Category: Press Release

The BlackStar Film Festival, the world’s premier celebration of Black, Brown, and Indigenous film and video artists, presented this year with lead sponsor Color of Change, is pleased to announce this year’s award-winning films.

Winners include Best Feature Documentary Stateless (Apátrida), exploring the depths of the racial hatred and institutionalized oppression that divide Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and Best Feature Narrative Miss Juneteenth, in which a former beauty queen and single mom prepares her rebellious teenage daughter for the “Miss Juneteenth” pageant. The full list of winning films is below.

This year also marks the first Vimeo Staff Pick Award at BlackStar. Short films featured in the festival are eligible for this award, which includes a $2,500 cash prize and, of course, a Vimeo Staff Pick. The winning film, Curtis Essel’s ALLUMUAH, will be available to watch worldwide for free on Vimeo starting at 10:30am EST on August 27.

Lionsgate and STARZ also partnered with BlackStar to present the first Lionsgate/STARZ Short Film Award this year. The five winners of this prize will each receive $1,000 each and have the opportunity to showcase their films on STARZ in Black. Winners include Martina Lee’s Black Boy Joy, Oniffe White’s Echoes of a Winter Sunshine, Amy Aniobi’s HONEYMOON, Suha Araj’s Rosa and Felicia Pride’s tender.

The winner of the second annual BlackStar Pitch, offering filmmakers of color the chance to propose their works-in-progress to an illustrious panel of funders, distributors and producers, was Iyabo Kwayana’s By Water. Kwayana will receive a $25,000 co-production deal with WORLD Channel and free graphic design services from Melancholy Star. Honorable Mention was awarded to Yeelen Cohen for Fighting for the Light; Cohen will receive $2,500 from IF/Then along with free graphic design services from Melancholy Star.

Finally, BlackStar members voted Legendary: 30 Years of Philly Ballroom and Daughters Of (In Our Mothers’ Gardens) as the winners of the Shine Award, given each year to films directed by Philadelphia-based filmmakers. This year 11 films were eligible for the prize, marking a steep increase in Philadelphia-based representation for the festival. Both Legendary and Daughters Of were world premieres.

This year’s BlackStar Film Festival lineup included approximately 90 films, including 24 world premieres and representing more than 20 countries. In addition to presenting an array of live programs and panels, this year also marked the debut of BlackStar Live!, a special daily morning show featuring filmmaker interviews, live performances, astrological updates and roundtable discussions of the day’s film programming, streamed exclusively on Facebook Live. The festival also featured three live drive-in screenings in the parking lot in front of Philadelphia’s Mann Center for the Performing Arts in West Fairmount Park. These screenings — Be Water, The Forty-Year-Old Version and Miss Juneteenth — were presented by Xfinity in partnership with Lyft, Red Bull and the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation, as part of their new Philly Drive-In Movie Nights initiative. The Forty-Year-Old Version was presented by Netflix.

BlackStar receives support from its dedicated audience along with private foundations, public agencies, corporate, non-profit and individual sponsors. Our lead sponsor for 2020 is Color of Change. Additional supporters include (in alphabetical order): Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, All Ages Productions, American Documentary/POV, Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Annenberg School for Communication at University of Pennsylvania, Apple Original Films, Barra Foundation, Catapult Film Fund, Cinereach, Expressway Rentals, Facebook, Ford Foundation/JustFilms, IF/Then, Impact Partners, Independence Public Media Foundation, International Documentary Association, Lionsgate/STARZ, Lyft, MacArthur Foundation, MediaJustice, MING Media, Nathan Cummings Foundation, Netflix, PECO, Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development, Pennsylvania Humanities Council, Philadelphia Cultural Fund, Red Bull, Samuel S. Fels Fund, Sundance Institute, Surdna Foundation, Vimeo, WarnerMedia, Wyncote Foundation, WORLD Channel, and Xfinity.

