2023 Festival

Director: Andrew Abrahams, Herb Ferrette | In one of the “trials of the century” that still reverberates today, Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton faced the death penalty for killing a white policeman in a late-night car stop in 1967 Oakland. While Newton and his maverick attorneys boldly indicted racism in the courts and the country, and a groundbreaking jury led by a historic Black foreman deliberated Newton’s fate, the streets of Oakland and the nation were set to explode if the jury, as expected, returned a verdict of murder.

Director: Yolanda Davis-Overstreet | An important look at the joys and challenges of biking while Black and the need for a transit future rooted in justice and equity. BIKING WHILE BLACK chronicles the determination of communities and the fight to continue to ride through decriminalization, disenfranchisement, and gentrification.

Director: Will W. Andrews | Ezra and Asha, high school sweethearts, come to the understanding that their relationship is coming to an end.

Director: Tiffani Bliss Brown | In the very short span of six day, a hardworking, loving, fiercely devoted son, Noel, must come to terms with the pain and finality of losing his beloved mother to Alzheimer's disease while struggling through the suspicions he has about the newly hired nurse, Desi, he employed to be her nighttime caretaker.

Director: Shequeta Smith | Richard Tye “Trigga” Simmons, a rich, promiscuous, jet-setting rapper, has a one-night stand with a beautiful groupie who happens to be a witch. When Tye disrespects her, she places a ``penis curse`` that can't be broken until he learns how to respect women.

Director: Bruce Gorman | East River Story is a short film about a disgraced Wall Street banker (Desmond) who has arrived at the East River Walk with the intention of killing himself, rather than turn himself in the next morning to go to prison, as arranged by his criminal defense attorney. When he strikes up a conversation with a homeless man (Henry), though, as a way to procrastinate, they spend the night reflecting upon their lives and how the two of them came to end up in the same place. With sunrise only hours away, the two men are forced to face certain truths about themselves that will change their lives forever.

Director: Thina Zibi | Faceless is a 10-minute visual film that follows the story of identifying self, valuing community and self-realisation. Set to jazz vocalist Gabi Motubas soul-stirring song (title of song) - the poetic short film fuses spoken word and dance to illustrate the concept of “togetherness” through the performative movement and sound of a woman in an empty room.

Director: Charlie Bingham | It takes grinding to be the king. But what does it profit a man to gain the world and lose his soul? GoodGame, a charming black male from the hood, uses his book and street smarts to escape poverty and achieve success as a top tech lawyer but must manage his ego, spirituality, and authenticity or risk losing it all to the streets.

Director: Zahri Jackson | After the loss of her closest friend, Safiyah pushes through her lonely life by shutting out the world. Succumbing to the weight of her self-isolation, Safiyah is fired from her job and comforted by words from a generous stranger, who, during a fun girls' night, shows her a new meaning of ``friend``.

Director: Tezarah Wilkins | This short film explores what love and community look like through the vehicle of cycling and how one woman went from quarantine to QRT, Queens Rule Together, a Philly based global cycling community whose mission is to promote a healthy fun lifestyle while being fully committed to bringing diversity to the sport of cycling

Director: Zanah Thirus | After the North Pole, Inc. undergoes a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion overhaul, a new person is appointed to the role of Santa Claus.

Director: Michele Adams | Three couples learn that love is not always easy, especially when they find themselves captured and imprisoned by a thing called “LOVE”.

Director: Dontae Peoples | A story of love versus lust when two strangers cross paths at an upscale jazz club.

Director: Karon Hamlet | The Nell is a coming of age story, about the bonds competitive athletes build on the block and in the community. It’s based in the early 80’s, before the internet, social media and cell phones had so much influence.

Director: Justin Rowe Tolliver | Three friends travel to New Orleans for a birthday celebration only to quickly realize that their air bnb is haunted.

Director: Freddie Gardener | A young woman is held captive in a secluded lab as she goes through a series of experiments to test her supernatural abilities.

