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By Indie Means Necessary

The BlackStar Film Festival is an annual celebration of the visual and storytelling traditions of the African diaspora and of global communities of color, showcasing films by black, brown and indigenous people from around the world.

Twitter

@BlackStarFest - 6 hours

Huge congrats @BlitzAmbassador!! 👏🏿👏🏾👏🏽 If you haven't seen it yet, Blitz's film #TheBurialofKojo — which screened… https://t.co/RDcs9m1n4D

@BlackStarFest - 7 hours

.@ICAPhiladelphia's 21st annual Open Video Call is now accepting submissions of new and recent video art from Phila… https://t.co/0ouP82jLuP

Instagram

  • Looking for something to do with young people while stuck at home? On the blog we put together 9 short films for kids and teens from the past 8 years of BlackStar Film Festival, that are currently available to stream. Check out the link in our bio!⁠ ⁠ 🎥 Still from #BGM, directed by @sontenish, @heytemioni⁠ ⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ ⁠ #BSFF20 #ByIndieMeansNecessary
  • We've got some news! We now have five full-time (🎉) staff members, just got two major grants, and have a new Board of Directors! ⁠ ⁠ Check out our April newsletter (link in bio) for more on this and other updates from BlackStar. 🙌🏾⁠ ⁠ 📸 by @rashidzakat ⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ #BSFF20 #byindiemeansnecessary ⁠
  • Tyler Mitchell's installation "Laundry Line" (2020), which recently debuted at the International Center of Photography, is partially inspired by Gordon Parks’s image of two Alabama women at a wire fence loaded with clothes, in the series “A Segregation Story” (1956). ⁠ ⁠ Read the article, "Merging Fashion Photography and Installation Art, Tyler Mitchell Crafts a Vision of Freedom for Black Youth," via @artinamerica and the link in our bio.⁠ ⁠ ⁠ 🖼 @tylersphotos's installation Laundry Line, 2020⁠ 📸 Photo by John Halpern⁠ ⁠ ⁠
  • Throwback! This pic, from the second ever festival in 2013, was taken after a screening of @victoriamahoney's #YellingtotheSky. From left to right, it's Tariq Trotter (@blackthought), Rakia Reynolds (@rakiareynolds), Yolonda Ross (@yolondaross_creator), and Zakhino Kuduro. 🖤 #tbt⁠ ⁠ Did you make it to #BSFF13? What do you remember most from that year?⁠ ⁠ 📸 by Jati Lindsay (@jatiphoto)
  • "[I]n the eight years since it was founded, the Underground Museum has become not only one of the most important destinations for black art in the country but also a crucial gathering place for its working class Arlington Heights neighborhood — with a bookstore featuring works by black writers, poetry readings in the wooden bar and events in its back garden including free meditation, yoga and movie screenings.⁠ ⁠ As cultural institutions all over the world wrestle with how to bring art to the public during the pandemic, smaller ones like the Underground Museum are also trying to figure out how to continue serving communities that have come to rely on them in other ways.⁠ ⁠ ...Most immediately, the Underground — which is not planning layoffs — is trying to minister to its public by helping deliver produce, continuing its weekly meditation program via Instagram and working to create a neighborhood support program even as residents adjust to life without the museum." - @nytimes ⁠ ⁠ Read the full story on the importance of @theundergroundmuseum via link in bio.
  • Our very own @maorikarmael was profiled by @rollingout today! Click the link in our bio to read the whole thing and to learn more about BlackStar's founder, artistic director, and CEO. 🤩⁠ ⁠ 📸 by Daniel Jackson⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ ⁠ #BSFF20 #byindiemeansnecessary
  • Amidst this moment of collective isolation, we reached out to our BlackStar community to ask WYD? Our first set of responses is from Jenn Nkiru (@jennnkiru), who was most recently at #BSFF19 with her film #BLACKTOTECHNO. Here's what Jenn is doing right now: ⁠ ⁠ 𝐐: Is any of your work currently available to stream online?⁠ ⁠ 𝐀: Yes. www.jennnkiru.com (link in bio) ⁠ 𝐐: What are you watching?⁠ ⁠ 𝐀: my film, REBIRTH IS NECESSARY ⁠ ⁠ 𝐐: What are you reading?⁠ ⁠ 𝐀: Women Who Run With the Wolves by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés ⁠ ⁠ 𝐐: What are you listening to?⁠ ⁠ 𝐀: Totó la Momposina⁠ ⁠ 𝐐: What's a museum, gallery, or art exhibit that you wish you could be at right now?⁠ ⁠ 𝐀: Toyin Ojih Odutola’s exhibition at The Curve, “A Countervailing Theory⁠” ⁠ 𝐐: Any other thoughts?⁠ ⁠ 𝐀: "the creator has a master plan, always. listen to nature — its speaking to us. when mother nature wants to show that ass we get humbled real quick. all things (good or bad) in time will always pass. be kind to each other — share what you got big or small. in times of strife + panic lean in to those things that keep u centered + still. focus now on all you’ve been neglecting spiritually / emotionally + physiologically and use this time as an opportunity to give love and attention to those things until you come into a space of balance." ⁠ ⁠ *Stay tuned for more WYD? responses from the BlackStar family. #blackstarwyd
  • The final submission deadline for #BSFF20 is fast approaching! Don't wait, submit your work before April 13th.⁠ ⁠ Films must be directed by a person who identifies as Black, Brown, or Indigenous, from anywhere in the world. Work must feature persons of color or tell a story of Black, Brown, and/or Indigenous experience.⁠ ⁠ ➡️ Link in our bio⁠ 📅 Final deadline: Apr 13, 2020⁠ 🎥 Festival dates: Jul 30 - Aug 2, 2020⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ #BSFF20 #byindiemeansnecessary #indiefilm

2019 Festival Re-cap

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