Looking for something to do with the kids while you’re stuck at home? We’ve got you covered! Here’s a list of nine of our favorite short films for kids and teens that have screened at BlackStar Film Festival over the past eight years. They cover a wide range of topics and genres, from narrative shorts to music videos to documentaries. These films may be appropriate for differing age groups, so make sure you watch each before deciding if it’s right for your child. Have fun and don’t forget to pencil in the 9th annual BlackStar Film Festival, happening July 30 to August 2 in Philadelphia!
After an uncomfortable encounter, a young girl seeks refuge in the girls’ bathroom and is transported to an underworld of Black Girl Magic.
A 12-year-old girl strives to rekindle her parents’ dwindling romance at her desert town’s annual carnival, and learns hard lessons about love in the process. Adapted from the filmmaker’s short story, “The Carnival,” this film looks at dreams and reality in the mind of a young girl who associates her and her parents’ happiness with the town’s colorful, sensual carnival.
An award-winning, educational whiteboard web series celebrating the outstanding achievements of people of color from different ethnic backgrounds. See all episodes here.
Fifteen-year-old Courvosier “Vosiey” Cox is a triple threat: an actor, singer and comedian, destined to perform sold-out shows in L.A. He is planning the talent show he is sure will launch his career in front of hordes of adoring fans. But first he must navigate the challenging landscape of adolescence, a tumultuous time that brings a new sense of independence along with a search for self and longing for acceptance. For Vosiey, who is growing up in inner-city Durham, N.C., that means struggling to find his place in a complex and often contradictory world. As he treads the tenuous line between childhood and adulthood and between dreams and reality, he undertakes a relentless quest to escape into the spotlight, no matter what.
Kojo is about a gifted 12-year-old jazz drummer, Kojo Odu Roney. In a candid interview, Kojo reflects on his tireless work ethic, the current state of jazz music, learning from his mentor and father, jazz saxophonist Antoine Roney, and much more. Kojo’s charisma, sensibility, and passion are as mesmerizing as his drum skills and, for the first time in this documentary, he shares them with you.
Brooklyn teen Miasia Clark is just a few weeks shy of presenting at the first-ever Black Girl Movement National Conference. As the event approaches, we watch her prepare with her activist group, Girls for Gender Equity. She guides us through her everyday worlds as she wrestles with the personal, the political, and the fight for self-determination. Watch it here.
This film pokes fun at the exotic mystique of black hair.
As a child, Eric believed that the water was magical. In the water, there was nothing he couldn’t do. But a life-changing encounter with bullies at a pool planted seeds of self-doubt. Still haunted by the experience as an adult, Eric decides that the only way to take back control over his life is to get back into the water. If he can face his fears 30 feet above the water, then he’ll rediscover his magic and realize he has had the power to conquer his fears all along. Watch it via Amazon.
A young black girl receives words of wisdom from her grandmother as she struggles with bullying and attacks on her self-image.