Category: Press Release

BlackStar to Bring Common Field Convening to Philadelphia

We are proud to announce our partnership with Common Field — a national network of experimental, independent, visual arts organizations and organizers — to bring the annual Convening to Philadelphia, PA from April 25 – 28, 2019. The Common Field Convening is an itinerant gathering that brings together 500+ local and national arts organizers to explore the state of the field of artists organizations and to share resources, knowledge and methods for artist-led, artist-run, and artist-centered projects, spaces and practices.

Over the past year, Common Field has worked with BlackStar as part of a group of 14 local organizing partners as well as a growing network of 80+ Philadelphia arts organizations and organizers in order to connect the local contexts and conditions with the interests of the national Common Field Network.

As a platform for gathering the many artist centered organizations, the Convening recognizes the value of their contributions as a critical and central part of the city’s cultural fabric. It builds awareness for these practices that often take place in unique contexts, and serve and represent more diverse communities. Together we understand there is an urgency to gather around issues of social justice and equity, as well as practical needs and tools for many organizations in our network.

Find out more about the Convening and get Your Tickets to the 2019 Common Field Convening online. Check out the program, presenters and full schedule. Follow Common Field on social media (IG | FB | TW) and sign up for their newsletter for regular updates.

29 March, 2019
BlackStar Film Festival Announces 2018 Award Winners

BlackStar Film Festival proudly announces the winners of the 2018 Festival awards. The Festival, which took place August 2-5, 2018 in Philadelphia, attracted thousands of film enthusiasts with multiple sold-out events.

This year’s festival featured over 80 films from around the world, including the debut of Terence Nance’s HBO late-night series Random Acts of Flyness. Juried awards were presented at the BlackStar Awards Ceremony at World Café Live. Audience favorite awards are determined by audience member ballots. 2018 award winners include:

JURIED AWARDS

Best Feature Documentary
Douvan Jou Ka Leve (Gessica Généus)

Best Narrative Feature
Jinn (Nijila Mu’min)

Best Short Documentary
Nuuca (Michelle Latimer)

Best Short Narrative
Where the Water Runs (Dubois N. Ashong)

Best Experimental Film
Fucked Like a Star (Stefani Saintonge)

Best Youth Film (Ages 11-18)
blu blak (King Ali Emeka)

Best Youth Film (Ages 19-22)
I Have Something to Tell You (Tshireletso Phalatse, Kagiso Baloyi, Rethabile Milisi)

21st Century Global Inclusion Awards for Emerging Voices: Narrative
War Paint (Katrelle Kindred)

21st Century Global Inclusion Awards for Emerging Voices: Documentary
Birth of Afrobeat (Opiyo Okeyo)

AUDIENCE AWARDS

Favorite Experimental Film: Fucked Like a Star (Stefani Saintonge)

Favorite Documentary Feature: The Feeling of Being Watched (Assia Boundaoui)

Favorite Narrative Feature: Jinn (Nijila Mu’min)

Favorite Documentary Short: Black 14 (Darius Clark Monroe)

Favorite Narrative Short: Where the Water Runs (Dubois N. Ashong)

Favorite Youth Film (11-18): Beyond My Skin (Aniya Wolf)

Favorite Youth Film (19-22): Hot and Bothered (Leah Byrd)

About the BlackStar Film Festival

BlackStar is a highly visible platform for independent black filmmakers and films about black people from around the world, providing genre-defying and beautifully crafted works to a diverse audience thirsty for fresh perspectives. The only event of its kind in Philadelphia—focusing on cinema of the African Diaspora and global indigenous communities—the four-day weekend festival provides an opportunity for filmmakers, patrons and enthusiasts from all over the world to come together.

The 2018 BlackStar Film Festival is generously supported by John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Wyncote Foundation, Barra Foundation, Ford Foundation | JustFilms, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, 21CF Global Inclusion, PECO, Streampix, University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice, Visit Philadelphia, Fractured Atlas, Color of Change, SAG-AFTRA, Annenberg School for Communication at University of Pennsylvania, and individual donors; as well as a gracious network of partners including The Barnes Foundation, Institute of Contemporary Art, Lightbox Film Center, Pearlstein Gallery at Drexel University, World Cafe Live, and Johnny Brenda’s, as well as a generous host of individual donors, members, and community partners.

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7 August, 2018
Announcing the 2018 BlackStar Film Festival Lineup

The seventh annual BlackStar Film Festival, announces its full lineup of films for the 2018 program. The celebration of black cinema will take place in Philadelphia on Thursday, August 2 through Sunday, August 5.

Festival favorite and multidisciplinary artist Terence Nance will debut his new HBO comedy series Random Acts of Flyness on Friday, August 3 at 8pm at Lightbox Film Center, followed by a premiere reception at the Institute of Contemporary Art. This year’s lineup of over 80 films also includes:

World Premieres

Menelek Patrice Lumumba’s feature 1 Angry Black Man, about a college senior drawing inspiration from favorite writers to navigate his emotional reality

Four Days in May, a short documentary about state violence in Jamaica

Naima Ramos-Chapman’s short narrative film Piu Piu, about a young woman’s surreal trip to the city.