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

Danellys “D.W.” Wong
Account Coordinator, Cultural Counsel
dw@culturalcounsel.com

Robert Grand
Account Coordinator, Cultural Counsel
robert@culturalcounsel.com

Winning Films:

Best Experimental Film

Jurors: Kamal Aljafari, Filmmaker; David Hartt, Assistant Professor, Graduate Fine Arts, University of Pennsylvania, Stuart Weitzman School of Design; Meg Onli, Andrea B. Laporte Associate Curator, Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania

The Giverny Document (Single Channel)

Dir: Ja’Tovia Gary

Filmed on location in Harlem, USA and in Claude Monet’s historic gardens in Giverny, France, The Giverny Document is a multi-textured cinematic poem that meditates on the safety, bodily autonomy, and creative virtuosity of Black women.

Jury Comment: A timely work that will be discussed well into the future

Best Short Documentary

Jurors: Damani Baker, Filmmaker; dream hampton, Filmmaker & Writer; Chris Hastings, Executive Producer/Editorial Manager, WORLD Channel WGBH

The Heart Still Hums

Dir: Savanah Leaf & Taylor Russell

A documentary short, following five women as they fight for their children through the cycle of homelessness, drug addictions and neglect from their own parents. Unique, yet undoubtedly familiar to many; a story on fear, sacrifice and the unconditional love between a mother and her children.

Jury Comment: The Heart Still Hums is cinematic, intimate, attentive, and empathetic, covering issues of restoration, abolition, and support with deep respect.

*Special Mention

Man of the People

Dir: Amir George

Man of the People is a political thriller centered on the legacy of the first black mayor of Chicago, Harold Washington. A complex unfolding of his two campaign runs and the moments leading to his sudden and mysterious death during his second term. Commissioned by Chicago Film Archives.

Jury Comment: Man of the People is an original approach to biopic. It takes delicate craft to make a story out of archival footage.

Best Short Narrative

Jurors: Lynnée Denise, Artist, Scholar, Writer; Raafi Rivero, Writer/Director; Tourmaline, Artist, Filmmaker, Activist

Rosa

Dir: Suha Araj

While working at her aunt’s flower shop, Rosa takes her job underground when she begins a side business of shipping undocumented bodies to their home countries for burial.

Jury Comment: The filmmaker handles the punitive burdens faced by immigrants with wit, spectacular performances and unlikely connections between characters. It’s a film that moves through politically charged emotions with cinematic grace.

Best Feature Documentary

Jurors: Monika Navarro, Filmmaker and Senior Director of Artist Programs, Firelight Media; Tracy Rector, Managing Director of Storytelling, Nia Tero; Chi-hui Yang, Senior Program Officer, JustFilms, Creativity and Free Expression

Stateless (Apátrida)

Dir: Michèle Stephenson

Through the grassroots campaign of electoral hopeful Rosa Iris, director Michèle Stephenson’s new documentary reveals the depths of racial hatred and institutionalized oppression that divide Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Jury Comment: Stateless is ambitious and innovative in form, telling an important story of borders and national identity with strong characters. The director’s artistry collapses time for stateless Dominicans with Haitian heritage caught in limbo.

*Special Mention

ROCÍO

Dir: Dario Guerrero

After a sudden cancer diagnosis, an undocumented mother of three must choose between seeking treatment in her native Mexico and awaiting certain death in the US.

Jury Comment: Special jury mention goes to ROCÍO, a love letter and tender ode to the power of family, connection, and intimacy, told through a rich home video archive that documents an immigrant family’s joy and grief.

Best Feature Narrative

Jurors: Elissa Blount Moorhead, Artist, Curator, Producer; Ashley Clark, Director, Film Programming, BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music); Rajendra Roy, The Celeste Bartos Chief Curator of Film, MoMA

Miss Juneteenth

Dir: Channing Godfrey Peoples

A former beauty queen and single mom prepares her rebellious teenage daughter for the “Miss Juneteenth” pageant.

Jury Comment: We really love this film: the languid but sure pacing, the performances (and the casting of the locals), the feel for community and tradition, the intergenerational theme, the humor.

Special Prizes:

BlackStar Pitch Winners

Jurors: Opal Bennett, POV Shorts; Jamila Farwell, Netflix; Chloe Gbai, IF/Then; Alex Hannibal, CNN; Chris Hastings, WORLD Channel; Chloe Walters-Wallace, Firelight Media; Chi-hui Yang, JustFilms/Ford Foundation

By Water

Dir: Iyabo Kwayana

A brother’s journey into his own memory becomes a vehicle for reconciliation and healing for his family.

