BlackStar

Tag: BlackStar Projects

  • BlackStar Projects Announces Lineup for 15th Annual BlackStar Film Festival

    BlackStar Projects Announces Lineup for 15th Annual BlackStar Film Festival

    BlackStar Projects, the premier organization celebrating visionary Black, Brown and Indigenous film and media artists, is thrilled to announce the selections for the 2026 BlackStar Film Festival.

    This year’s festival will take place from August 6-9, 2026, with in-person film screenings at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, the Wilma Theater and the Suzanne Roberts Theatre. Parties and events will be held at various venues across Philadelphia to mark the 15th annual celebration of the visual and storytelling traditions of Black, Brown and Indigenous people from around the world.

    All access passes for the festival are available for purchase here; individual tickets for in-person and virtual screenings will go on sale in early July.

    As it celebrates its 15th anniversary, the 2026 BlackStar Film Festival is set to feature a total of 91 films representing over 30 countries, including 22 World, 10 North America, 4 United States, 13 East Coast and 34 Philadelphia premieres. Highlights from this year’s lineup include the North America premiere of Haile Gerima’s Black Lions – Roman Wolves and the world premieres of Dr. Fahamu Pecou’s The Store, Iyabo Kwayana’s Old Man River, Louis Massiah’s Tenants of Lenapehocking in the Age of Magnets, Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes’ The Keeper, and Miryam Charles’ Treasure Island (L’île aux trésors).

    “For fifteen years BlackStar has endeavored to bring both new films and a small selection of repertory ones to Philadelphia that not only meet the moment we are in, but deepen our collective understanding of it,” said Festival Director, Nehad Khader. “With this festival lineup we have continued that tradition.”

    BlackStar Film Festival has grown in attendance year over year, with more than 20,000 tickets sold in 2025. In addition to this year’s film festival there will be daily panels and conversations with filmmakers and industry leaders, along with an opening night party at Frankie’s Summer Club, a Friday evening concert and celebration at the Barnes Foundation, a Saturday evening industry mixer at Leo and a closing night party at the Barnes Foundation.

    “Since our first festival in 2012, BlackStar has blossomed into a complex, challenging and ever-changing celebration of filmmaking and its power to connect us,” said Founder, Maori Karmael Holmes. “We continue to provide a vital and urgent gathering for filmmakers and cinephiles of the global majority, just as we chart new directions forward for the medium, and for all those who are critically engaged with the times in which we live.”

    Among BlackStar Projects’ other programs are Seen, a journal of film, art and visual culture, that recently published its tenth issue and the Greaves Filmmaker Seminar, held in March with Stanford University’s Institute for Diversity in the Arts. The organization recently unveiled its new brand identity created by New York-based creative agency Pacific. Through a multi-year process of research and refinement, Pacific developed a new visual identity and system that unifies the various initiatives that exist under the umbrella of BlackStar.

     

    The full lineup of films is below:

     

    66 Days (٦٦ يوماً), directed by Joude Bazzoun

    A Bundle of Silences (Un montón de silencios), directed by Sofía Gallisá Muriente

    A Different Image, directed by Alile Sharon Larkin

    A Life in Art: Through the Eye of Dr. Leslie King Hammond, directed by Ben Baker-Lee and Rassaan Hammond

    A Sad and Beautiful World (نجوم الأمل و الألم), directed by Cyril Aris

    Aanikoobijigan (ancestor/great-grandparent/great-grandchild), directed by Adam Khalil and Zack Khalil

    After What Happened at the Library, directed by Syra McCarthy

    An Afternoon with a Gnawa, directed by Meena Nanji

    An Impossible Address, directed by Suneil Sanzgiri

    An Incomplete Calendar, directed by Sanaz Sohrabi

    And She Didn’t Die, directed by Kethiwe Ngcobo

    Angels Pull Your Hair, directed by Gabby Beans

    Another Day Shall Come (سيجيء يوم آخر), directed by Aida Kaadan

    Are You Native?, directed by Victoria Cheyenne

    At the Stage When, directed by Ci Shi Ci Ke and Hao Zhou

    Authors of the Estate, directed by Abdou Cissé

    Becoming Human, directed by Chiet Chea Manusa and Polen Ly

    Black Lions – Roman Wolves, directed by Haile Gerima

    Black Zombie, directed by Maya Annik Bedward

    Boca Vieja, directed by Yovegami Ascona Mora

    Bouchra, directed by Meriem Bennani and Orian Barki

    Buckskin, directed by Mars Verrone

    Call of My Life, directed by Dammy Twitch

    Charip: Lightning in the River (Charip: el relámpago del río), directed by GTANW | MULLU TV Gobierno Territorial Autónomo de la Nación Wampís

    ChikaBOOM!!, directed by c. Craig Patterson

    Communion (Comunhão), directed by Pétala Lopes

    Don’t wake the sleeping child (Ne réveillez pas l’enfant qui dort), directed by Kevin Aubert