Other Highlights

Jenn Nkiru’s afrofuturist short Rebirth is Necessary

Alaska is a Drag, Shaz Bennett’s tale of a drag performer in rural Alaska

Khalik Allah’s documentary Black Mother about Jamaica’s gender dynamics and cultural contradictions

The Black Museum, Oliver Hardt’s documentary about the National Museum of African American History and Culture

Faraday Okoro’s Nigerian Prince, about a Nigerian-American teenager who joins forces with an internet scammer

Roni Nicole Henderson’s bridge/refrain, an experimental short about a young woman traveling to the land of her ancestors

Douvan Jou Ka Leve, Gessica Généus’ documentary about life in Haiti

A Drop of Sun Under the Earth, Shikeith Cathey’s experimental short about trauma and compassion

Assia Boundaoui’s documentary The Feeling of Being Watched, about FBI surveillance in an Arab-American community in Chicago

Ephraim Asili’s Fluid Frontier, an experimental short about the African Diaspora in Detroit and Windsor

French Fries, Janine Sherman Barrois’ short about a couple‘s creative interplay and emotional conflicts

Fucked Like A Star, Stefani Saintonge’s experimental short about women’s work

Mariama Diallo’s short Hair Wolf, about gentrification and a black hair salon in Brooklyn

Happy Birthday Marsha, a short about transgender artist and activist Marsha Johnson, legendary inciter of the Stonewall Riots in New York

Mr. Soul!, a feature documentary about Ellis Haizlip, producer and host of the public television show SOUL!

The full festival schedule can be viewed at blackstarfest.org/2018schedule. Screenings take place at Lightbox Film Center and Pearlstein Gallery at Drexel University, with panel discussions at the Institute of Contemporary Art, the Opening Reception at Johnny Brenda’s on Thursday, August 2, and the Closing Awards Show on Sunday, August 5 at World Cafe Live.

16 July, 2018
2018 BlackStar Film Festival to be Held in Philadelphia, August 2-5

Mark the calendar: The seventh annual BlackStar Film Festival, celebrating independent black cinema returns to Philly Thursday, August 2 through Sunday, August 5, showcasing films that capture the black experience and the visual and storytelling traditions of the African diaspora and indigenous communities from around the world.

“We are incredibly excited to enter our 7th edition with new work and fresh perspectives from filmmakers from all over the globe!” says founder and artistic director Maori Karmael Holmes. “We can’t wait to announce the premieres and special programming we’ll roll out over the four days of the festival.”

This year’s pre-Festival event, to be held on July 1 from 3 -4:30 pm at the Barnes Foundation, will feature senior program manager Nehad Khader in conversation with past Festival filmmakers about their vision and work.

Festival All-Access Passes are available for pre-sale for $120 until June 30.

Screenings take place at Lightbox Film Center and Pearlstein Gallery at Drexel University. The Opening Night dance party on Thursday, August 2, will be held at Johnny Brenda’s. The juried Youth Program will also be held at Pearlstein Gallery on Saturday, August 4. Other highlights include the Awards Ceremony at World Cafe Live, held this year on Sunday, August 5.

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

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25 June, 2018
BlackStar Film Festival Adds New Executive Staff

BlackStar has announced the appointment of Meg Onli as Festival Director and Patrice Worthy as Managing Director to join the part-time team. The creation of the Festival Director position was an intentional shift to focus on expanding administrative capacity as the organization evolves. Patrice Worthy steps into the role of Managing Director after serving as Operations Manager for the last two years.

“We are excited to welcome Meg to the BlackStar family, and to see Patrice in this new role as the festival continues to grow,” says founder and Artistic Director, Maori Karmael Holmes. “They will bring a new energy to the organization’s administration and festival operations that will ultimately improve the filmmaker and audience experience.” Current staff will remain in place: Maori Karmael Holmes, Artistic Director; Denise Beek, Communications Director; Nehad Khader, Senior Program Manager; and Swabreen Bakr, Social Media Manager.

Meg Onli is currently the Assistant Curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) at the University of Pennsylvania. Her recent exhibition Speech/Acts explored experimental black poetry and how the social and cultural constructs of language have shaped black American experiences. Prior to joining the ICA, she was the Program Coordinator at the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. She worked on the exhibitions Architecture of Independence: African Modernism and Barbara Kasten: Stages. In 2010, she created the website Black Visual Archive for which she was awarded a 2012 Creative Capital/Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant. In 2014 she was the recipient of a research grant from the Graham Foundation for the collaborative project Remaking the Black Metropolis: Contemporary Art, Urbanity, and Blackness in America with curator Jamilee Polson Lacy. Onli holds a Master’s degree in art history from the Courtauld Institute of Art. Her writing has appeared in Art21, Daily Serving, and Art Papers.

Patrice Worthy is an educator and producer who works with emerging creatives of color. She is a graduate of Florida State University and Drexel University, with both a bachelor’s and master’s in biochemistry. Born in Agana, Guam to two military parents, she has lived around the world, which has influenced her approach to her creative work and teaching. Patrice has worked with the festival since 2012 and currently resides in Philadelphia, PA.

The 7th Annual BlackStar Film Festival is scheduled to take place August 2 through August 5 in Philadelphia. Submissions are open until April 22. For more information please visit blackstarfest.org and join us on social platforms @blackstarfest.

About the BlackStar Film Festival

BlackStar is an annual celebration of the visual and storytelling traditions of the African diaspora and of global indigenous communities, showcasing films by people of color from around the world. The only event of its kind in Philadelphia, the four-day weekend festival provides an opportunity for filmmakers, patrons and enthusiasts from all over the world to come together.

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11 February, 2018