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BlackStar
1901 South 9th Street
Bok 314
Philadelphia, PA 19148
267-603-2755 Phone
267-573-3084 Fax
star@blackstarfest.org

For a list of staff contacts visit this page.

By Indie Means Necessary

BlackStar Projects, home of the annual BlackStar Film Festival, celebrates and provides platforms for visionary Black, Brown, and Indigenous artists.

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@BlackStarFest - 2 days

RT @CinemaTropical: Afro-Latinx and diasporic Latin American films at the 10th edition of the @BlackStarFest: https://t.co/hSuyeaMYOH http…

@BlackStarFest - 2 days

The winner of this @visitphilly giveaway gets two all access passes to #BlackStar10! Learn more and enter 👇🏾 https://t.co/6qUUL9ZMKy

Instagram

We have 12 epic shorts programs screening virtuall

We have 12 epic shorts programs screening virtually this year during the festival! Tickets are $5 to see an individual shorts block, or you can grab a $100 virtual pass (or $125 all access pass, which also gets you into the in-person BlackStar @ the Mann day). ⁠⁠
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Shorts Program: Symbiosis⁠⁠, co-presented by @mediajustice & @scattergoodfdn⁠⁠, screens Aug 4 @ 2 pm ET⁠⁠ with the theme “We are our families, our families are us."⁠⁠
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THE SOUTH IS MY SISTER'S SKIN⁠⁠
dir. by Zenzele Ojore⁠⁠
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HEARTLAND⁠⁠
dir. by Jahmil Eady⁠⁠
+Nominated for Lionsgate/Starz Award for Best Speculative Fiction+⁠⁠
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NUEVO RICO⁠⁠
dir. by Kristian Mercado Figueroa⁠⁠
+Nominated for Best Short Narrative+⁠⁠
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PINK & BLUE⁠⁠
dir. by Carmen LoBue⁠⁠
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NO ENTRY⁠⁠
dir. by Kaleb D'Aguilar⁠⁠
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TALLAHASSEE⁠⁠
dir. by Darine Hotait⁠⁠
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All films in this shorts block will have audio descriptions available, and some films also have closed captioning available. ⁠⁠
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Learn more and get your virtual tickets at the link in bio!⁠⁠

#BlackStar10 #BSFF21 #byindiemeansnecessary
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[Image Descriptions available in alt text]

BlackStar is a qualifying festival for the Academy

"R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Balancing Power and Care in Doc Fi

"R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Balancing Power and Care in Doc Filmmaking" is presented in partnership with the Documentary Accountability Working Group, and happens live on Facebook and our festival watch platform on Aug 5 @ 6 pm ET.
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With Natalie Bullock-Brown, Sonya Childress, Michelle Lanier, Twiggy Pucci-Garcon, Poh Si Teng and Dr. Kameelah Rashad⁠⁠
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“In the face of 2020’s intersectional reckonings, a movement of independent filmmakers and other documentary field stakeholders rose up to reshape the nonfiction industry in profound ways — from dismantling barriers in the field to advancing new, non-extractive, healing-centered approaches to storytelling. Last year, a group of colleagues desiring to activate more concrete change within the documentary field came together to craft a framework for values-based filmmaking. Over 100 stakeholders and film participants have weighed in on that framework. Join the Documentary Accountability Working Group as they share the evolution of their vision alongside a filmmaker, a film participant, a funder and mental health professional, all of whose work embodies the spirit of a liberatory approach to documentary film.⁠⁠”

This is one of the many can't-miss-panels happening during #BSFF21! All panels are free to watch live on Facebook or within our festival watch platform. You can RSVP for this one at the link in bio!⁠⁠