    Ella, directed by Nikki Taylor-Roberts

    Enjoy the tropix and have a banana ! (An diw jwi ! On a la banane sous les tropiques !), directed by Kristine Blonbou

    Finding Your Laughter, directed by Arlieta Hall and Brittany Alsot

    Fists of Mothers, directed by Tchaiko Omawale

    For Peace of Mind, directed by Amandla Baraka

    Free Joan Little, directed by Yoruba Richen

    Free Lyric, directed by Cherish Oteka

    Glass Bricks, directed by Simone Holland

    God Sleeps on Sundays, directed by Naishe Nyamubaya

    HomeGoing, directed by Julie Dash

    How to Hide It, directed by Ramla Ali and Richard A. Moore

    I Got My Brother, directed by Victor Gabriel

    I Wonder Shall I Fly, directed by Harlan Banks

    Ish Meets a Mermaid, directed by Jonathan Thunder

    Ixquic, directed by Elvis Caj

    JESUS IS COMING (to take the Church away), directed by Cameron Clay

    Lani B Supreme: Legacy, directed by Sabaah Folayan

    Let Them Be Seen, directed by Nolitha Refilwe Mkulisi

    Mickey, directed by Dano Garcia

    Muoz-Doic Mixtape, directed by Quyen Nguyen-Le

    National Seating, directed by Kevin Jerome Everson

    No Sunshine in Here (Aqui Não Entra Luz), directed by Karol Maia

    Nwanne M Nwaanyị, directed by Chiemeka Offor

    Old Man River, directed by Iyabo Kwayana

    Olinda’s Golden Arches (Os Arcos Dourados de Olinda), directed by Douglas Henrique

    One More Show (ضايل عنا عرض), directed by Mai Saad and Ahmed Al Danaf

    Our Bodies Ours, directed by Sonali Gulati and Sanam Sheriff

    Palestine ‘36 (فلسطين ٣٦), directed by Annemarie Jacir

    Philly Rumba, directed by Melissa Beatriz and Andrés Cisneros

    Potato Salad, directed by Kyle Drew

    Powwow People, directed by Sky Hopinka

    Reading the World (Lendo o Mundo), directed by Catherine Murphy

    Remote Views, directed by Alexis McCrimmon

    Revival 24, directed by Darryl Daley

    Same Water, directed by Martine Granby

    Scene Not Heard: Women in Philadelphia Hip Hop, directed by Maori Karmael Holmes

    Solace, directed by Rodney Evans

    Tell Me When You Get Home, directed by Tshay Meade

    Tenants of Lenapehocking in the Age of Magnets, directed by Louis Massiah

    The Aura (L’Aura), directed by Fanta Sylla

    The Keeper, directed by Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes

    The Philadelphia Sensei: Lovett Hines, directed by Donn Thompson Morelli (‘Donn T’)

    The Prophet (O Profeta), directed by Ique Langa

    The Seeds We Carry, directed by Gabrielle Patterson

    The Store, directed by Dr. Fahamu Pecou

    The Tropic Sun and His Eyes (Soley Twopikal Ak Pitit Li), directed by Elisee Junior St Preux

    To Run is to Return, directed by Precious Wura Alabi

    Treasure Island (L’île aux trésors), directed by Miryam Charles

    True North, directed by Michèle Stephenson

    Variations on a Theme (Variasies op ‘n Tema), directed by Jason Jacobs and Devon Delmar

    Vis-à-Vis, directed by Mamadou Yattassaye

    Voicemail, directed by Lade Tinubu

    Watch Out for the Ghosts, directed by Yvonne Michelle Shirley

    We Act Like Children (Abinoojiikaasmin), directed by Evelyn Pakinewatik

    We Are Not Dreaming (Não Estamos Sonhando), directed by Ulisses Arthur

    We, People of the Islands (Nós, Povo Das Ilhas), directed by Elson Santos and Lara Sousa

    West Side Familia, directed by Taylor Hosking

    What Will I Become?, directed by Lexie Bean and Logan Rozos

    When They’re Gone, directed Ragan Henderson and Lauryn Darden

    Whispers of a Burning Scent, directed by Mo Harawe

    White Musk, directed by Fatima Wardy

    Wholesome, directed by Kimmy Campbell

    Wood Street, directed by Caron Creighton

    Zenón and the Rebel Boats (Zenón y la flotilla rebelde), directed by Juan C. Dávila Santiago

     

    6/22: This page has been updated to remove the film “If I Go Will They Miss Me” and to add the film “Call of My Life.”  

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

    This year’s festival is presented with major support from Open Society Foundations. Other sponsors include Eventive, FotoKem, Visit Philly, Hyperallergic, NEON, Color Congress, Firelight Media, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pillars Fund, Impact Partners, University of Pennsylvania Department of Cinema & Media Studies and The Gotham Film & Media Institute. Additional supporters include John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, City of Philadelphia and Councilmember At-Large Isaiah Thomas, Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development secured by State Senator Nikil Saval and State Representative Rick Krajewski, 188th District.

