currently the Hughes-Rogers Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University; artist Amy Sherald, who became a household name after painting the official portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama; and poet Sonia Sanchez, a leader of the historic Black Arts Movement. This season will also feature old friends of the organization, including filmmaker and artistTerence Nance, whose HBO series Random Acts of Flyness premiered at the BlackStar Film Festival in 2018. Spanning genres and generations, these exchanges will explore histories, forge communities across time and space, and imagine our collective future.

    “I’m thrilled to share new episodes of Many Lumens with our listeners across the globe,” said Maori Karmael Holmes. “We have an incredible lineup of guests this season working in a myriad of fields including visual art, film, music, and food who generously spent time with me sharing insight into what has shaped them. I hope those tuning in will join me in learning from these radical thinkers.”

    The season’s first episode, available now, presents Blay and Holmes discussing standards of beauty, the academy, and the pressures levied upon Black women to conform. Many Lumens listeners can tune into new and previous episodes on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, RSS, 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 a myriad of programming across film and visual culture year-round, including the twice-annual journal Seen, the podcast Many Lumens, and the Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab, among other initiatives. 

    Press Contacts

    Ed Winstead

    Senior Director, Cultural Counsel

    ed@culturalcounsel.com

    Sam Riehl

    Senior Account Executive, Cultural Counsel

    sam@culturalcounsel.com

    Emma Frohardt

    Senior Account Coordinator, Cultural Counsel

    emma@culturalcounsel.com

  • BlackStar Projects Announces Mira Nair as 2022 Luminary Award Recipient

    BlackStar Projects Announces Mira Nair as 2022 Luminary Award Recipient

    BlackStar Projects, the premier organization celebrating visionary Black, Brown, and Indigenous film and media artists, is thrilled to announce the 2022 recipient of the Richard Nichols Luminary Award: Mira Nair.

    Nair is an Academy-Award nominated director, filmmaker, and activist. Best known for her visually dense films, her debut feature, Salaam Bombay! (1988) won the Caméra d’Or at Cannes, followed by the groundbreaking Mississippi Masala (1991), and the Golden Globe & Emmy-winning Hysterical Blindness (2001). She was the first woman to win Venice Film Festival’s coveted Golden Lion, and was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian honor, in 2012, among many other accolades. She is also the founder of the Salaam Baalak Trust, which provides access to education, mental and physical health services, job placement, counseling, and shelter to street children, and the Maisha Film Lab in East Africa to train film makers on the continent.

    The annual award is named after the late Richard Nichols—the manager and creative genius behind The Roots, as well as mentor to BlackStar Founder, Artistic Director, and CEO Maori Karmael Holmes—and honors an individual for their contributions as artists and social change agents. Past recipients include Menelik Shabazz, Haile Gerima, Julie Dash, RZA, Ava DuVernay, dream hampton, and Marcia Smith. 

    “We are thrilled to honor Mira Nair, a truly trailblazing artistic force, with this year’s Luminary Award,” said Maori Karmael Holmes, Founder, Artistic Director, and CEO of BlackStar Projects. “The breadth of her work as an artist and an activist, and the way those two passions inform and interact with each other in everything she does, have left a beautiful and enduring impact on our field.”

    BlackStar will honor Nair at this year’s BlackStar Film Festival, set to take place August 3-7, 2022. Similar to last year’s festival, the eleventh edition will be hybrid, with select in-person screenings at Penn Live Arts at Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia. Information on additional Philadelphia showings, venues, and in-person programming is forthcoming.

    This year’s Festival will also feature the fourth annual BlackStar Pitch, a live event where filmmakers pitch their short non-fiction projects in front of a virtual audience and panel of judges for the opportunity to receive an artist grant from OneFifty, a Warner Bros. / Discovery brand. A second-place winner will receive an invitation to be a part of IF/Then Shorts’ FINISH LINE program. Applications for the BlackStar Pitch are now open.

    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.

    For more information on the Luminary Award or the BlackStar Film Festival, please visit blackstarfest.org.