Director: Katrina Brook Flores | A love story with the future kaleidoscopes in a cosmic twin encounter.

Director: Jimmie Thomas | In North Florida, fifteen-year-old Jay fights for the love and adoration of his father Jimmie, an addict, and alcoholic. Jimmie’s addiction serves as a source of drama in the household. But through adversity, love continues to shine through.

Director: Shelton R. Johnson & Jack Johnson | A young woman who grew up with a single mother, meets a man who inspires her to strive for more out of life.

Director: De’Auan McClaine | A short film that satirically captures the complexities of the black church and its impact on black youth.

Director: Sade Sellers | When a high-class businessman and a jaded sex worker find themselves together for a night, they realize that they need each other for more reasons than one.

Director: Andrew Essig | Once his mission is complete, Marvin must now leave the life he's built BUT at a cost. What's even stranger, is the lies he's built suddenly comes with a twist. A twist he never saw coming!

Director: Dumas Haddad | FLOWERS is an afro-futuristic fairytale of love, following a ceremony of a mother giving away her son. Our protagonist is gifted with a heavy crown by his mother to the disappointment of his overlooked brothers. A crown of glory. A crown that comes with a mission and a price. This is a story about the deep, transformative power of love, a story about family, purpose and realising one’s destiny. Flowers reimagines what a black fairy-tale would look and feel like, adopting references to classic Disney stories from the 1930s-50s and modernising tropes for this whimsical coming of age tale.

Director: Marcus Naylor | Marcus Naylor`s slow waltz with mourning sudden death , is an homage to parents who face the surreal shift in life after the death of a child`s mother. And to the children who learn about a mother`s love gone too soon. ``Hudson Sunset In the After-While,`` is a somber journey between father and son, and the dead woman they both love.

Director: Mi’Chelle Nelson | Two siblings attempting to escape a racist cop encounters an ensuing ancestral spirit in a nearby park.

Director: Oswmer Louis | Like most neighbors, the relationship between the Spina and Pierre-Louis family has been built on infrequent small talk, mutual respect, & occasional coupon theft. When tragedy happens in their Orlando neighborhood, Mike Spina and Nelson Pierre-Louis must toe the line between civility and revenge. Witness the internal and external conflict both men will face in this short & suspenseful drama.

Director: Aaron Spells | Criminal Defense Lawyer, Trust Shakur, takes the day to celebrate his younger brother, Ace’s birthday and his growth in becoming his own man. Despite his blunt outer layer, Ace plans to follow in his brother’s footsteps by becoming a lawyer and has taken the necessary steps to do so. He excels in his studies, evident from the plethora of scholarships from top schools in the country, and takes pride in expanding his personal knowledge of African-American history. To extend an extra incentive for Ace to retain their shared vision during the next leg of his studies, Trust takes him to see the foundation of what they’re trying to build. On the trip home, the brothers’ are faced with the dark reality of how stereotyping truly perpetuates systematic racism and breeds specific injustices in Vice City, the U.S., and the world. Trust tries to use his knowledge of the legal system to negotiate with the biased officer, but Ace’s refusal to back down from his valid beliefs threatens the cop enough for him to make the fatal decision that leads to a predictable outcome. After the legal system fails him for the first time, fueled by his anger and taste for revenge, Trust hones his emotions to take on a new perspective of justice that dismantles the one in place from the inside out.

Director: Michael Urs Reber | The Zimbabwean Deminers Shame, Cosimas and medic Previous have been traveling to the other side of the world for years to clear mines from the earth on the British Falkland Islands. In the subpolar cold, among sand dunes and penguins, they defuse and blow up the legacies of a forgotten war. Their dangerous craft enables their families in Africa to live well. But what price do they pay for toiling most of their lives in the world's most dangerous regions?