Runner Up

Fighting for the Light

Dir: Yeelen Cohen

That moment when you’re making a film about the Godfather of African Cinema who gave birth to your name but lose sight of who’s making the film.

Lionsgate/STARZ Short Film Award Winners

Black Boy Joy

Dir: Martina Lee

Black Boy Joy is an introspective slice of life story about two generations of Black men, living within the same household, juggling the demands of raising a young son with autism while adapting to their new normal after the death of a loved one.

Echoes of a Winter Sunshine

Dir: Oniffe White

A 16 year old and her 10 year old brother find themselves homeless in Harlem, NY.

HONEYMOON

Dir: Amy Aniobi

HONEYMOON tells the story of a newlywed couple on their first night together, made all the more awkward, romantic and honest, because they only just met.

Rosa

Dir: Suha Araj

While working at her aunt’s flower shop, Rosa takes her job underground when she begins a side business of shipping undocumented bodies to their home countries for burial.

tender

Dir: Felicia Pride

After an unexpected one night stand, two women at very different stages of their lives, share an even more intimate morning after.

Shine Award Winner

Daughters Of (In Our Mothers’ Gardens)

Dir. Shantrelle Patrice Lewis

Daughters Of (In Our Mothers’ Gardens), powered by GirlTrek, examines the immediate and critical importance of self-care and healing for Black women through the lens of their mamas’ mamas’ mamas. So we call their names to reclaim their stories.

Legendary: 30 Years of Philly Ballroom

Dirs. Raishad Hardnett, Lauren M. Schneiderman & Cassie Owens

An inside look into the effort to preserve Philadelphia’s ballroom scene, a Black and Latinx LGBTQ safe-space that has endured for 30 years.

Vimeo Staff Pick Award

ALLUMUAH

Dir: Curtis Essel

ALLUMUAH explores the way the internet enables a lineage of aesthetics passed between African diaspora artists. Expounding on the concept of African identity and the influence technology has had on it over the decades.

BlackStar Film Festival, the world’s premier celebration of Black, Brown, and Indigenous film and video artists, presented this year with lead sponsor Color of Change, is pleased to present its slate of public programs, including three free, live, socially distanced drive-in screenings in Philadelphia.

This year’s programming includes panel discussions, conversations, digital parties, and outdoor screenings. Among the events will be a virtual opening night party featuring Philadelphia’s own DJ Jazzy Jeff, culture writers Wesley Morris and Jenna Wortham in conversation with Radha Blank on her film The Forty-Year-Old-Version, legendary producer and director Madeline Anderson in conversation with Louis Massiah and Michelle Materre, and the daily morning show BlackStar Live!, co-hosted by Black Thought, which will kick off each day of the festival at 9:15 ET with filmmaker interviews, live performances, astrological updates, roundtable discussions of the day’s film programming, and other content interspersed throughout.

All programming is free and open to the public; tickets to the festival are only required for access to the festival’s digital film screenings. Digital programs will stream live with closed captioning from the festival’s website, as well as on BlackStar’s Facebook page.

A rundown of events is below, and the full list of film screenings and programs is available at the festival schedule here.

This year will also feature three live drive-in screenings in the parking lot in front of Philadelphia’s Mann Center for the Performing Arts in West Fairmount Park. These screenings are presented with Lyft and Red Bull, in partnership with the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation, as part of their new Philly Drive-In Movie Nights initiative. Tickets to the drive-in screenings are free on a first-come, first-served basis and can be signed up for here.

Be Water

9:00pm Friday, August 21

Sign Up for Tickets

A gripping, fascinating, intimate look at not just those final, defining years of Bruce Lee’s life, but the complex, often difficult, and seismic journey that led to Lee’s ultimate emergence as a singular icon in the histories of film and martial arts. 

