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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.

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@BlackStarFest - 2 days

We are so excited about our brand new Filmmaker Lab Shadow Program! Black, Brown, and Indiegenous filmmakers in Phi… https://t.co/jBczNmYnlY

@BlackStarFest - 3 days

We would like to extend a huge congratulations to our founder & CEO @maorikarmael! Maori was named as one of… https://t.co/xI9Cn7tLFC

Instagram

Huge congratulations to our founder, artistic dire

Huge congratulations to our founder, artistic director, and CEO Maori Karmael Holmes (@maorikarmael) for being named one of @kennedycenter's Next 50!

Named in honor of The Kennedy Center's 50th anniversary, the #KCNext50 list looks towards “new creators who are building pathways for future generations.⁠” It includes other visionary cultural leaders such as adrienne maree brown (@adriennemareebrown), Elizabeth Mendez Berry (Seen Advisory Board Member, @emendezberry), Jason Reynolds (@jasonreynolds83), Mahogany L. Browne (@mobrowne), MJ Rodriguez (@mjrodriguez7), Yara Shahidi (@yarashahidi), and others. ⁠Check it out at the link in bio!
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The group of 50 will work with The Kennedy Center to create opportunities for discourse with civic leaders to ensure that the voices of artistic and cultural leaders are lifted and heard. 💥⁠⁠
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[Image descriptions available in the alt text]⁠

Applications are now open for our second annual Wi

Applications are now open for our second annual William and Louise Greaves Filmmaker Seminar! Taking place from March 18-20, this year's gathering will once again happen online in order to keep our communities safe during the rise in COVID-19 cases.⁠
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The William and Louise Greaves Filmmaker Seminar is a gathering for Black, Brown, and Indigenous artists working in cinematic realms. Participants will explore the technical and creative aspects of media-making, while having honest conversations about the successes and pitfalls of their work. Our environment considers the intersection of cinema and visual arts, and is exclusively designed for people of color to focus and not manage the added burden of representation.⁠
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This year's Seminar is free but participants must apply to attend. Click the link in our bio to learn more and apply! ⁠
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The Seminar is named after visionary filmmakers William and Louise Greaves, who co-produced a number of landmark documentaries together over their careers, including Symbiopsychotaxiplasm (1968) and Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey (2001). ⁠
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William Greaves is pictured in the second slide above. Photo courtesy of Louise Greaves.⁠
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#ByIndieMeansNecessary⁠
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[Image Descriptions: Three graphics announcing that applications are open for the William and Louise Filmmaker Seminar. The first slide has the name of the seminar, a still from William Greaves' Symbiopsychotaxism (1968) of a group of people sitting in a grassy area with film cameras, and the dates of the seminar: March 18-20, 2022. The second slide has a quote about the seminar, "A three-day gathering for Black, Brown, and Indigenous artists working in cinematic realms" and a black-and-white photo of Greaves. The final slide has the link to apply: blackstarfest.org/Seminar. The background of the slides are black with yellow text.]

Introducing our new Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab Sha

Introducing our new Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab Shadow Program! This is an opportunity to be on set and learn as this year’s Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab films are produced. ⁠
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Four local filmmakers are currently creating short films through the Lab, executive produced by BlackStar, which will then premiere at the 2022 festival. The Shadow Program offers Black, Brown, and Indigenous filmmakers the chance to observe these productions as they happen, gain first-hand knowledge about film production, and make invaluable connections with others in the industry. This is a paid opportunity and participants must live in the Greater Philadelphia area.⁠
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More info at the link in bio!⁠⁠ Apply by February 15.⁠
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The Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab is presented in partnership with @Comcast Xfinity, with additional support provided by @allagesproductions, Independence Publica Media Foundation, @Kickstarter, @Vimeo, and Wyncote Foundation.⁠⁠
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[Image Descriptions: Three graphics, featuring a multi-colored gradient rectangle placed on top of a black rectangle, advertise the information listed above, highlighting the Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab Shadow Program. "A shadowing opportunity to learn on-set with BlackStar - for Black, Brown, and Indigenous filmmakers in Philadelphia." The link to apply is given: blackstarfest.org/lab/shadow and the graphics include the logos for Comcast, Black Experience on Xfinity, and BlackStar.]⁠

🗣 Our 10th Anniversary Print Sale closes this F

🗣 Our 10th Anniversary Print Sale closes this Friday! This is the last chance to take home limited-edition artwork from alums of the first decade of the BlackStar Film Festival. All purchases support BlackStar's ongoing work to celebrate and uplift Black, Brown, and Indigenous artists.⁠⁠
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Learn more about the artists and each print at the link in our bio!⁠

