BlackStar Projects, the premier organization celebrating visionary Black, Brown and Indigenous film and media artists, is thrilled to release the full schedule of programs, jury and award nominees for the 2024 BlackStar Film Festival. This year’s festival will take place from August 1-4, 2024 at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, with additional screenings, parties and events at various venues in Center City Philadelphia, marking the 13th annual celebration of the visual and storytelling traditions of Black, Brown and Indigenous people from around the world. The 2024 festival is presented with major support from the Open Society Foundations and Black Experience on Xfinity.
Beyond film, the festival is an annual celebration of BlackStar’s community of artists and a one-of-a-kind gathering of diverse audiences centered on connection, discussion and learning. Almost every film screened during the 2024 festival will be followed by a Q&A, inviting the audience to participate in the dialogue. On The Daily Jawn Stage, presented by NEON, panels featuring industry experts – including Black on The Internet with Chica Andrade, Jazmin Jones, Kimberly Drew and Neema Githere Siphon as moderated by Sarah Jackson; Laugh to Keep from Crying with Felicia Pride, ishkwaazhe Shane McSauby and Rocheé Jeffrey as moderated by Bashir Salahuddin; and A Litany for Survival: The Life and Work of Audre Lorde Co-presented by Black Feminist Film School, with Ada Gay Griffin, JT Takagi and Michelle Parkerson, as moderated by Alexis Pauline Gumbs – will be held throughout the festival, challenging attendees to consider new perspectives as they engage with the work.
“With this year’s programming we not only create space for meaningful consideration of the festival’s remarkable films, but highlight this work in conversation with broader culture, our shared histories and the ongoing issues faced by our communities globally,” said founder and Chief Executive and Artistic Officer, Maori Karmael Holmes.
In addition to feature films, attendees will enjoy curated programs of short films aligned across different themes including comedy, fantasy, climate change and resistance; and the BlackStar Pitch, presented in partnership with Blackbird, in which six finalists will present their non-fiction projects to a panel of judges in a live competition for an opportunity to win $75,000 in production funds, with the winner to be announced at festival’s close. A majority of this year’s films will also stream virtually, with programs released at set times and made available for 48 hours.
BlackStar’s jury, listed in full below, will consider nominees for Best Experimental Film, Best Feature Documentary, Best Feature Narrative, Best Short Documentary and Best Short Narrative.
BlackStar will also host a mix of parties and community events throughout the weekend including the opening night party at World Cafe Live co-presented by Andscape; First Friday at the Barnes Foundation, featuring an evening of cocktails and music by Wayna, co-presented by SoHo House; a Filmmaker Mixer co-presented by American Documentary/POV, Black Public Media, ITVS and WORLD; and this year’s closing night party at STAR|Bolt.
“The films, panels and other programs we’ve curated this year are urgent, thrilling and necessary,” said Festival Director Nehad Khader. “I look forward to welcoming all of our brilliant filmmakers, panelists and other guests from around the world to Philadelphia for an enriching, expansive celebration.” All individual program tickets and festival passes are available here.
All access passes for the festival are available for purchase here and individual tickets for in-person and virtual screenings are available here. The full schedule of in-person programs is below (all times EST):
Major Spotlights:
- Dreams in Nightmares (w/ Q&A) – Thursday, August 1 @ 7pm – Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center
- Life is Beautiful (w/ Q&A) – Friday, August 2 @ 5pm – Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center
- Dallas, 2019 (w/ Q&A) – Saturday, August 3 @ 1:30pm – Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
- The Ballad of Suzanne Césaire (w/ Q&A) – Sunday, August 4 @ 8pm – Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center
Feature Film Screenings:
- Othelo, The Great (w/ Q&A) – Thursday, August 1 @ 11:30am – Suzanne Roberts Theatre
- Nowhere Near – Thursday, August 1 @ 12:30pm – Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center
- The Queen of My Dreams (w/ Q&A) – Thursday, August 1 @ 2:30pm – Suzanne Roberts Theatre