    About Mira Nair

    Mira Nair is an Academy-Award nominated director best known for her visually dense films that pulsate with life. Her debut feature, Salaam Bombay! (1988) won the Caméra d’Or at Cannes, followed by the groundbreaking Mississippi Masala (1991), the Golden Globe & Emmy-winning Hysterical Blindness (2001), and the international hit Monsoon Wedding (2001), for which she was the first woman to win Venice Film Festival’s coveted Golden Lion. A fiercely independent filmmaker, she then made Vanity Fair (2004), The Namesake (2006), The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012), and Queen of Katwe (2016). In 2020, Nair directed an adaptation of Vikram Seth’s epic tale, A Suitable Boy, for BBC/Netflix, a sprawling tale of identity and love in a newly independent India. Mira has just completed the pilot of  National Treasure for DisneyPlus. Future projects include The Jungle Prince of Delhi for Amazon and Nair’s Monsoon Wedding, the Musical, heading to Broadway. Her next feature film is an international musical with Pharrell Williams. An activist by nature, Nair founded Salaam Baalak Trust for street children in 1989, and the Maisha Film Lab in East Africa to train film makers on the continent in 2004. In 2012, she was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian honor.

    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, and the Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab, among other initiatives. 

    Press Contacts

    Ed Winstead

    Senior Director, Cultural Counsel

    ed@culturalcounsel.com

    Sam Riehl

    Senior Account Executive, Cultural Counsel

    sam@culturalcounsel.com

    Emma Frohardt

    Senior Account Coordinator, Cultural Counsel

    emma@culturalcounsel.com

  • BlackStar Projects Announces 2022 BlackStar Film Festival

    BlackStar Projects Announces 2022 BlackStar Film Festival

    BlackStar Projects, the premier organization celebrating visionary Black, Brown, and Indigenous film and media artists, is proud to announce that the next edition of its annual film festival will take place August 3-7, 2022. The 2022 BlackStar Film Festival will be held in a hybrid format again in light of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.

    This year marks the 11th edition of the BlackStar Film Festival. The organization celebrated the beginning of a new decade of growth and expansion with the opening of a new office space this month. Other new and continuing initiatives include the Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab, which announced its inaugural class in 2021, Seen, a journal of film and visual culture which will publish its fourth issue later this year, 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.

    Submissions remain open until April 1st.

    “Following the success of last year’s 10th anniversary festival, we are thrilled to continue building on that momentum as we support visionary Black, Brown, and Indigenous filmmakers and connect them with new opportunities and audiences,” said Maori Karmael Holmes, CEO, Artistic Director and Founder of BlackStar Projects. “We look forward to hosting another inspired gathering in-person and online this August.”

    Based on the success of the day-long filmmaker symposium at the annual BlackStar Film Festival, the organization most recently hosted the second edition of the William and Louise Greaves Filmmaker Seminar from March 18-20, 2022. This three-day virtual gathering for Black, Brown, and Indigenous artists working in cinematic realms featured a keynote address on film futurism from award-winning filmmaker, artist, and technologist Violeta Ayala; live director’s commentaries with Haile Gerima (Harvest: 3,000 Years) and Jessica Beshir (Faya Dayi); a work-in-progress screening with Jude Chehab; curated programs of film screenings and workshops; panel discussions highlighting industry professionals; and much more. 183 individuals attended this year’s seminar, calling in from a dozen countries.

    Last year’s 10th anniversary BlackStar Film Festival featured approximately 80 films, including 19 world premieres, and represented 27 countries. In addition to presenting an array of live programs, panels, and select in-person events and screenings, 2021 also marked BlackStar’s selection by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as a qualifying festival for both short documentary and short narrative films, making BlackStar’s Best Narrative Short and Best Documentary Short winners eligible for entrance at the Academy Awards.

    Similar to last year’s festival, the 2022 BlackStar Film Festival will be hybrid, with select in-person screenings at Penn Live Arts at Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia. Information on additional Philadelphia showings and venues is forthcoming.

    BlackStar Projects and its year-round programs are generously supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, 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, Mighty Arrow Family Foundation, Nathan Cummings Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Open Society Foundations, Perspective Fund, The Philadelphia Foundation, PopCulture Collaborative, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Samuel S. Fels Fund, Surdna 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.

    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 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, and produces the twice-annual journal Seen.

