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March 8

Film Resistance: 3rd Eye Cinema Praxis
Anisia Uzeyman

Tickets Available

A headshot of Anisia Uzeyman, she is a Black woman. She is wearing a linen shirt, her hair is wrapped.
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Seminar

William and Louise Greaves Filmmaker Seminar 2024

A seminar for Black, Brown, and Indigenous artists working in cinematic realms, hosted by BlackStar. Registration open now.

Tickets Available
A headshot of Anisia Uzeyman, she is a Black woman. She is wearing a linen shirt, her hair is wrapped.
Seminar

Keynote Address: Film Resistance

Presented by Anisia Uzeyman Even the most fragile expression of resistance is a conductor in the transfer of power. In electricity it is the friction that produces the strength of the flow, in filmmaking it is the question that produces the story.

A photo of a large room in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, it is filled with people dancing. There is a DJ booth at the far end.
Screening

Short Film Showcase + Revival!

A screening of four short films examining the theme of 'land' and a performance of Rashid Zakat's Revival!

A still from Bank of Targets, it’s a close-up shot of a man wearing a press vest, designed for journalists operating in active war zones, and a helmet. He is standing in front of a pile of rubble.
Screening

Teach-in on Palestine

Join us for an evening of learning, hosted in collaboration with the W.E.B. Dubois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction, designed as a space for collective care. It will include a screening of Roshdi Sarraj’s BANK OF TARGETS (2021), discussion, meditation, and refreshments.

A film still from "The Tale of the Three Jewels". It shows three young people standing together outside. A young boy and young girl are facing one another. They appear to be in a serious discussion. There is a third young boy in the middle looking at them.
Screening

Palestine Cinema Days: The Tale of Three Jewels (1995)

A screening is in support of "Palestine Cinema Days" Festival, co-hosted with Film Lab Palestine.

RSVP
Screening

Fall Screening Series: Pariah (2011)

Join us at BOK for a screening of Dee Rees' feature debut, about a queer teenager in Brooklyn who risks friendship, heartbreak, and family in a desperate search for self-expression.

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Screening

Fall Screening Series: Eve’s Bayou (1997)

Kasi Lemmons’s iconic feature debut, a southern-gothic drama about a 10-year-old girl (Jurnee Smollett) in 1960s Louisiana, who over the course of a long, hot summer, discovers that her family's affluent existence masks deep and troubling secrets. @BOK Auditorium.

Graphic advertising BlackStar Film Festival 2023 Aug 2-6
Festival

BlackStar Film Festival 2023

Film screenings, panels, and events in Philly and online.

A photo of the interior of the BlackStar Project's office. There are two yellow air chairs and a coffee table. Behind is an open kitchen set-up with tables.
Party

Open House

We’re opening up our offices on Saturday, July 22 for a special pre-festival open house. Get your festival merch before the rest, secure your all-access pass at a special rate, and get a sneak peek of a few films! Come visit us and see where all the magic is made. We'll have music, refreshments, and a staff ready to talk all things festival. No registration needed.

RSVP
A photo shows a crowd gathering indoors at night, under a large wall text that reads "Terence Nance: Swarm March 10-July 9".
Concert

ICA Gather: Infinite Swarm

ICA is excited to welcome neighbors, creatives, and families for an afternoon in celebration of Terence Nance: Swarm! Start the afternoon with guided meditation and participate in drop-in activities inspired by Nance’s genre-defying practice. Plus don’t miss another chance to see Swarm before it closes on July 9th!

Concert

VORTEX Concert | Terence Nance

The first-ever live performances of V O R T E X, the debut album from Terence Nance, in concert at Union Transfer. With Anthony Tidd and special guest Madison McFerrin.

Concert

VORTEX Concert | Terence Nance

The first-ever live performances of V O R T E X, the debut album from Terence Nance, in concert at Union Transfer. With Anthony Tidd and special guest Madison McFerrin.

A collaged photo of Terence Nance and Maori Karmael Holmes
Panel

In Conversation: Terence Nance & Maori Karmael Holmes

Join us in conversation with artist Terence Nance and curator Maori Karmael Holmes as they discuss Nance’s genre-defying approach to film, video, television, sound and performance.

A photo of group of people in auditorium-like setting. The person is the foreground is taking notes.
Training

Audio Description for Film

Learn the art of audio describing film for audiences with low or no vision.

March 10 - July 9, Swarm Terence Nance, written in pink above a still image of obscured faces.
Exhibition

Terence Nance: Swarm

The first solo show of filmmaker, writer, actor, and musician Terence Nance. Curated by Maori Karmael Holmes.

A group of people gather at a lecture. They sit in chairs and face a man, sitting and speaking at the front of the room.
Seminar

William and Louise Greaves Filmmaker Seminar 2023

A seminar for Black, Brown, and Indigenous artists working in cinematic realms, hosted by BlackStar. Registration opens January 10, 2023.

A still from Golden Jubilee. It shows a person walking through a dark field. There is a tree in the foreground, the sky is hues of purple. There is a soft golden light behind the person.
Screening

BlackStar Experimental Shorts

Aurora and BlackStar Film Festival co-present a screening of experimental short films from the US, UK, Senegal, and India that center history, movement, and place.

A still from Beba. A portrait of a Black Latinx woman. She has a peaceful expression, her eyes are closed and her arm is draped over her head. Behind her is the open sky.
Screening

Beba

Screening at Landmark Ritz Five in Philadelphia, followed by Q+A with filmmaker Rebeca Huntt, moderated by BlackStar's Farrah Rahaman.

A flower blooms in orange against a blue background, within the flower is the face of someone.
Screening

Color in Film, By Us, For Us (Seen Issue 004 Launch)

To celebrate the launch of Issue 004, Seen journal presents a screening and conversation focused on the nuances of color and craft through the lenses of Black creators.

A group of wedding goers gather under a tent during a storm, they are dressed glamorously in reds and marigolds, with one person at the center appearing to be the bride.
Screening

Monsoon Wedding

In anticipation of this year’s festival, we’re proud to co-present Monsoon Wedding (2001), the classic film directed by 2022 Luminary Award recipient Mira Nair. 

Roots Picnic x BlackStar
Screening

Roots Picnic x BlackStar

This weekend BlackStar is headed to the Roots Picnic! At the two-day event, we will be screening short films featured in past BlackStar Film Festivals. The films will play in pairs, on the hour every hour, between 2pm and 8pm ET on both June 4 and 5.