    BlackStar Projects and its year-round programs are generously supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, Critical Minded, Color Congress, Department of Community and Economic Development, Ford Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Mellon Foundation, People’s Media Fund, Perspective Fund, Pop Culture Collaborative, Ruth Foundation for the Arts, Surdna Foundation, Wallace Foundation and William Penn Foundation in addition to its board of directors, community partners and a host of generous individual donors and organizations.

     


    About BlackStar Projects

    BlackStar Projects, founded in 2012 by Maori Karmael Holmes as BlackStar Film Festival, creates the spaces and resources needed to uplift the work of Black, Brown and Indigenous artists working outside the confines of genre. Beyond the annual film festival the organization produces year-round programs, including film screenings, exhibitions, a filmmaker seminar, a film production lab and a journal of film, art and visual culture.

    These programs provide artists opportunities for viable strategies for collaborations with other artists, audiences, funders and distributors. BlackStar is working towards a liberatory world in which a vast spectrum of Black, Brown and Indigenous experiences is irresistibly celebrated in arts and culture.

  • BlackStar Projects Announces Foundational Identity Rebrand

    BlackStar Projects Announces Foundational Identity Rebrand

    BlackStar is excited to announce its new brand identity created by New-York based creative agency Pacific. Through a multi-year process of research and refinement, Pacific developed a new visual identity and system that unifies the various initiatives that exist under the umbrella of BlackStar—from its flagship film festival to Seen, its bi-annual journal of film, art and visual culture. Conceived with the 15-year anniversary of BlackStar in mind, the new identity allows the institution to more precisely express the core themes and ideas that animate its year-round programming, all while celebrating the artists and the work they make.

    Over the past 15 years, BlackStar has prioritized visionary work that is experimental in its aesthetics, content and form, and which builds on the work of elders and ancestors to imagine a new world. In addition to its annual film festival and bi-annual journal, BlackStar organizes film screenings, exhibitions, a filmmaker seminar and a film production lab, programs that provide artists with opportunities, resources and support. Through these programs and initiatives BlackStar endeavors to build a liberatory world in which a vast spectrum of Black, Brown and Indigenous experiences are celebrated in arts and culture.

    “The trajectory of BlackStar over the past 15 years has been incredibly encouraging and heartening as we look ahead to this year’s Film Festival and beyond,” said BlackStar Founder, Chief Executive & Artistic Officer, Maori Karmael Holmes. “As we took stock of where the organization was at and what it had achieved, it was also a moment for us to reimagine our programs holistically, and ensure that our branding and institutional voice were reimagined. Working with Pacific has provided us with a clear and impactful visual language that will allow us to best communicate not only our values and ambition, but those of our community as well.”

    At the core of Pacific’s rebranding process was an attention to BlackStar’s history and the desire to establish the visionary institution as a global leader supporting Black, Brown and Indigenous artists working outside of the confines of genre. Pacific developed a brand system for BlackStar that provides the core elements that create a consistent and recognizable identity across all applications. These components—logotype, typography, color, the slate system and layout structure—work together to form a cohesive visual language that is flexible, functional and grounded in the organization’s values. Key pillars of this process included refining BlackStar’s logo to maximize legibility and clarity across applications, and developing a typographic system that takes inspiration from the film slate. A new website—with updates to both the design and functionality—was also designed and developed by Pacific, alongside a new festival website and updated social media assets for BlackStar.

    “Working with BlackStar is an honor and Pacific is grateful for their collaboration on this important rebrand,” said Elizabeth Karp-Evans, founder of Pacific. “Our studio’s intention was to highlight the organization’s vital work—not only as a supporter of artists in the global majority making some of the most compelling cinema in our present moment, but as a new type of arts and culture body that champions and celebrates Black, Brown and Indigenous experiences in the visual world. BlackStar’s rebrand signals to audiences that the organization is deeply invested in its work and mission. Led by Maori Karmael Holmes, BlackStar will continue to set the standard for supporting liberatory filmmaking with rigor, care and community for years to come.”

    The new website was developed with the support of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Digital Accelerator for Arts and Culture. The program supports leadership development and infrastructure investment that builds audiences, increases fundraising, drives revenue, delivers dynamic programming and helps us work more efficiently and effectively in support of our strategic objectives.

    BlackStar is also excited to announce that early bird tickets for the 15th annual BlackStar Film Festival, held from August 6–9, 2026, are available here.

     

    About BlackStar Projects
    BlackStar Projects, founded in 2012 by Maori Karmael Holmes as BlackStar Film Festival, creates the spaces and resources needed to uplift the work of Black, Brown and Indigenous artists working outside the confines of genre. Beyond the annual film festival the organization produces year-round programs, including film screenings, exhibitions, a filmmaker seminar, a film production lab and a journal of film, art and visual culture.
    These programs provide artists opportunities for viable strategies for collaborations with other artists, audiences, funders and distributors. BlackStar is working towards a liberatory world in which a vast spectrum of Black, Brown and Indigenous experiences is irresistibly celebrated in arts and culture.