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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 - 15 hours

RT @215tayyib: BlackStar 10th Anniversary Print Sale Limited edition prints for sale to raise money for BlackStar Projects, in celebration…

@BlackStarFest - 15 hours

RT @fabricworkshop: @BlackStarFest @RashidZakat Revival! is on view at FWM through June 6! Visit us on Arch Street to check out the view or…

Instagram

We’re celebrating a decade of BlackStar in 2021! We’re celebrating a decade of BlackStar in 2021! And we made it this far because of all of you. From festival attendees to childcare providers to artists and filmmakers — all of your contributions have been so vital!⁠ ⁠⁠ BlackStar is fertile ground; this year we’re blossoming with newly expanded staff, a free filmmaker seminar this month, issue two of @seen_journal, a variety of other year-round programming, and of course our 10th Annual Film Festival. For those who are able, you can help sustain this work with a financial contribution of $10 (or more) in honor of our 10th anniversary! ⁠ ⁠⁠ Thank you all for helping BlackStar shine on and continue to create space for Black, Brown, and Indigenous artists! ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ blackstarfest.org/donate (link in bio)⁠ ⁠ ---⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ [Image Descriptions: A graphic titled "Help BlackStar Shine!" asks for support for BlackStar's work celebrating and providing platforms for visionary Black, Brown, and Indigenous artists. The call to action is surrounded by flowers placed against a yellow background. The second slide is a quote from Marcia Smith, which reads "I think [BlackStar] is really groundbreaking in that...they have cultivated probably the most diverse film fan base of any festival that I've seen, and I've been to a million festivals."]
@fabricworkshop and BlackStar are proud to present @fabricworkshop and BlackStar are proud to present a new installation of Revival! — an audio-visual meditation celebrating the visual and sonic culture of shared Black spiritual experience.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Featuring a mix by filmmaker and artist @rashidzakat, this installation is featured on a grid of video monitors in Fabric Workshop and Museum’s front window on Arch Street in Philly's Center City, with the accompanying soundtrack projected onto the street (during museum hours). Viewers can also scan a QR code to access the Revival! stream from their personal devices anytime, anywhere! The installation is meant to be iterative, with evolving content to be featured over the course of its run through early June. ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Additional support for #Revival is provided by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Paideia Program at the University of Pennsylvania.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Learn more at the link and check out the installation if you're in Philly! —- [Video Description: A clip of the Nicholas brothers dancing in 1943’s Stormy Weather is synched with Snoop Dogg’s song “Let It Go,” while the logo for Revival: an audio-visual meditation is superimposed.]
The season finale of #BlackStarLive is this Friday The season finale of #BlackStarLive is this Friday at 9 ET! One last chance to see @maorikarmael and @rashidzakat dressed to the nines and being ridiculous. This week we’ll have an interview with visionary artist @hankwillisthomas, music by @aprilandvista, a gorgeous short film by @sunrara, and even an appearance by @blackthought! ⁠⁠ Watch LIVE on our Facebook (link in bio), YouTube, or at blackstarfest.org/blackstarlive!⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ As always, the show will also include special segments from @yabablay, @lukecarlosoreilly on the keys, and skits from our team of comedy writers, including @niseecup, @dlocokid, @desmondthorne, @ill_iterate, and @imransiddiquee. ⁠⁠ Presented by @opensocietyfoundations⁠⁠ Additional support from @asianartsphilly @expresswaycine @fitlerclub ⁠⁠ ---⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ [Image descriptions: A video shows hosts Rashid Zakat and Maori Karmael dancing in their chairs. The next five slides advertise the Friday February 26 episode of BlackStar Live!, featuring headshots for guests Hank Willis Thomas, April + Vista, and Rashida Bumbray. The last slide is the show logo.]
“The level of variety of Black stories takes the “The level of variety of Black stories takes the pressure off me. It means that one Black story or storyteller isn’t carrying the load of Black existence.” - @radhamusprime, director of @fortyyearoldversionfilm (#BSFF20), on seeing @cgpeoples' @juneteenthmovie (#BSFF20) ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Read @ange814's full interview with Radha and Channing, at the link in bio!⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ---⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ [Image Descriptions: First slide is a screenshot of an article at @variety titled "Filmmakers Radha Blank and Channing Godfrey Peoples on Fighting to Tell Stories That Celebrate Black Women," by Angelique Jackson, featuring a photo of both Blank and Peoples. The second slide is another screenshot of a portion of the article, which can be read at the link in bio.]
“Just because we all do something a certain way “Just because we all do something a certain way doesn’t mean we have to keep doing it, especially if it’s oppressive or exclusive. I’m not going to let people tell me that that’s not how it works. Because how it works was designed to not include me.” - @shataramichelleford talks to @moviemakermag about the path to making TEST PATTERN, which opens today via @kinolorber. ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Shatara's film premiered at BlackStar in 2019, where it won the Lionsgate/Starz Producer Award! #BSFF19 ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Link in bio to the full article and watch the film this weekend via kinolorber.com.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ---⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ [Image Descriptions: A screenshot of an article at MovieMaker magazine titled "Shatara Michelle Ford Made Test Pattern by Rejecting Old Ways 'Designed to Not Include Me'" which includes a photo of the director. Second slide is a brief trailer for the film Test Pattern.]
