Many Lumens — A Podcast by BlackStar | BlackStar Film Festival

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BlackStar founder Maori Karmael Holmes chats with the most groundbreaking artists, change makers, and cultural workers in the game — finding meaning in the intersections of art, social change, and popular culture.

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INTRODUCTION

Maori Karmael Holmes

Learn more about Maori, the host of Many Lumens, and the inspiration behind the podcast, in this short conversation with journalist Dyana Williams.

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EPISODE 1

dream hampton

Writer and filmmaker dream hampton, on the intimate dimensions, costs and rewards of being committed to a Black radical politics.

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EPISODE 2

Janicza Bravo

Zola director Janicza Bravo, on friendship, her creative process, and the importance of choosing your battles.

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Episode 3

Jason Reynolds

Writer and poet Jason Reynolds posits literature as a form of radical worldmaking.

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EPISODE 4

Arthur Jafa

Filmmaker and artist Arthur Jafa orients us towards the notion of “trouble consciousness.”

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EPISODE 5

Blitz Bazawule

Blitz Bazawule, the musician, filmmaker, writer and painter, on the multi-dimensional power of film as a tool for Afro diasporic storytelling.

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By Indie Means Necessary

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

Twitter

@BlackStarFest - 2 days

RT @christashima: One of my early roles: @AnnenbergCenter presents “Strawberry Fields” + Discussion with Director @ReaTajiriFilm and @maori…

@BlackStarFest - 2 days

RT @ASCmediarisk: Tomorrow! We’re hosting a film discussion with @maorikarmael and @dsabelagrimes as they dive into the many layers of stor…

Instagram

There are two exciting events featuring BlackStar

There are two exciting events featuring BlackStar team members happening tomorrow! The first, at 12 pm ET, is a discussion of Steve McQueen's Lovers Rock addressing migration, performance, and cinematography, hosted by the Center for Media at Risk at @AnnenbergPenn. Moderated by our festival panel producer @farrah.jpg (also a Center Steering Committee Member), it features our Artistic Director @maoriholmes (Annenberg Mediamaker-in-Residence) in conversation with scholar d. Sabela grimes (@yameanssupreme). Watch via the link in bio.⁠⁠
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The second, at 7 pm ET, is a screening of Rea Tajiri's 1997 film Strawberry Fields — set in 1971 against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, tackling the minefield between cultural history and personal memory — followed by a discussion between Rea (@jilsika) and Maori. Find more information and tickets via: annenbergcenter.org/event/strawberry-fields⁠⁠
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[Image Descriptions: The first slide is a flyer advertising a "virtual roundtable" happening April 21 at 12 pm ET, called "Movement at the Margins." It features the headshots of the panelists mentioned above and the details as well. The second slide is a still from Strawberry Fields, a close-up shot of a character in seeming distress, looking off to the right, with the title of the film placed in the right corner, almost as if it were emerging from their mouth.]

"Instead of presenting two opposing arguments, the

"Instead of presenting two opposing arguments, these works exist in the same continuum, offering a vision for how thoughtful film curation may be essential to appreciating—rather than lamenting—the often stark differences in how Black and Indigenous artists share their ideas about land, empire, and the self." - Cassie Da Costa, in @vanityfair, reviews a number of recent releases challenging "dominant narratives," including #BSFF20 selection maɬni—towards the ocean, towards the shore.⁠
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Read the whole piece at the link in bio.⁠
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[Image Description: A screenshot of the beginning of a Vanity Fair article titled "How Should Black and Indigenous Directors Depict Generational Trauma?," by Cassie Da Costa. Film stills from Raoul Peck’s Exterminate All the Brutes; Oliver Hermanus’s Moffie; Sky Hopinka’s Maɬni—Towards the Ocean, Towards the Shore; and Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese’s This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection are visible at the bottom.]