     

    Press Contacts

    Ed Winstead

    Director, Cultural Counsel

    ed@culturalcounsel.com

     

    Emma Frohardt

    Account Coordinator, Cultural Counsel

    emma@culturalcounsel.com

  • BlackStar Continues Growth With Six New Hires, 2022 Film Festival Submissions Now Open

    BlackStar Continues Growth With Six New Hires, 2022 Film Festival Submissions Now Open

    BlackStar Projects, producer of the acclaimed BlackStar Film Festival, is thrilled to announce several new hires and staff promotions this January. Six new individuals are joining the team, bringing their respective expertise to the rapidly growing organization. This organizational growth represents the culmination of BlackStar’s tenth anniversary celebrations over the past year.

    New additions to BlackStar include Akili Davis as Administrative Coordinator, Ashley Ijoema Omoma as Program Coordinator, Autumn F. Valdez as Business Manager, Dessane Lopez Cassell as Editor-in-Chief of Seen, Mariam Dembele as Marketing Associate, and Patrice Worthy as Director of Programs.

    Dessane Lopez Cassell’s hire was previously announced last November with the debut of Seen Issue 003. Issue 004, the first with Cassell in the role of Editor-in-Chief, will be released this Spring.

    Several team members have also been promoted, including Leo Brooks, who will assume the role of Design Manager. Imran Siddiquee will assume the role of Chief Communications Officer and Sara Zia Ebrahimi will become Chief Operations Officer this January.

    “We’re thrilled to have these incredibly talented individuals joining our team as we continue to expand the scope of our organization and vision,” said Maori Karmael Holmes, Artistic Director and CEO of BlackStar. “I am also delighted to have Sara and Imran join me in leading the organization as we move into the second decade of BlackStar, leveraging our collective expertise and imagination for another transformative decade.”

    BlackStar has opened festival submissions this week for their 2022 iteration, set to take place August 3-7. To be eligible for consideration, films must be directed by a person who identifies as Black, Brown, or Indigenous, or tell a story of Black, Brown or Indigenous experiences. Last year’s festival featured approximately 80 films, including 19 world premieres and representing 27 countries. Submissions may be uploaded via FilmFreeway.

    For more information on festival submissions, please visit blackstarfest.org/submissions/.

    In 2021, BlackStar presented the 10th annual BlackStar Film Festival, launched the Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab, presented a new limited-edition print each month through the BlackStar 10th Anniversary Print Sale, shared the first season of the Many Lumens podcast, and published two editions of Seen, their signature journal of film and visual culture. In 2022, this expansion will continue with additional signature programming alongside new events. More information on this year’s festival, and other BlackStar programs, will be announced soon.

    For more information about the BlackStar team, please visit blackstarfest.org/staff.

     

    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, and produces the twice-annual journal Seen.

     

    Press Contacts

    Ed Winstead

    Director, Cultural Counsel

    ed@culturalcounsel.com

     

    Emma Frohardt

    Account Coordinator, Cultural Counsel

    emma@culturalcounsel.com

  • BlackStar Launches Third Issue of Seen, Announces New Editor-In-Chief, Dessane Lopez Cassell

    BlackStar Launches Third Issue of Seen, Announces New Editor-In-Chief, Dessane Lopez Cassell

    BlackStar Projects, producer of the BlackStar Film Festival, is proud to announce the launch of the third issue of Seen, its twice-annual journal of film and visual culture made for and about Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities globally.

    Issue 003 of Seen is available for order here, and the print and digital editions will be officially released on November 18th.

    Guest-edited by artist Darol Olu Kae, Seen’s third issue includes essays, reviews, interviews, original art and photography, and more. The issue features a wide range of voices, all touching upon a series of questions posed by Ghanaian filmmaker Nuotama Bodomo during her keynote address at BlackStar’s 2021 William and Louise Greaves Filmmaker Seminar: “Can we see ourselves?” “Can we see each other?” and “Can we see together?”

    “Collectively, the pieces in Seen, issue 003, orbit around Bodomo’s questions, gathering up accumulative power, and extending her thoughts into new directions and terrain,” writes Kae in his introduction to the issue. “The participating artists, writers, and filmmakers offer a multitude of critical practices and approaches that help think beyond the restrictions of film and visual culture as it is presently defined.”