The Forty-Year-Old Version

9:00pm Saturday, August 22

Sign Up for Tickets

Radha, a down-on-her-luck NY playwright, is desperate for a breakthrough before 40. But when she foils what seems like her last shot at success, she’s left with no choice but to reinvent herself as rapper RadhaMUSPrime. The Forty-Year-Old Version follows Radha as she vacillates between the worlds of Hip Hop and theater on a quest to find her true voice. Winner of the Directing Prize at The 2020 Sundance Film Festival, The Forty-Year-Old Version is a hilariously candid and deeply personal debut from writer/director Radha Blank. A fresh addition to the New York City slice-of-life canon shot in lush black and white 35mm, Blank’s film is an ode to the unfulfilled, and those whose adversity gives them a one-of-a-kind story to tell.

Miss Juneteenth

9:00pm Sunday, August 23

Sign Up for Tickets

A former beauty queen and single mom prepares her rebellious teenage daughter for the “Miss Juneteenth” pageant.

***

This year’s BlackStar Film Festival lineup includes more than 80 films, including 24 world premieres and representing over 20 countries. Ticketed attendees will be able to view all the films through a single online portal, which will be available at watch.blackstarfest.org and through apps available for Apple TV and Roku. Tickets are now available on the festival’s website here, with day passes starting at $5 and a full festival pass available for $100, which is priced to include a donation to BlackStar.

Get Your Tickets to the Film Festival Now

BlackStar receives support from its dedicated audience along with private foundations, public agencies, corporate, non-profit and individual sponsors. Our lead sponsor for 2020 is Color of Change. Additional supporters include (in alphabetical order): Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, All Ages Productions, American Documentary/POV, Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Annenberg School for Communication at University of Pennsylvania, Barra Foundation, Catapult Film Fund, Cinereach, Expressway Rentals, Facebook, Ford Foundation/JustFilms, IF/Then, Impact Partners, Independent Public Media Foundation, International Documentary Association, Lionsgate/STARZ, Lyft, MacArthur Foundation, MediaJustice, MING Media, Nathan Cummings Foundation, Netflix, PECO, Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development, Pennsylvania Humanities Council, Philadelphia Cultural Fund, Red Bull, Samuel S. Fels Fund, Sundance Institute, Surdna Foundation, Vimeo, WarnerMedia, WHYY, Wyncote Foundation, WORLD Channel, and Xfinity.

For overall information on the festival and its programs, visit blackstarfest.org.

About BlackStar Film Festival

The BlackStar Film Festival is 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.

Press Contacts

Ed Winstead
Director, Cultural Counsel
ed@culturalcounsel.com

Danellys “D.W.” Wong
Account Coordinator, Cultural Counsel
dw@culturalcounsel.com

Robert Grand
Account Coordinator, Cultural Counsel
robert@culturalcounsel.com

BlackStar Film Festival, the world’s premier celebration of Black, Brown, and Indigenous film and video artists, is pleased to announce the full lineup of films for the 2020 program, which will take place August 20-26, 2020. In response to COVID-19, the ninth edition of the festival will be presented entirely online this year.

Ticketed attendees will be able to view all the films through a single online portal, which will be available at watch.blackstarfest.org and through apps available for Apple TV and Roku. Tickets are now available on the festival’s website here, with day passes starting at $5 and a full festival pass available for $100, which is priced to include a donation to BlackStar.

Get Your Tickets Now

This year’s lineup includes more than 80 films, including 24 world premieres and representing over 20 countries.

Among the World Premieres are:

Unapologetic, a feature documentary by Ashley O’Shay, that takes a deep look into the Movement for Black Lives in Chicago, providing an intimate peek into the personal and political battles that transform the city.

Tayler Montague’s debut short In Sudden Darkness, about a working-class family trying to stay afloat in the midst of a city-wide blackout

The short documentary You Hide Me, made in 1970 but banned widely upon completion. Ghanian filmmaker Nii Kwate Owoo examines the colonization of African Art in the British Museum, London, gaining unprecedented access into the museum’s secret underground vaults.

Shantrelle Patrice Lewis’ debut feature Daughters Of, which examines the immediate and critical importance of self-care and healing for Black women.

Raishad Hardnett, Lauren M. Schneiderman & Cassie Owens’ Legendary: 30 Years of Philly Ballroom, an inside look into the effort to preserve Philadelphia’s ballroom scene, a Black and Latinx LGBTQ safe-space that has endured for 30 years.