- Dis-Ease (w/ Q&A) – Thursday, August 1 @ 3:30pm – Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center
- barrunto (w/ Q&A) Thursday, August 1 @ 4:30pm – Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
- Black Girls (w/ Q&A) – Thursday, August 1 @ 5:30pm – Suzanne Roberts Theatre
- Family Tree (w/ Q&A) – Friday, August 2 @ 10:30am – Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center
- Twice into Oblivion – Friday, August 2 @ 11:30am – Suzanne Roberts Theatre
- Seeking Mavis Beacon (w/ Q&A) – Friday, August 2 @ 1:30pm – Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center
- Standing Above the Clouds – Friday, August 2 @ 3pm – Suzanne Roberts Theatre
- Our Land Our Freedom (w/ Q&A) – Friday, August 2 @ 5pm – Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
- Life is Beautiful (w/ Q&A) – Friday, August 2 @ 5pm – Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center
- After the Long Rains (w/ Q&A) – Friday, August 2 @ 8pm – Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center
- Rising up at Night – Saturday, August 3 @ 10:30am – Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
- You Don’t Have to Go Home, But (w/ Q&A) – Saturday, August 3 @ 11am – Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center
- Mambar Pierette – Saturday, August 3 @ 12pm – Suzanne Roberts Theatre
- Dallas, 2019 (w/ Q&A) – Saturday, August 3 @ 1:30pm – Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
- Bring Them Home (w/ Q&A) – Saturday, August 3 @ 2pm – Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center
- Songs from the Hole (w/ Q&A) – Saturday, August 3 @ 2:30pm – Suzanne Roberts Theatre
- A Mother Apart (w/ Q&A) – Saturday, August 3 @ 5pm – Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center
- Inky Pinky Ponky – the Odd One Out + Grace (w/ Q&A) – Saturday, August 3 @ 6pm – Suzanne Roberts Theatre
- I Do Not Come To You By Chance (w/ Q&A) – Saturday, August 3 @ 9pm – Suzanne Roberts Theatre
- Bye Bye Tiberias – Sunday, August 4 @ 10am – Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
- The New Man + Syppyt Suruktar Lost Letters – Sunday, August 4 @ 12:30pm – Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
- A Litany for Survival (w/ Q&A) – Sunday, August 4 @ 2pm – Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center
- The Strike (w Q&A) – Sunday, August 4 @ 5pm – Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center
- It Was All a Dream (w Q&A) – Sunday, August 4 @ 6pm – Suzanne Roberts Theatre
Shorts Programs:
- Statism (w/ Q&A) – Thursday, August 1 @ 1:30pm – Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
- Envisages (w/ Q&A) – Friday, August 2 @ 11am – Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
- Extant (w/ Q&A) – Friday, August 2 @ 2pm – Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
- Extrasensory (w/ Q&A) – Friday, August 2 @ 6pm – Suzanne Roberts Theatre
- Anthropogenic (w/ Q&A) – Friday, August 2 @ 8:30pm – Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
- Discompose (w/ Q&A) – Friday, August 2 @ 9pm – Suzanne Roberts Theater
- Indomitable (w/ Q&A) – Saturday, August 3 @ 5:30pm – Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
- Embodied (w/ Q&A) – Saturday, August 3 @ 8pm – Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center
- Propitiate (w/ Q&A) – Saturday, August 3 @ 8:30pm – Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
- Anima (w/ Q&A) – Sunday, August 4 @ 11am – Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center
- Spillikin (w/ Q&A) – Sunday, August 4 @ 3pm – Suzanne Roberts Theatre
- Concatenate (w/ Q&A) – Sunday, August 4 @ 3:30pm – Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
- Bilocation (w/ Q&A) – Sunday, August 4 @ 6:30pm – Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Events & Panels:
- BlackStar Pitch – Wednesday, July 31 @ 4pm – Barnes Foundation **Pass Required**
- Engines for a New American Narrative co-presented by Color Congress, Thursday, August 1 @ 2:30pm – The Daily Jawn Stage, Kimmel Center
- On Critics and Criticism co-presented by Critical Minded, Friday, August 2 @ 2:30pm – The Daily Jawn Stage, Kimmel Center
- Black on the Internet co-presented by Firelight Media’s Beyond Resilience Series, Friday, August 2 @ 5:30pm – The Daily Jawn Stage, Kimmel Center
- Yoga – Saturday, August 3 @ 9am, Sunday, August 4 @ 9am – Kimmel Center
- BlackStar Bazaar – Saturday, August 3 @ 11am – Kimmel Center
- Laugh to Keep from Crying – Saturday, August 3 @ 2:30pm – The Daily Jawn Stage, Kimmel Center
- Duty of Care – Saturday, August 3 @ 5:30pm – The Daily Jawn Stage, Kimmel Center