“I have to create and be a part of the change th “I have to create and be a part of the change that I want to see, and so, after I go through the period of being on every panel and being in every article about diversity, I stopped doing that a couple years ago, and I said, no more panels. We’re going to just build something that people can no longer say I don’t know how...This is how. Now will you do it? And that’s the question.” - @ava, on the launch of #ARRAYCrew, which @deadline describes as giving "productions access to qualified but underrepresented below-the-line crew members for hiring searches."⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Learn more about the initiative at the link in bio or at arraycrew.com.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ---⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ [Image Descriptions: Screenshots from Deadline's article titled "Ava Duvernay on Today's Launch of Array Crew: On-Set Inclusion, Getting Studios & Streamers Onboard & How 'This Isn't the Yelp of Job Searches.'" by Dominic Patten. Features a photo of Duvernay via AP, standing in front of the logo for ArrayCrew.]⁠⁠
Tune in TOMORROW, 2/19, at 9 ET for another episod Tune in TOMORROW, 2/19, at 9 ET for another episode of #BlackStarLive! Featuring interviews with #ChlorineSky author @mobrowne, #OneDrop author Dr. @yabablay, music by @ivysole, and a short film by @rikkwright. Watch on BlackStar’s Facebook, YouTube, or at blackstarfest.org/blackstarlive! ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ And as always hosts @maorikarmael and @rashidzakat will be bringing the jokes, we'll have another installment of #YabaLearns, and @lukecarlosoreilly on the keys. Every Friday in February!⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Presented by @opensocietyfoundations ⁠⁠ ---⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ [Image Descriptions: A series of headshots advertise the guests on this week's episode of BlackStar Live!, starting with Mahogany L. Browne, Yaba Blay, Ivy Sole, and ending with Rikkí Wright. The last two cards show the logo and the timing information listed above.]⁠⁠
The second print in our year-long 10th Anniversary The second print in our year-long 10th Anniversary Print Sale is from @louis.massiah — and it's now available at blackstarfest.org/anniversary! ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Louis Massiah⁠⁠ Aquarian 1998⁠⁠ 2020, from the Aquarian Series* ⁠⁠ 11 x 8.5 in. ⁠⁠ EDITION OF 30⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ *The Aquarian series is part of an annual ritual of Massiah, creating a self-portrait yearly, that has carried out over the past 51 years.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Louis Massiah (BSFF20) is a documentary filmmaker and the founder of the @scribevideocenter in Philadelphia, a media arts center that provides production workshops to community groups and emerging independent media makers. As an educator and institution builder, Massiah has developed media production methodologies that assist first time makers author their own stories, including the Precious Places Community History project, a collection of 107 collaboratively produced documentaries; the Muslim Voices of Philadelphia community history project, the Great Migration - A City Transformed and a current project The Tenants of Lenapehocking in the Age of Magnets. As a director, Massiah’s award-winning documentaries include The Bombing of Osage Avenue, W.E.B. Du Bois – A Biography in Four Voices, Cecil B. Moore, two films for the Eyes on the Prize II series, and A is for Anarchist, B is for Brown, broadcast on television and screened at festivals in the US, Europe and Africa.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Read more about Louis and the sale at the link in bio!⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ 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 ⁠⁠ ---⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ [Image Descriptions: First slide is a graphic for "Aquarian 1998" by Louis Massiah, a self-portrait drawn on February 3, 1998 at 10:56 pm. In the bottom left corner it reads "Kitchen 1507 - David is here." The second slide advertises BlackStar 10th Anniversary Print Sale, surrounded by confetti and stars.]
From February 17 to 26 Ambulante presents “Afrov From February 17 to 26 Ambulante presents “Afrovisiones: Trayectorias de la negritud en el Estados Unidos,” an online series dedicated to documentary film about the African diaspora in the United States.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Curated by our own @maorikarmael, we're proud to be partnering with @ambulanteac on the "Migration and Memory" program as part of this series, which will be available via @filminlatino for those in Mexico from the 19th to the 21st. ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Link in bio for more info!⁠⁠ Films featured include: Bereka Nesanet Teshager Etiopía, Estados Unidos 2019 Funde a tecno Jenn Nkiru Reino Unido 2019 Oklahoma es negro Melinda James, Tatyana Fazlalizadeh Estados Unidos 2019 T Keisha Rae Witherspoon Estados Unidos 2019 ⁠⁠ ---⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Original post from Ambulante:⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ A partir del 19 de febrero y por 48 horas estará disponible en @filminlatino el Programa 2 de 𝘼𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨, curado por el @blackstarfest de Filadelfia y su fundadora @maorikarmael. Lo conforman historias de migración, familia, herencia y música que formaron parte de uno de los foros más importantes para el cine hecho por y para la afrodescendencia en Estados Unidos. 🇺🇸⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ~ Toda la información en el link de nuestra Bio.⁠⁠ Disponible para público en México.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ #Afrofebrero #blackhistorymonth #blackdocumentary⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ---⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ [Image Descriptions: Posters advertise the "Migration and Memory" series part of the Afrovisones program, which includes the films Bereka, Oklahoma Es Negro, Funde A Techno, and T.]⁠⁠

2020 Festival Re-cap

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