Other highlights include:

Martina Lee’s Black Boy Joy, a short about two generations of Black men, living within the same household, juggling the demands of raising a young son with autism while adapting to their new normal after the death of a loved one

Channing Godfrey Peoples’ feature narrative Miss Juneteenth, about a former beauty queen and single mom preparing her rebellious teenage daughter for the “Miss Juneteenth” pageant.

Coded Bias, a feature documentary from director Shalini Kantayya that follows MIT Media Lab researcher Joy Buolamwini and the fallout from her startling discovery that facial recognition does not see dark-skinned faces accurately.

Ekwa Msangi’s Farewell Amor, a feature narrative about an Angolan immigrant whose wife and teen daughter are finally able to join him in the U.S., after 17 years apart.

Nationtime – Gary, a feature documentary by William Greaves about the National Black Political Convention of 1972 in Gary, Indiana.

A Day With Jerusa from Brazilian filmmaker Viviane Ferreira, following a young medium and her 77-year-old neighbor as they travel through time and realities common to their ancestry.

Amy Aniobi’s HONEYMOON, telling the story of a newlywed couple on their first night together––made all the more awkward, romantic and honest, because they only just met.

Loira Limbal’s feature documentary Through The Night, presenting the stories of two working mothers and a child care provider, whose lives intersect at a 24-hour daycare center.

Michèle Stephenson’s Stateless, a feature documentary following the campaign of electoral hopeful Rosa Iris and revealing the depths of racial hatred and institutionalized oppression that divide Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

maɬni – towards the ocean, towards the shore, directed by Sky Hopinka. The documentary follows two characters, speaking mostly in chinuk wawa, as they contemplate the afterlife, rebirth, and the place in-between.

I ran from it and was still in it, an experimental film from Darol Olu Kae offering an intimate portrait of familial loss and separation.

Down a Dark Stairwell, a documentary from Chinese-American Filmmaker Ursula Liang. The film looks at the complicated fight for accountability and justice after a Chinese-American police officer kills an unarmed, innocent black man in a dark stairwell of a NYC public housing project.

Zeshawn Ali’s Two Gods, about a Muslim casket maker and ritual body washer in Newark who takes two young men under his wing and teaches them how to live better lives.

Right Near the Beach, Gibrey Allen’s feature narrative looking at the murder of a prominent Jamaican and the public uproar caused by rumors about the secret life he may have lived.

ROCÍO, a feature documentary from Mexican-American filmmaker Dario Guerrero. The film profiles an undocumented mother of three who, after a sudden cancer diagnosis, must choose between seeking treatment in her native Mexico or awaiting certain death in the US.

BlackStar receives support from its dedicated audience along with private foundations, public agencies, corporate, non-profit and individual sponsors. 2020 supporters include: Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Annenberg School for Communication at University of Pennsylvania, Barra Foundation, British Film Council, CineReach, Color of Change, Ford Foundation/JustFilms, Impact Partners, Independent Public Media Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Nathan Cummings Foundation, Netflix, PECO, Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development, Pennsylvania Humanities Council, Philadelphia Cultural Fund, Samuel S. Fels Fund, Sundance Institute, Surdna Foundation, WarnerMedia, and WHYY.

More information on judging, sponsors, and additional programming and events will be announced soon. For overall information on the festival and its programs, visit blackstarfest.org.

About BlackStar Film Festival

The BlackStar Film Festival is 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.

Press Contacts

Ed Winstead
Director, Cultural Counsel
ed@culturalcounsel.com

Danellys “D.W.” Wong
Account Coordinator, Cultural Counsel
dw@culturalcounsel.com

Robert Grand
Account Coordinator, Cultural Counsel
robert@culturalcounsel.com

BlackStar Film Festival, the world’s premier celebration of Black, Brown, and Indigenous film and video artists, is pleased to announce that the ninth edition of our annual festival will take place August 20-26, 2020. In response to COVID-19, the festival will be presented entirely online. Additional information on ticketing, judging, sponsors, programming, and the slate of films that will be featured at this year’s festival will be announced soon. The festival schedule, participants, and events will be accessible at the festival’s website here as announcements are made.

The week-long, all-digital program will be a dynamic endeavor; BlackStar will present more than 90 films, an array of live panels, and special events bringing together some of the most innovative and impactful filmmakers, producers, and thinkers working today.