- Media-Making in Time of Genocide – Sunday, August 4 @ 2:30pm – The Daily Jawn Stage, Kimmel Center
- Spotlight Conversation: A Litany for Survival: The Life and Work of Audre Lorde co-Presented by Black Feminist Film School, Sunday, August 4 @ 5:30pm – The Daily Jawn Stage, Kimmel Center
Parties:
- Opening Night Party – Thursday, August 1 @ 9:30pm – World Cafe Live
- First Friday w/ Wayna – Friday, August 2 @ 6pm – Barnes Foundation
- Filmmaker Mixer Happy Hour – Saturday August 3 @ 7pm – The Wayward
- Closing Night Party – Sunday, August 4 @ 9:30pm – STAR|Bolt
BlackStar Juried Awards Categories & Nominees:
Best Feature Documentary
Nominees:
- A Mother Apart directed by Laurie Townshend
- Songs From the Hole directed by Contessa Gayles
- Twice Into Oblivion directed by Pierre Michel Jean
Jurors: Asad Muhammad, Tracy Rector, Ursula Liang
Best Short Documentary
Nominees:
- And Still, It Remains directed by Arwa Aburawa and Turab Shah
- The Archive: Queer Nigerians directed by Simisolaoluwa Akande
- The People Could Fly directed by Imani Dennison
- So That Tonight We Might See directed by Bea Hesselbart
- What Channel Is Love? directed by Michael Donte
- Wouldn’t Make It Any Other Way directed by Hao Zhou
Jurors: Nell Augustin, Reveca Torres, Zaina Bseiso
Best Feature Narrative
Nominees:
- After the Long Rains directed by Damien Hauser
- The Ballad of Suzanne Césaire directed by Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich
- Mambar Pierrette directed by Rosine Mbakam
Jurors: Aseye Tamakloe, Jason Reynolds, Tayarisha Poe
Best Short Narrative
Nominees:
- Bloomed in the Water directed by Joanne Mony Park
- Boat People directed by Al’Ikens Plancher
- The Dawn directed by Alicia Mendy
- Enmity Djinn directed by Mohamed Echkouna
- The Flacalta Effect directed by Rochée Jeffrey
Jurors Dagmawi Woubshet, Guetty Felin, Lynnée Denise
Best Experimental Film
Nominees:
- A Stone’s Throw directed by Razan AlSalah
- barrunto directed by Emilia Beatriz
- Bisagras directed by Luis Arnías
- Two Refusals (Would We Recognize Ourselves Unbroken?) directed by Suneil Sanzgiri
Jurors: Awa Konaté, Darol Olu Kae, David Hartt
Additional Awards
- Center for Cultural Power Climate Justice Award
- Philadelphia Filmmaker Award
- Shine Award for First-Time Filmmakers (Voted by BlackStar Members)
For more information on the festival and its programs, click here.
Major support for the festival is provided by the Open Society Foundations and Black Experience on Xfinity. Black Experience on Xfinity is a first-of-its-kind destination that provides Black entertainment, movies, TV shows, news and more. Available at home on Xfinity X1 and Flex and on-the-go with the Xfinity Stream app, Black Experience on Xfinity features original and high-quality content from Comcast NBCUniversal and other major studios, in addition to content from many of Xfinity’s existing network partners, at no additional cost to Xfinity customers.
Additional support for the festival provided by: AmericanDocumentary/POV, American Friends Service Committee, Andscape, Annenberg School for Communication at University of Pennsylvania, Black Public Media, The Center for Cultural Power, Color Congress, Creative Artists Agency, Critical Minded, Documentary.org, Drexel University Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, Eventive, Firelight Media, The Gotham Film & Media Institute, International Documentary Association, Impact Partners, Indego, ITVS, Kashif, NEON, NeueHouse, Peace Is Loud, PECO, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development, Philadelphia Foundation, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Points North Institute, PNC Arts Alive, Runway, Soho House, StoryCorps, Temple University School of Theater, Film and Media Arts, University of Pennsylvania Department of Cinema & Media Studies, Visit Philadelphia, Win Win Coffee, WORLD, WHYY and WURD.
BlackStar Projects and its year-round programs are generously supported by Critical Minded, Ford Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Independence Public Media Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, McLean Contributionship, Mellon Foundation, Nathan Cummings Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Perspective Fund, The Pew Center for Arts and Heritage, Philadelphia’s Cultural Treasures, Pop Culture Collaborative, Ruth Foundation for the Arts, Samuel S. Fels Fund, Surdna Foundation, Wallace Foundation, William Penn Foundation and Wyncote Foundation, in addition to its board of directors, community partners and a host of generous individual donors and organizations.