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May 25, 2021

News Press Release

BlackStar Launches Second Issue of Seen

May 18, 2021

Narrative is Everything! Palestinian Films to Watch Now

April 1, 2021

News Press Release

BlackStar Celebrates 10th Anniversary with 2021 Festival

February 26, 2021

News Press Release

BlackStar Projects and The Fabric Workshop and Museum Present New Installation of Revival!

February 10, 2021

News Press Release

BlackStar Projects Announces Staff and Board Additions

January 11, 2021

News Press Release

BlackStar Celebrates 10th Anniversary, Announces New Year-Round Programs

November 11, 2020

News Press Release1

BlackStar Launches Film and Visual Culture Journal Seen

August 27, 2020

News Press Release2

BlackStar Film Festival Wraps Up 9th Year, Announces Winners for 2020 Competition

August 13, 2020

News Press Release

BlackStar Film Festival Programs Include Panels, Conversations, Screenings, and Parties

August 10, 2020

News Press Release

Maori Karmael Holmes Appointed at Annenberg Center and Annenberg School

July 16, 2020

News Press Release

BlackStar Film Festival Announces Full Lineup, Ticketing, and More for 2020 Festival

June 25, 2020

News Press Release

BlackStar Film Festival Goes Digital

June 8, 2020

News Press Release

BlackStar Presents Revival!, a Series of Virtual Celebrations for Collective Joy and Resilience

June 2, 2020

In Defense of Black Life: Ways to Get Involved and Take Care of Yourself

April 29, 2020

News Press Release

BlackStar Hosts Exclusive Screenings of A LOVE SONG FOR LATASHA on Anniversary of L.A. Uprisings

April 16, 2020

Relief Funds and Resources for Artists Amidst COVID-19

April 7, 2020

News Press Release

Major New Grants and Full-Time Staff Announced

April 6, 2020

Watch: 9 Short Films to Watch With Kids

August 6, 2019

2019 Festival Award Winners Announced

July 12, 2019

2019 Closing Night Film Announced

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 - 5 hours

RT @summerofsoul: .@questlove sits down with @karaslamb and @seen_journal to talk about #SummerOfSoulMovie and the process of getting histo…

@BlackStarFest - 5 hours

RT @dcft_thefilm: Do not miss this, 30 @keversonkevin prints only! Support 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟@BlackStarFest - the short film ‘Traveling Shoes’ premiered…

Instagram

Our 10th Anniversary Print Sale continues with a n

Our 10th Anniversary Print Sale continues with a new print from visionary filmmaker Kevin Jerome Everson! @trilobitearts' piece is a still from "Traveling Shoes,” his film based on the hit record by the Ohio based gospel group, The Brown Singers. Purchasing this limited edition artwork supports BlackStar's ongoing efforts to uplift Black, Brown, and Indigenous artists!⁠⁠
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Still from "Traveling Shoes"
2019
8.5 x 11 in.⁠⁠
EDITION OF 30⁠⁠
PIGMENT PRINT⁠⁠
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Kevin Jerome Everson (#BSFF16, #BSFF17, #BSFF19, #BSFF20) has made over one-hundred and seventy films including “Tonsler Park, “ “The Island of Saint Matthews,” “Erie,” “Ears, Nose and Throat,” “Sound That, Sugarcoated Arsenic,” with Claudrena Harold, and “Park Lanes.⁠⁠”
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Visit the link in our bio to learn more about Kevin's work and to purchase the print.⁠⁠ New prints from BlackStar alums drop on the 15th of every month this year.
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#BlackStar10⁠⁠
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[Image Description: First slide features grainy black and white still from Kevin Jerome Everson's 2019 film "Traveling Shoes" depicting a Black person in a midi-length dress and sneakers holding a circular object up to the camera. Second slide is a graphic advertising BlackStar's 10th Anniversary Print Sale.]

THIS WEEK: The Greenwood Collective (@greenwoodcol

THIS WEEK: The Greenwood Collective (@greenwoodcollective) presents a special drive-in series curated by BlackStar! This three-day event in Philly, leading into Juneteenth, celebrates the 10th Anniversary of the BlackStar Film Festival with screenings of films directed by Black women from the first decade of the festival: @jinnthemovie_, @jointhespades, @farewellamorfilm, and @juneteenthmovie.⁠⁠
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Visit the link in our bio to learn more and get your tickets!⁠⁠
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June 17-19 @ 4601 W Girard Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19131. ⁠Showtimes vary.⁠
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#BlackStar10⁠ ⁠
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[Image Descriptions: The first image show the schedule for this weekend's screenings: "Jinn" Thursday, June 17, "Selah and the Spades" Friday, June 18, "Farewell Amor" Friday, June 18, "Miss Juneteenth" Saturday, June 19. The second image is a still from "Jinn" (directed by Nijla Mu'min) featuring a Black teen wearing a bright yellow sweatshirt, large gold hoop earrings, and elegantly tied cheetah-pint headwrap. The third image is a still from "Selah and the Spades" (directed by Tayarisha Poe) and pictures a Black teen wearing a cheerleading outfit and sitting in a tall, wicker chair. The fourth is a still from "Farewell Amor" (directed by Ekwa Msangi) and pictures three Black people standing at an airport with their luggage, the two older people — one bald and one with longer hair — are embracing while a third younger person holds out their hand to shake the hand of the bald person wrapped in the embrace. The fifth image is a still from "Miss Juneteenth" (directed by Channing Godfrey Peoples) and is a closeup of a Black adult and teenager sitting together as one rests their head on the other's shoulder. The final image is a graphic describing the Greenwood Collective Drive-in Event.]