The newest print in our year-long 10th Anniversary

The newest print in our year-long 10th Anniversary Print Sale is from visionary artist @cauleen_smith! ⁠Drawing from structuralism, third world cinema, and science fiction, Cauleen Smith (#BSFF13, #BSFF19) makes things that deploy the tactics of activism in service of ecstatic social space and contemplation. This still is from the 2018 film SOJOURNER, which explores what a radical feminist utopia might look like.⁠⁠
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Cauleen Smith⁠⁠
Still from SOJOURNER⁠⁠
2018⁠⁠
11 x 8.5 in. ⁠⁠
Edition of 30⁠⁠
Pigment Print⁠⁠
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Cauleen’s short films, feature film, an installation and performance were showcased at International Film Festival Rotterdam 2019. And has had solo exhibitions at The Whitney Museum of American Art, SFMoMA, and MassMoCA. ⁠⁠
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Learn more about Cauleen and the sale at the link in bio!⁠⁠
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Purchases of this limited edition print support BlackStar as we celebrate a decade of our annual Film Festival. A new print from a festival alum will be unveiled on the 15th of every month for the rest of the year. 🎉⁠⁠

#BlackStar10
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[Image Descriptions: First slide features a still from Cauleen Smith's film SOJOURNER, showing a Black person standing in a desert landscape, looking off into the distance. Behind them in the near-distance are a number of objects which are part of the community the film imagines. The second slide advertises BlackStar's 10th Anniversary Print Sale with confetti and stars in teal and pink, all against black.]⁠⁠

Check out this free event hosted by @imaginenative

Check out this free event hosted by @imaginenative and @freethework tomorrow that brings together Indigenous, Afro-Indigenous, and Black artists "in conversation around disruptive recountings, future tellings to witness current intersections of Afrofuturism and Indigenous Futurisms."⁠
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Moderated by Jessie Ray Short, with panelists Zainab Amadahy, Syrus Marcus Ware, Nisi Shawl, and Asinnajaq. A playlist curated by imagineNATIVE's Teineisha Richards will also be available to view after the panel.⁠
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🗓 Thursday, April 15 at 4:00 PM ET ⁠
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Learn more and RSVP at the link in bio.⁠
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[Image Description: A flyer for "Futurisms: A Conversation Exploring Intersections of Afrofutirism + Indigenous Futurisms," happening April 15 at 4 ET at fb.com/imaginenative. It features a film still from Syrus Marcus Ware's ANCESTORS, DO YOU READ US? (DISPATCHES FROM THE FUTURE), 2019.]

Three powerful documentaries from last year's Blac

Three powerful documentaries from last year's BlackStar Film Festival (#BSFF20) are available to watch in the US this week: @uliang's Down a Dark Stairwell, about the shooting of Akai Gurley and the trial of Peter Liang, has its television premiere tonight at 10 ET, and will then be available tomorrow via the PBS app. Meanwhile, @darkcitybmore — @tttheartist's musical documentary reimagining the narrative of Baltimore City through Baltimore club music — comes to Netflix on Thursday. And @shalinikantayya's @codedbias, about the fallout of Joy Buolamwini's discovery of racial bias in facial recognition algorithms, started streaming on the platform last week. ⁠⁠
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Congrats to all of these filmmakers! More info about the Down a Dark Stairwell premiere at the link in bio, and you can find the other two films via Netflix.⁠⁠ 📺
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[Image Descriptions: First slide features a film still from Down a Dark Stairwell, showing a a Black person — wearing an orange scarf and a t-shirt with Akai Gurley's name on it — speaking to someone who stands obscured in a doorway. The second photo is a still from Dark City Beneath the Beat, showing a Black child in the mid-dance, with their arms raised. The final slide is a still from Coded Bias, and shows a Black person ina red suit walking across a street with their face being scanned by a computer, while the US capital building is visible in the background.]