#BlackStar10 #byindiemeansnecessary

We just announced the line-up for BlackStar @ the

We just announced the line-up for BlackStar @ the Mann - the final day of this year’s festival - including our closing night film: the world premiere of EYES ON THE PRIZE: HALLOWED GROUND! ⁠⁠
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This documentary from Oscar-nominee and BlackStar alum Sophia Nahli Allison (A LOVE SONG FOR LATASHA) honors Henry Hampton’s masterpiece EYES ON THE PRIZE (1987-1990) and conjures ancestral memories, activates the radical imagination and explores the profound journey for Black liberation through the voices of the movement. A portal through time, EYES ON THE PRIZE: HALLOWED GROUND is a mystical and lyrical reimagining of the past, present, and future.⁠⁠
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Watch it outside at the @manncenter in Philadelphia, followed by a post-screening Q&A with director @yagurlsophia, executive producer⁠⁠
Mervyn Marcano, and venerable artist and cultural worker Sonia Sanchez. All happening after a full day of #BSFF21 screenings, food vendors, and beautiful community. Get your pass at the link in bio!⁠⁠
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And learn more about HALLOWED GROUND and all the films playing outside during BlackStar @ the Mann via our press release, also in the link in bio.⁠⁠
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WAIKIKI ⁠⁠
dir. by Christopher Kahunahana⁠⁠
+Nominated for Best Feature Narrative+⁠⁠
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UPROOTED: THE JOURNEY OF JAZZ DANCE ⁠⁠
dir. by Khadifa Wong⁠⁠
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Shorts Program: Emergent
(See previous IG post for full credits)⁠⁠
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EYES ON THE PRIZE: HALLOWED GROUND
dir. by Sophia Nahli Allison⁠⁠
*See it before it premieres on @hbomax August 19*

#BlackStar10

You can now download the official Program Guide fo

You can now download the official Program Guide for this year's festival at the link in bio! Explore all the film screenings, panels, special events, and other activities happening from August 4 to 8 — and then make sure you get your tickets! ➡ blackstarfest.org/tickets⁠
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Design by Leo Brooks. ⁠🙌🏾⁠
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#BSFF21 #BlackStar10 #byindiemeansnecessary

Have you grabbed your pass for BlackStar yet!? Thi

Have you grabbed your pass for BlackStar yet!? This year 80 films will be streaming online from Aug 4-8, including a dozen different curated shorts programs. This block, titled "Emergent," features five films under the theme "blossomings of youth."⁠ Catch it Saturday, August 7, @ 12:00 PM ET!* ⁠⁠
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Get your tickets at the link in bio, where you can also learn more about each of these films.⁠⁠ 🎟
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Co-presented by @scattergoodfdn⁠⁠
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REJOICE RESIST⁠⁠
dir. by Elisha Smith-Leverock⁠⁠
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PRIDE⁠⁠
dir. by Kevin Jerome Everson and Claudrena N. Harold⁠⁠
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TEAM MERYLAND⁠⁠
dir. by Gabriel Gaurano⁠⁠
+Nominated for Best Short Documentary+⁠⁠
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AL-SIT⁠⁠
dir. by Suzannah Mirghani⁠⁠
+Nominated for Best Short Narrative+⁠⁠
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LIZARD⁠⁠
dir. by Akinola Davies Jr. ⁠⁠
+Nominated for Best Short Narrative+⁠⁠
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*This shorts program will also screen in-person on August 8 during BlackStar @ the Mann.
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[Image Descriptions: First slide lists the films playing within the Emergent shorts program at the 10th BlackStar Film Festival, described above. The remaining slides show stills from each film, and these descriptions are written in the alt text of this post.]⁠⁠

"There were a handful of Haitian themed films duri

"There were a handful of Haitian themed films during BlackStar 2015. It was the beautiful life, a beautiful time. We shared a different side of this magical country on the world stage in Philly. Through our lens, voices and talent, we inspired audiences at Blackstar to experience a varied narrative of Haiti. Peace and blessings to Haiti in these very tough times. Happy 10th year BlackStar." -Rachelle Salnave⁠
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Throwback from #BSFF15 courtesy of @rachelle_salnave! Rachelle also happens to have a film premiering at this year's festival — MADAME PIPI — which is playing at 6 PM ET on August 8 online, as part of the Shorts Program "Egress." Tickets at the link in bio!⁠

“MADAME PIPI follows the lives of Haitian bathroom attendants working the nightclubs in Miami. Despite the rising cost of living and now the uncertainty of COVID-19 shutting down nightlife, their remittances from tips contribute to more than one-third of the GDP in Haiti.”