Join us in celebrating ten years of BlackStar! We

Join us in celebrating ten years of BlackStar! We want to hear all of your favorite memories from the first decade of the festival — whether from a screening, a panel conversation, or an epic party.⁠⁠
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Visit the link in bio or DM us to submit your photos and stories and we might feature them during this year's festival, happening August 4-8! ⁠⁠
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#BlackStar10
#BSFF21 #byindiemeansnecessary
#tbt
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[Image description: A group of Black people at the 2015 BlackStar Film Festival pose for the camera, smiling and looking generally happy. In order from left to right: Nefertite Nguvu, Neishea Lemle, Adjani Salmon, Nuotama Bodomo, Ja'Tovia Gary. Second slide is a graphic titled "Share Your Memories" with the information about submitting written out above.]

TODAY at 1 pm ET, join us for an IG Live conversat

"How was Black erasure so normalized that not one

"How was Black erasure so normalized that not one person or network saw fit to give it a blurb or even a mention?" - Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson on 1969's Harlem Cultural Festival, the subject of his new film, SUMMER OF SOUL. @questlove chatted with @blamblamkaraslamb for Issue 002 of @seen_journal, and you can now read their full conversation online at the link in bio.⁠⁠
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Pre-order your copy of Seen Issue 002, which ships out after June 18.⁠⁠
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#SeenJournal⁠⁠
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[Image descriptions: First slide is a photo of The 5th Dimension performing at the Harlem Cultural Festival in 1969, featured in the documentary SUMMER OF SOUL. Four people are pictured standing and singing on a stage into mounted microphones. They are all dressed similarly, in fringe jackets, neckties, long-sleeved shirts, and checkered pants. A drummer can be seen playing in the background. Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. Second slide is a graphic with the quote types out above.]⁠⁠

Join us for this special event at @cherrystreetpie

Join us for this special event at @cherrystreetpier on June 13 at 4 ET, with BlackStar alum Angela Tucker (BSFF14, BSFF18)! We'll be outside watching @tuckergurl's new short film series, THE TREES REMEMBER, which features Black women of different ages growing and thriving in the outdoors and exploring connection through movement, stewardship, and grace. ⁠⁠
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More info at the link in bio.⁠⁠
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[Image Descriptions: First image features a still from the film series showing an older Black person looking through binoculars while wearing a face mask outside. The second graphic says "Watch the latest release from @REI Co-op Studios, 'The Trees Remember,' a short film series directed by BlackStar alum Angela Tucker, that explores the ways the outdoors connects us through generations."]

The deadline for applying to this year's BlackStar

TODAY at 4 pm ET join us on IG Live for a conversa

TODAY at 4 pm ET join us on IG Live for a conversation between Issue 002 contributor @astriasuparak and managing editor @phillynee!⁠⁠
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"Lazily applied by white filmmakers, the traditional headpieces are ubiquitously used to depict an alarmingly Asian future." - Astria Suparak in “Seedy Space Ports and Colony Planets: Asian Conical Hats in Cinematic Dystopias," from Issue 002 of @seen_journal. This essay is now also available to read on the Seen website, at the link in bio. ⁠⁠
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You can also now pre-order and subscribe to #SeenJournal on the site!⁠⁠
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[Image description: A graphic advertises Seen's Issue 002 Contributor Conversations, with the information written above, plus headshots for both Astria and Nehad. Two quote cards display the quote written above while the final slide shows a still image from 1982's Blade Runner, in which a person — likely an Asian person — wearing a conical hat is obscured in shadow as the focus remains on Harrison Ford's character.]

2020 Blackstar Film Festival selection @twogodsfil

2020 Blackstar Film Festival selection @twogodsfilm — a feature doc about a Muslim casket maker and ritual body washer in Newark who takes two young men under his wing — is now in select theaters! (Including at BAM, Maysles Center, Music Box Chicago, Laemmle theaters in LA and more). ⁠⁠
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The film, directed by @zeshawnali, will be playing in theaters virtually and in-person across the US. Visit twogodsfilm.com (link in bio) for more info and tickets to see the film.⁠⁠
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#BSFF20⁠⁠
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[Image Descriptions: The first slide is a still from Two Gods, showing an older Black man guiding a young boy in what appears to be casket making. The second slide shows the same older bespectacled man looking intensely downward under the title of the film and heading "Now in Theaters." It also features laurels of a variety of festivals, including BlackStar, and a stamp that points out the film was named a @nytimes critics’ pick.]⁠⁠

2020 Festival Re-cap

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