“I am incredibly proud of our team and the work they have done to meet the challenges of this moment and present our festival this year,” says BlackStar Artistic Director & CEO Maori Karmael Holmes. “The format might be different, but our nearly decade-long mission of centering and celebrating the voices of Black, Brown, and Indigenous people from around the world is not. We look forward to sharing these incredible films and the immense talents behind them.”

BlackStar will work with digital distribution channel CineSend to make films easily accessible to festival goers in their own homes. Ticketed attendees will be able to view all the films through a single online portal, which will be available at watch.blackstarfest.org.

BlackStar receives support from its dedicated audience along with private foundations, public agencies, corporate, non-profit and individual sponsors. 2020 supporters include: Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Annenberg School for Communication at University of Pennsylvania, Barra Foundation, British Film Council, CineReach, Color of Change, Ford Foundation/JustFilms, Independent Public Media Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Nathan Cummings Foundation, Netflix, PECO, Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development, Pennsylvania Humanities Council, Philadelphia Cultural Fund, Surdna Foundation, WarnerMedia, and WHYY.

Last year’s festival, which drew nearly 10,000 attendees, saw the Best Feature Narrative Award go to Selah And The Spades, directed by Tayarisha Poe, and the Best Feature Documentary Award to The Infiltrators, directed by Cristina Ibarra & Alex Rivera. BlackStar’s 2019 edition also hosted a discussion between Spike Lee and #MeToo founder Tarana Burke commemorating the 30th anniversary of Lee’s Do The Right Thing, as well as the festival premiere of Solange Knowles’ film When I Get Home.

The full slate of films, parties and events will be announced in the coming weeks. For more overall information on the festival and its programs, visit blackstarfest.org.

About BlackStar Film Festival

The BlackStar Film Festival is 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.

Press Contacts

Ed Winstead
Director, Cultural Counsel
ed@culturalcounsel.com

Danellys “D.W.” Wong
Account Coordinator, Cultural Counsel
dw@culturalcounsel.com

Robert Grand
Account Coordinator, Cultural Counsel
robert@culturalcounsel.com

The BlackStar Film Festival (BlackStar)  announced the winners of the 2019 Festival awards. The Festival, which took place August 1-4, 2019 in Philadelphia, continued its legacy of discovery and excellence, presenting a stellar slate of black, brown and indigenous films from around the globe.  In addition to packed film screenings, BlackStar 2019 lineup featured a sneak preview of Hip-Hop: The Songs That Shook America, a new documentary  series  from executive producers Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, Shawn Gee, and Alex Gibney. The fest also featured the highly anticipated artist conversation with award-winning filmmaker Spike Lee and activist Tarana Burke.

“It has been another festival year of warm reunions, new connections and powerful films. It has been an honor to share these stories and perspectives with our festival audience. As we continue to grow BlackStar, I look forward to seeing more work from these artists.” said Maori Holmes, BlackStar Director.

Dr. Yaba Blay and Rashid Zakat hosted the awards ceremony at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, following the Closing NIght Film presentation of three short films: As Told To G/d Thyself, directed by The Ummah Chroma (Bradford Young, Terence Nance, Jenn Nkiru, Marc Thomas & Kamasi Washington); BLACK TO TECHNO, directed by Jenn Nkiru; and When I Get Home, directed by Solange Knowles.

Best Feature Narrative Award was given to Selah And The Spades, directed by Tayarisha Poe. And the Best Feature Documentary was given to The Infiltrators, directed by Cristina Ibarra & Alex Rivera.

During the ceremony, Program Director Nehad Khader presented the Richard Nichols Luminary Award to Marcia Smith, President of Firelight Media; a non profit production company dedicated to using historical film to advance contemporary social justice causes, and to mentoring, inspiring and training a new generation of diverse young filmmakers committed to advancing underrepresented stories.

This year also marked the launch of the inaugural BlackStar Pitch. 8 filmmakers were selected to pitch their projects in front of a live audience and a panel of esteemed judges to receive feedback and have an opportunity to win a cash prize of $1,000.This first BlackStar Pitch was focused on feature documentary projects and was open to any filmmaker who identifies as a person of color. The 2019 BlackStar Pitch prize went to Higher 15 from filmmaker Ameha Molla.