#BlackStar10 #BSFF21

Note: “Haitians” is misspelled in the second graphic, which is a typo on our part in creating the graphic.

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Pictured (L-R): Martine Jean, Krystel Roche, Jason Fitzroy-Jeffers (@jasonfitzroy), Rachelle Salnave, Jimmy Jean-Louis (@jimmyjeanlouis), Marie Benoit, Pascal Marcelin (@pmarcelin)⁠
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[Image Description: The first image shows a group of six Haitian and Caribbean filmmakers gather for a photo at the 2015 Black Star Film Festival. They put their arms around each other and smile for the camera. The second image is a graphic showing a quote from Rachelle Salnave that reads "We called ourselves the 'Haitains of Hollywood' all weekend as a joke." Third image is a graphic promoting the World Premiere of "Madame Pipi" by Rachelle Salnave, Aug 8 at 6 pm ET at BlackStar.]

Our 10th Anniversary Print Sale continues with a n

Our 10th Anniversary Print Sale continues with a new print from longtime festival alum @terenceetc! An artist, musician, and filmmaker, Terence Nance (#BSFF15, #BSFF16, #BSFF17, #BSFF18, #BSFF19) has created numerous acclaimed works over the last decade, including his debut feature film An Oversimplification of Her Beauty (2012) and the Peabody-winning series @randomactshbo — which premiered at the 2018 BlackStar Film Festival. His contribution to our print sale is titled "Franklin and Fulton."⁠⁠
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All prints are limited edition; only thirty of each will be available for purchase. Learn more and buy yours at the link in bio!⁠⁠
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Terence Nance⁠⁠
Franklin and Fulton⁠⁠
2020⁠⁠
8.5 x 11 in.⁠⁠
Pigment print⁠⁠
Edition of 30⁠⁠
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#BlackStar10⁠⁠
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[Image Description: A photo of a Black person at a street corner on a sunny day, their back turned to the camera as they walk forward, in mid-motion. They are wearing a teal dress and matching headscarf, carrying a black bag over their shoulder. Titled "Franklin and Fulton," by Terence Nance. On sale as part of the BlackStar 10th Anniversary Print Sale.]⁠⁠
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LIBORIO, directed by @ninomartinezsosa, is one of

LIBORIO, directed by @ninomartinezsosa, is one of the incredible feature narrative films screening online during this year's festival! Head to the link in bio to buy an individual ticket or go to blackstarfest.org/tickets to grab your festival passes.⁠⁠ #BSFF21
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LIBORIO (2021)⁠⁠
Dir. by Nino Martínez Sosa⁠⁠
⁠August 6 @ 6pm EST (Virtual)*⁠⁠
Philadelphia Premiere⁠⁠
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In the early 20th century, Liborio, a peasant, disappears in a hurricane and returns as a prophet. He says he’s been given a mission: to bring the good and take away the evil, curing the sick and teaching by example. People begin to congregate by his side, and they move to the mountains to have total freedom and develop the dream of an independent community. Everything changes when the invading U.S. Marines want to disarm and disband the community. Liborio wants to avoid a confrontation but knows that they can’t run forever.⁠⁠
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*This screening is capped at 300 viewers.⁠⁠
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@liboriofilm⁠⁠

#BlackStar10
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[Image Description: A graphic announcing the Philadelphia premiere and virtual screening of the film Liborio on August 6 at 6:00 pm ET. A still from the film is also included and pictures a Black adult person with a full beard. They wear a woven diadem with a large bone pendant that reaches their nose. The person appears to be in a cave or shelter of sorts, with warm light emanating from candles that light the left side of their face. They look slightly off to the side with open and discerning eyes.]

2020 Festival Re-cap

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