It’s a riveting story that would make great fodder for a spy novel. It just made sense. It presents filmmakers of color with a unique, but much needed, opportunity to present their work amongst an inclusive community of likeminded individuals, which is incredibly empowering and inspiring. Like many other Philadelphians, I was happy to hear that BlackStar film fest was still happening this year. Stay tuned for information about 2021 submissions.

M.K.H: It’s possible! If accepted, final prints/media files must be received by June 12, 2020. Told through the lens of two local leaders of a movement to abolish the police, “Unapologetic” is a feature documentary directed by Ashley O’Shay that takes a deep look into the Movement for Black Lives in Chicago, from the lesser known murder of Chicagoan Rekia Boyd, a 22-year-old Black woman who was fatally shot by an off-duty Chicago police officer in 2012, to the election of Lori Lightfoot; the first African-American woman to be mayor of Chicago. BlackStar has even partnered with the Philadelphia Parks Department for a drive-in experience, the films Be Water (8/21), The Forty-Year-Old Version (8/22), and Miss Juneteenth (8/23) are scheduled to screen at to screen in Fairmount Park, these screenings are of course more limited in their attendance and festival day passes do not guarantee admission! Honoring the experience of attending a screening, the films will be available to screen at set times so check out the schedule and get your tickets. It will screen in the “Kindred” section of the festival, which includes films that tackle “the unsettling familiarity of close relations.” It’s the first film from Montague, who has written for notable online film magazines like Film Comment, Little White Lies, and Reverse Shot. ', Gloria Steinem and Julie Taymor explain why the 'Karen' meme is sexist, Scott Disick Gets Surprising Test Results During KUWTK Health Scare, Rob Halford recalls his ‘George Michael moment’: ‘It’s going to be in the papers! Artblog film contributor reek bell interviews Maori Karmael Holmes, Artistic Director, CEO and founder of BlackStar Projects (formerly BlackStar Film Festival). (SEEN, the film journal we discussed SEEN’s first issue is now available for pre-order! Featured in BlackStar Film Festival, 2020. Can you tell me a little bit more about them and how BlackStar started a partnership with them this year? Just looking at some of these other festivals and what they were doing we started trying to think about what might work for us. Because of its perceived controversy, the film was banned in many areas of the world, and BlackStar is presenting it as a world premiere. But what I’m hoping is it will allow us to have more global engagement. linkin.bio/blackstarfest Founded by Maori Karmael Holmes, who serves as artistic director and CEO of the festival has already accrued sizable support from across the country, from a prestigious list of financial backers that includes the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, as well as industry heavyweights such as HBO, CAA, and Comcast/Xfinity, and individual donors and partners, such as Lionsgate/Starz. The film sets out to tell the stories of Black women whose names have been unknown and whose stories have been untold, until now. In 2020, guests can stream the fest via an online portal and through apps available for Apple TV and Roku. That year there were a number of festivals and I think there was a renewed sense of contemporary Africa and African Diaspora. Non-English language works must have English subtitles at the time submitted. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. For those unfamiliar with the festival, BlackStar started out as a four day festival in 2012 comprised of films from filmmakers of the African Diaspora that has bloomed into an organization with programming throughout the year, from workshops, panels, labs, to a new film journal SEEN, in addition to the annual summer festival. Now going into the catalogue of films for this year’s festival which is at about 90 films, what is the selection process like? I’m kind of shocked. Tanzanian American filmmaker Ekwa Msangi makes her feature film debut with “Farewell Amor,” which follows an estranged Angolan immigrant family in Brooklyn as they struggle to overcome the emotional distance between them.
You think about Sundance, you think about these things that have such light in their names.

“Stateless” incorporates hidden-camera footage to trace the history and present-day politics that have nurtured an environment that allows state-sanctioned racism to thrive. It now premieres “at a time when another uprising is happening throughout the country,” O’Shay says.

BlackStar was formerly housed at the Lightbox Film Center at International House near the University of Pennsylvania, but that venue shut down last year when the building was sold.
It’s 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. We congratulate her on this and look forward to what is to come! I have a Technical Director, Lendl, and our Communications Director Imran, the two of them spent a lot of time, and I even participated in some demos myself with different companies to try to get a sense out of what makes sense for us financially. She shared with the audience an excerpt of Middle of Nowhere and that felt like a really beautiful moment.

M.K.H: “ A film and visual culture journal, by critics of color about filmmakers of color.” Really trying to address what I feel like is a loss of contemporary analysis by BIPOC folks for BIPOC folks. The film is part of the 2020 BlackStar Film Festival. Additional perks include: admission to BlackStar Pitch Session, where a selection of filmmakers of color propose their works-in-progress to a panel of funders, distributors and producers; and an annual BlackStar membership. ', Two days after the debate, Trump condemns white supremacists and Proud Boys, Meghan Markle Shares Sweet Update on Son Archie: 'He Is All Over the Place’, 'KUWTK' shows Oval Office meeting with Kim Kardashian and Trump, Jessica Alba says she was banned from making eye contact with 'Beverly Hills, 90210' stars, What Clare Bronfman's prison sentence in NXIVM cult case means for Allison Mack and others, 'Miss Juneteenth': For Channing Godfrey Peoples and Nicole Beharie, Authenticity Was Essential, Netflix Doesn't Buy Movies at Sundance -- It Buys Voices That Can Become Brands, New Movies: Release Calendar for August 21, Plus Where to Watch the Latest Films, The 20 Highest Grossing Indies of 2020 (A Running List). So in the beginning of it we were taking our time, waiting to see. BlackStar Film Festival has been hailed as “the black Sundance” by Ebony magazine. The short documentary, made in 1970 by Ghanaian filmmaker and academic Nii Kwate Owoo, was banned widely upon completion, because of what was seen as provocative subject matter at the time. Talking through all of that with my friend, talking about film being the art of light, talking about stars and cosmos and blackness, it just really made sense!

Films will be automatically entered into juried competition unless the entrant(s) request to be withdrawn. Here’s a trailer for the festival the team made this year. I think to that first night, Just finishing it that first year, the closing night after Byron’s film, I remember the staff presented me with flowers and it was so overwhelming, that it happened. “What if there was a movie about the blackout, and what if it was told through the eyes of a young girl?” Montague thought to herself. “But we’re doing our best to adapt, as everybody is around the world,” Holmes says, “and leaning into the benefits of what an online festival means: People will be able to see it, everywhere.”. This year, Montague is returning to BlackStar with the world premiere of her debut film, In Sudden Darkness. Dialogue lists will not be accepted.