Full list of nominated films and winners are as follows:

Best Feature Documentary Nominees

Always in Season (Director: Jacqueline Olive)

The Infiltrators (Directors: Cristina Ibarra & Alex Rivera) ** winner

Titixe (Directors: Tania Hernández Velasco)

Best Feature Narrative Nominees

Jezebel (Director: Numa Perrier)

Selah and the Spades (Director: Tayarisha Poe) ** winner

Temporada (Long Way Home) (Director: André Novais Oliveira)

Best Experimental Nominees

Bereka (Director: Nesanet Teshager Abegaze) ** winner

The Cancer Journals Revisited (Director: Lana Lin)

Fainting Spells (Director: Sky Hopinka)

Only When It’s Dark Enough Can You See The Stars (Director: Charlotte Brathwaite)

Best Short Documentary Nominees

America (Director: Garrett Bradley)

BLACK TO TECHNO (Director:Jenn Nkiru)

A Love Song For Latasha (Director: Sophia Nahli Allison) ** winner

Oklahoma is Black (Directors: Melinda James, Tatyana Fazlalizadeh (Co-Director))

Practice (Director: Iyabo Kwayana)

Best Short Narrative Nominees

CAP (Director: Marshall Tyler)

Liberty (Director: Faren Humes)

Me Time (Director: Iyabo Boyd)

Sega (Director: Idil Ibrahim) ** winner

Suicide By Sunlight (Director: Nikyatu Jusu)

Best Youth (11-17) Nominees

Code Red (Directors: Eva Bassel, Rickeyna Fields, Estrella Lopez, Erika Martinez and Celeste Vaca)

The Next Stop (Director: Jalyssa Jimenez) ** winner

We Are Black: A Cinematic Experience (Directors: Darien Woodard and Aneesah Parker)

Best Youth (18-22) Nominees

The Last Day (Director: Zsaknor R. Powe)

Wash Day (Director: Jaida Salmon) ** winner

Where the Dahlias Grow (Director: Jayden Gillespie)

2019 Special Recognition Award: Narrative

Presented by HBO

Feathers (Director: A.V. Rockwell)

2019 Special Recognition Award: Documentary

Presented by HBO

Respect and LOVE (Director: Angelique Webster)

2019 Lionsgate/STARZ Producer Award

Test Pattern (Producers: Pin-Chun Liu & Shatara Michelle Ford)

2019 Richard Nichols Luminary Award

Marcia Smith

Audience Awards:

2019 Favorite Documentary Feature: Warrior Women (Directors: Elizabeth A. Castle and Christina D. King)

2019 Favorite Narrative Feature: Sprinter (Director: Storm Saulter)

2019 Favorite Experimental Film: The Cancer Journals Revisited (Director: Lana Lin)

2019 Favorite Documentary Short: Finding Elijah (Director: Yolonda Johnson-Young)

2019 Favorite Narrative Short: T (Director: Keisha Rae Witherspoon)

2019 Favorite Youth Film (11-17):  Closeted (Directors: George Hollyer and Danielle Ridgeway)

2019 Favorite Youth Film (18-22):  PETAL (Director: Derek Yancey Jr.)

2019 BlackStar Pitch Lineup:

Armenina: This Too (Director: Artina Nimpson)

Ave Maria (Director: Tristan Seyek)

Black Zombie (Director: Maya Annik Bedward)

The Department of Space and Land Reclamation (Directors: Darren Wallace, Shani Akilah, and Domonique London)

A Good Man (Director: Michael Fequiere)

Higher 15 (Director: Ameha Molla) ** winner

Murders That Matter (Director: Marco Williams)

Traces of Home (Director: Colette Ghunim)

Feature Documentary Jury:

Asad Muhammad (Vice President of Impact and Engagement Strategy – AmDoc)

Gessica Geneus (Actress, Cousines)

Lyric Cabral  (Director, (T)ERROR)

Feature Narrative Jury:

Dana Gills (Director of Production and Development – Lionsgate)

Michael Gillespie (Scholar & Professor – City College of New York)