Director: Razzaaq Boykin | Accomplished fashion designer Dorian Gray celebrates the five year anniversary of his clothing line 'The Gray Collection'. He’s waiting for the arrival of Cornelius Black, a famous fashion designer, and Dorian's career aspiration. Cornelius wants to finalize a deal buying the Gray Collection from Dorian, who has reservations. Sybil Vane, photographer and Dorian's on again/off again girlfriend, wants to prevent Dorian from selling out. Torn between his dreams and his true love, Dorian is haunted by a transforming portrait that only he can see. Dorian’s biggest night will soon become his worst.

Director: Lamont Pierre | The streets and canals that lock the perimeters of the wards of inner and outer New Orleans carry the tales of the driven, the destitute, the artistic, the underrepresented and the perpetually heartbroken.

Director: Frederick Jerome Taylor | Part documentary and part cinematic art, this beautiful film searches for America through real story, music and spoken word.

Director: Anthony Michael Stokes | A day in the life of an adorable sheep we all remember from our childhood, unfortunately nursery rhymes are child's play, this is real life.

DIrector: Janks Morton | Patient 1619 is suffering from a condition known as dissociative identity disorder (multiple personalities). The personalities emerge from a life-long repression of his original identity to accommodate and navigate a society that subjugates, oppresses and terrorizes his race. If he is unable to recall his name, he can never really know who he is, and is at risk of becoming lost forever in the conflicting personalities…

Emily Maya Mills

Director: Damien D. Smith | Our Detangled team went on the road for our latest series supporting Citizen SHE United's effort to mobilize Black Women in the South entitled: Road To 300K: Detangling The South! From Leah Chase's kitchen in New Orleans to 16th Street Baptist Church, Ballard House and Kelly Ingram Park in Birmingham, Alabama; Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma concluded our journey on election day in Miami.

Director: Maria Katre Osler | When Dr. Anthony West, a quirky psychiatrist meets Rose, an awkward patient who suffers from a mysterious mental illness, he's forced to face his own cloistered demons of self-reluctance.

Director: Stephanie Anette | GiGi traveled to an another reality to deliver a message for future Tomas, that present day Tomas may not be able to receive.

Director: Prinsey Walker | Former music star Richard Roosevelt’s world comes crashing down when his son, Brian, receives the opportunity to play music with his brother, a notorious performer, who led to Richard's career demise. ``Fool's Gold`` is short-film about the cycle of family betrayal.

Director: Trai Thomas | A Chef and Celebrity battle it out over dinner.

Director: Joseph Walters | Based on the mystery spy thriller #iRemember Book Series | Following Valerie who’s memory loss masqueraded as nightmares only to discover they are glimpses of past missions as a trained killer.

Director: Fitch Jean | Sitting for the first time in a barbershop, a young black boy will discover for the first time the symbolic power of black hair.

Director: Kevin Coleman-Cohen | After years of abuse, a homeless Black teen must navigate the dangerous world of survival sex on the streets of St. Louis.

Director: Jasmine Je’toi Williams | As imposter syndrome invades a young couple’s future to escape their environment, an untimely loss forces the end of a vicious cycle.

Director: Prinsey Walker

Director: Delante Sealey | An astronaut returns home from an exploration mission in space after being away for some time. He goes back home to his family only to realize everything isn’t the same. He is feeling empty in his own home and wonders what is going on as he sees his family come apart. He begins to contemplate is it him or did he leave apart of him in space?

Director: Kaylynn Richardson | The Prize is a dramedy short film about an unhappy young woman who gets more than she bargains for when she stumbles across an energetic ``old-head.``

Director: Jami’L Carter | To Get By tells the journey of Red, an ex-convict, who attempts to secure a job but can't because of her record. With a sick mother, a pending foreclosure, and supportive friends, Red must decide how to survive with her second chance.

Director: Justin Poage | MrWayne83 and WavvyGirl39 met online and fell in love sight unseen. What could possibly go wrong when they meet in real life?