"There is value in choosing how to be seen, in rec

"There is value in choosing how to be seen, in reclaiming the right to select the face you show the world, in insisting that others see you as you know yourself to be. In proudly and boldly framing ourselves in the ways of our own choosing, to say: Here I am, this is me. In a way, this is a form of love, too." - Celeste Ng (@pronounced_ing) in a @nytimes essay, "Keeping Love Close: What does love look like in a time of hate? Asian and Asian American photographers respond."⁠⁠
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Read/view at the link in bio.⁠⁠
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📸 Leftmost photo on first slide by Stephanie Mei-Ling, lower right photo on that slide by Justin J Wee. Photo on second slide by Sandy Kim.⁠⁠
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[Image Descriptions: First slide is a screenshot from a New York Times article mentioned above. It includes two photos, one features a person with their arms folded above their head in a state of relaxation or meditation. The second shows two people facing each other, one of them holds up a mirror for the other to see themselves. The second slide features a photo of Sandy Kim in Koreatown, Los Angeles. Mouth open, their parents feed them, with the accompanying quote: "Every week my parents drive an hour and half away to visit me in Los Angeles. They stock my fridge, clean my house, do my laundry, cook meals for the week and fix anything broken. It’s important to them that I stay on track ever since I overcame a decade-long opiate addiction. I’ve spent the last two years relearning how to live, replacing all the shame I had with love and connection instead. I am so grateful to be alive, and for the love, support and hope they give me."]⁠⁠

Good Pitch Local returns to Philadelphia this summ

Good Pitch Local returns to Philadelphia this summer — on July 27 — in a half-day virtual event with @PhillyCam! ⁠
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Good Pitch Local supports short-form non-fiction media projects and powerful stories from community leaders addressing issues urgent and important to local communities. The live event will feature a curated selection of pitches and presentations in an atmosphere of radical collaboration, where storytellers and change-makers connect with funders, media platforms, and partner organizations that can help ensure these stories get made and make a difference.⁠
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Apply by May 5. Link in bio! via @thedocsociety.⁠
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[Image Description: A promo graphic features a photo of three people, two of whom are standing at microphones, ready to pitch their project. One person wearing a yellow dress is smiling at the camera and the other two are wearing masks. The overlaid text reads "Save the Date: Good Pitch Local Philadelphia; Tuesday, July 27, 2021; Apply Now! Closes May 5 http://bit.ly/GPLPhilly21"].⁠

.@albustanseeds has begun a weekly film series —

.@albustanseeds has begun a weekly film series — "Ten Years Since Tahrir" — on the Egyptian Revolution, curated by film critic Joseph Fahim. The films will screen virtually over the next two months, starting this week, and include several documentaries, features, and shorts.⁠
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Tickets are $3-$10. Learn more and register for the films at the link in bio!⁠
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[Image Description: A flyer for "Ten Years Since Tahrir; Weekly Film Series on the Egyption Revolution; Beginning April 2, 2021." It then features the dates for the films I AM THE PEOPLE (April 2-4), RAGS AND TATTERS (April 9-11), CROP (April 16-18), WAVES (April 23-25), as well as an illustration of two figures in an embrace.]

Huge congrats to @apshantology and @inourmothersga

Huge congrats to @apshantology and @inourmothersgardens on this amazing news! "In Our Mothers' Gardens," which premiered at #BSFF20 (as "Daughters Of") and won the Shine Award, will be released in select theaters and begin streaming on Netflix May 6 — thanks to @arraynow. 🙌🏾⁠⁠
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Read the full article at the link in bio!⁠⁠
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[Image Descriptions: Two screenshots of a Variety article titled "ARRAY Acquires ‘In Our Mothers’ Gardens,’ Sets Limited Theatrical Release and Netflix Debut," by Angelique Jackson, are placed against a teal background. The first also includes the film's poster and an image of its director, Shantrelle P. Lewis. The second includes text explaining the acquisition of the film by Array and its subject matter. It can be read in full at variety.com, via the link in bio.]⁠⁠

2020 Festival Re-cap

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