Opeyemi Olukemi (Vice President of Digital Production and Innovation – AmDoc)

Experimental Jury:

Deana Haggag (President & CEO – United States Artists)

Kamil Oshundara (Cultural Executive – Monkeypaw Productions)

Rea Tajiri (Artist & Professor – Temple University)

Youth Jury:

Bryan Oliver Green (Director, The Philadelphia Bicycle Vignette Story)

Chloe Walters-Wallace (Documentary Lab Manager – Firelight Media)

Marie Alarcón (Director, Witness)

Short Documentary Jury:

Amer Shomali (Artist & Filmmaker)

Jamila Farwell (Manager, Original Nonfiction Series – Netflix)

John L. Jackson (Walter H. Annenberg Dean – Annenberg School for Communication

Richard Perry University Professor – University of Pennsylvania)

Short Narrative Jury:

D’Lo (Actor & Writer, TV series Mr. Robot, Bruising For Besos)

Racquel Gates (Scholar & Professor – College of Staten Island)

Rhea Combs (Curator of Film & Photography)

The BlackStar Film Festival (BlackStar) is thrilled to announce the Philadelphia premiere of When I Get Home, a film from visual artist and singer/songwriter Solange Knowles. The extended director’s cut will feature new scenes and musical arrangements of her interdisciplinary performance art film “When I Get Home”. 

Maori Holmes, Director of BlackStar, shares, “I continue to be impressed with Solange’s multi-disciplinary artistic practice in its unapologetic commitment to a radical black aesthetic. She is a force, imbued by both reverence to her creative ancestors and a futuristic swagger. I am excited that she has chosen BlackStar for her festival debut; When I Get Home takes on a much more layered meaning!”

When I Get Home will screen on August 4th, as part of BlackStar’s Closing Night Film Presentation of films that examine cultural history through music, and/or collaborations with musicians who are also directors.  Program lineup is as follows:

As Told To G/d Thyself (2019)

Directors: The Ummah Chroma (Bradford Young, Terence Nance, Jenn Nkiru, Marc Thomas & Kamasi Washington)

The story of the sacred youth and the stakes of a cosmic journey, where the embodiment and the pain, pleasure and sublimation there-in are non-negotiable.

Short Narrative

BLACK TO TECHNO (2019)

Director: Jenn Nkiru

BLACK TO TECHNO is a music documentary charting the anthropological, socio-economical, geopolitical roots of techno from Detroit and how it travelled and translated into becoming the soundtrack to the fall of the wall in Berlin.

Short Documentary

When I Get Home (2019)

Solange Knowles

Synopsis: Visual artist and singer/songwriter Solange Knowles presents an extended directors cut featuring new scenes and musical arrangements of her interdisciplinary performance art film “When I Get Home”. The film will premiere across renowned Museums and Contemporary Arts Institutions across USA and Europe from 17 July before closing as part of Chinati Weekend on 13 October 2019

The film was directed and edited by Solange Knowles with contributing directors Alan Ferguson, Terence Nance, Jacolby Satterwhite, and Ray Tintori. Additional art courtesy of Houston artists Autumn Knight and Robert Pruitt and collage work by Gio Escobar of Standing on The Corner. The film also features new sculptural work by the artist, “Boundless Body” (2019), an 8 by 100 ft. rodeo arena displayed in the desert of Marfa, which sits alongside many architectural wonders in the film, such as the Rothko Chapel at the Menil Collection and the I. M. Pei designed Dallas City Hall.

When I Get Home is an exploration of origin and spiritual expedition. The film confronts how much of us have we taken or left behind in our evolutions, and how much fear determines this? The artist returned to her home state of Texas to answer this through an expedition of a futurist rodeo uplifting the narrative of black cowboys and honoring her Houston lineage through this visual meditation.

The BlackStar Film Festival (BlackStar) runs August 1-4, 2019, in various venues across Philadelphia.  The 8th edition of the festival continues a legacy of film presentations and conversations that celebrate black, brown and indigenous films from around the globe.  For more information on the film details, tickets, attending filmmakers, and special receptions, please visit BlackStarFest.org

If you are interested to cover the festival, and require a media credential, please email your request to: media@blackstarfest.org.