    Highlights from the third issue of Seen include Jessica Lynne‘s profile of photographer Texas Isaiah; an interview with filmmakers Sophia Nahli Alison and Merawi Gerima on the power of Black filmmaking collectives in Los Angeles, conducted by Dr. Philana Payton; an essay on Christopher Kahunahana’s first full-length feature film by cultural critic and historian Jeff Chang; two interviews with Moroccan filmmaker Ahmed Bouanani from the early 1970s, translated by Omar Berrada; Jonathan Ali’s exploration of the possibilities of Caribbean cinema through a conversation with Maya Cozier about her debut fiction film; DJ Lynnée Denise’s review of Sacha Jenkins’s documentary Bitchin’: the Sound and Fury of Rick James; and a conversation between Amir George and filmmaker Miko Revereza. 

    This exciting moment for Seen also marks the appointment of Dessane Lopez Cassell to the role of  Editor-in-Chief. Cassell, who guest-edited Issue 002, has been a longtime BlackStar Film Festival program committee member, last serving on the experimental committee in 2021. Most recently, she worked as the reviews editor at Hyperallergic. A curator and former museum worker, Cassell  has organized curatorial projects and screenings at the Museum of Modern Art, the Studio Museum in Harlem, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music, among others.

    “Learning, thinking, and growing with the BlackStar team has been a true professional pleasure over the last few years and I’m thrilled at the opportunity to join them full-time. I look forward to continuing to champion artists and cultural critics of color as we grow Seen’s vision and reach, starting with the brilliant work put forward in issue 003,” Cassell noted. 

    Issue 004, the first with Cassell in the role of Editor-in-Chief, will be released in Spring 2022.

    The full list of Seen Issue 003 contributors includes Abby Sun, Akinola Davies Jr, Amir George, Cassie da Costa, Jeff Chang, Jessica Lynne, Jonathan Ali, Kojo Abudu, Leila Weefur, Lynnée Denise, Nuotama Bodomo, Omar Berrada, Philana Payton, ruth gebreyesus, Samia Labidi, and Suzi Analogue. 

    The issue’s cover features the work of filmmaker Sophia Nahli Allison. 

    In addition to Kae and Cassell, the editorial staff includes: Caroline Washington⁠⁠, Art Director; Nehad Khader⁠⁠, Managing Editor⁠⁠; Leo Brooks⁠⁠, Design Associate; Imran Siddiquee, Communications Director; Jasmine Weber⁠⁠, Interviews Editor⁠⁠; Kavita Rajanna⁠⁠, Essays Editor⁠⁠; Yasmine Espert⁠⁠, Profiles & Reviews Editor⁠⁠; Sydney Alicia Rodriguez, Program Associate; Shauna Swartz⁠⁠, Copyeditor⁠⁠⁠⁠; and Maori Karmael Holmes, Founding Editor.⁠⁠

    Seen’s Editorial Advisory Board consists of Jeff Chang, Akiba Solomon, John L. Jackson, Jr., Louis Massiah, Adam Piron, Roya Rastegar, Sally Singer, Elizabeth Méndez Berry, Tarana Burke, Greg Tate, Gina Duncan, and Zaheer Ali.

    Seen may be purchased via local, international, and online outlets, including: BYE BYE NEIGHBOR, Forin Cafe, Harriett’s Bookshop, magCulture, McNally Jackson, Philadelphia Printworks, Reparations Club, The Sable Collective, The Studio Museum in Harlem, Tomorrow Today, Ulises and Uncle Bobbie’s. 

    To purchase a copy, visit seen.blackstarfest.org/Stockists for more information.

    In addition to the annual BlackStar Film Festival, this year has marked the launch of several other new and ongoing initiatives at BlackStar, including the Blackstar 10th Anniversary Print Sale and podcast Many Lumens. A new limited edition print by celebrated artists is released on the 15th of every month to fundraise in honor of Blackstar’s first decade. Participating artists include Garrett Bradley, Arthur Jafa, Kahlil Joseph, and Cauleen Smith. Meanwhile, BlackStar’s new podcast Many Lumens now has five episodes available — all illuminating conversations between BlackStar Artistic Director and CEO Maori Karmael Holmes and a range of guests, including dream hampton, Janicza Bravo, and Blitz Bazawule. 

    For more information on Seen, the BlackStar Film Festival, and other BlackStar programs, visit blackstarfest.org.

     

    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, and produces the twice-annual journal Seen.

     

    Press Contacts

    Ed Winstead

    Director, Cultural Counsel

    ed@culturalcounsel.com

     

    Emma Frohardt

    Account Coordinator, Cultural Counsel

    emma@culturalcounsel.com