*The prints pictured here are still available. Kahlil Joseph's "Still from m.A.A.d" is sold out.*
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We would like to extend a huge thank you to the incredible artists who contributed their work to the print sale over the last year 🙌🏾:⁠
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Andrea Pippins ⁠
"Coiffuture: Shine" (2015)⁠
@andreapippins⁠
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Arthur Jafa ⁠
"Cassie" (2016, printed 2021)⁠
@anamibia⁠
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Cauleen Smith ⁠
"Still from Sojourner" (2018)⁠
@cauleen_smith⁠
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Garrett Bradley ⁠
"Untitled (Flower 3)" (2020)⁠
@garrettgarrettbradleybradley⁠
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Damon Davis ⁠
"Wutang is for the Children" (2019)⁠
@damondavis⁠
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Fahamu Pecou⁠
"While Seed" (2020) ⁠
@fahamupecou⁠
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Kahlil Joseph ⁠
"Still from m.A.A.d⁠" (2014)⁠
#KahlilJoseph⁠
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Kevin Jerome Everson ⁠
"Still from Traveling Shoes" (2019)⁠
@trilobitearts⁠
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Louis Massiah ⁠
"Aquarian 1998" (2020)⁠
@louis.massiah⁠
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Michelle Angela Ortiz⁠
"Growth" (2020) ⁠
@michelleangelaortiz⁠
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Terence Nance ⁠
"Franklin and Fulton" (2020)⁠
@terenceetc⁠
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We appreciate you all!!

#BlackStar10 #ByIndieMeansNecessary⁠
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[Image descriptions available in alt text]

We're starting the new year by welcoming some new

We're starting the new year by welcoming some new (and familiar) faces to the BlackStar team! 🎉⁠
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We hired three full-time staff members in Fall 2021: Akili Davis (Administrative Coordinator), Dessane Lopez Cassell (the previously announced new Editor-In-Chief of Seen), and Patrice Worthy (Director of Programs), and hired three more full-time staff members this month: Ashley Ijoema Omoma (Program Coordinator), Autumn F. Valdez (Business Manager), and Mariam Dembele (Marketing Associate). ⁠
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Plus a few team members have been promoted! Including Leo Brooks, who is now our Design Manager, Imran Siddiquee, now our Chief Communications Officer, and Sara Zia Ebrahimi, our new Chief Operations Officer.⁠ ✨
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You can read each staff member’s bio on our website at blackstarfest.org/staff. And learn more about all of BlackStar's continued growth in our latest press release at the link in bio! ⁠
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[Pictures in order: Akili Davis, Ashley Ijoema Omoma, Autumn F. Valdez, Dessane Lopez Cassell, Mariam Dembele, and Patrice Worthy. Image descriptions available in alt text.]

Submissions for this year’s BlackStar Film Festi

Submissions for this year’s BlackStar Film Festival are officially open! The early deadline is February 1 and the final deadline to submit your work is April 1, 2022. ⁠

Films must be directed by a person who identifies as Black, as Indigenous, and/or as a person of color, from anywhere in the world. Work must feature persons of color or tell a story of Black, Indigenous, and/or POC experience.⁠
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Learn more about eligibility requirements and submit your film at the link in bio!⁠
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"We often talk about the structures of domination, but fighting for freedom is an imaginative process, that's why art is so central to it. You have to envision that which has not yet existed." - @imaniperry, during a panel at the 2020 BlackStar Film Festival titled "Intimate Histories: Archival Approaches in TIME."⁠
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#BSFF22⁠ #byindiemeansnecessary
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[Image Descriptions: First two cards advertise that submissions for BlackStar Film Festival 2022 are now open and feature the link blackstarfest.org/submissions. The final card is a quote from Imani Perry, which is written out above.]

Thanks to the support of our community, BlackStar

Thanks to the support of our community, BlackStar did such incredible things in 2021! We produced a festival, a seminar, a podcast, two issues of a journal, launched a filmmaker lab, and doubled the size of our staff (among many other things). You can read all about it in our new 2021 Annual Report and you can help us continue to shine in the new year by becoming a member today. (Both via the link in bio).⁠
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All this work happened because of the board members, staff, volunteers, contractors and audiences who came together this year amidst an ongoing global pandemic. Strong networks build strong webs. BlackStar continues to weave together connections between individuals and organizations to build new means of reclaiming power and mobilizing the resources Black, Brown, and Indigenous artists need to thrive.⁠
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In addition to making a donation, you can support BlackStar by buying some merch at shop.blackstarfest.org, ordering an issue of @seen_journal at seen.blackstarfest.org, or purchasing one of our 10th anniversary prints at anniversary.blackstarfest.org.⁠
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Thank you and see you in 2022!⁠ 🖤🖤🖤
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[Image descriptions available in alt text. Photos by Daniel Jackson and Terrell Halsey.]

The final print in our 10th Anniversary Print Sale

The final print in our 10th Anniversary Print Sale is from artist, filmmaker, and cinematographer Arthur Jafa. @anamibia's "Cassie" is only available until January 15 in an edition of 50.

Purchase the print at the link in bio and help support our work to celebrate and uplift Black, Brown, and Indigenous artists.⁠
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Arthur Jafa⁠
Cassie⁠
2016, printed in 2021⁠
14in x 10.8in⁠
Pigment print⁠
Edition of 50⁠

Jafa’s film “Dreams are Colder than Death” won Best Documentary Feature at BlackStar in 2014, and his film “Love Is The Message, The Message Is Death” won an audience award for Best Experimental Film in 2016. ⁠
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The previous prints in the sale, all from alums of BlackStar Film Festival, are also still available in limited quantities.⁠ See them at the link. All orders will ship in January 2022 and the full sale will close on January 15.
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#BlackStar10 #byindiemeansnecessary⁠
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Photo courtesy the artist and Gladstone Gallery, New York and Brussels. ⁠
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[Image descriptions available in alt text]

Today @seen_journal premiered a new video at @cult

Today @seen_journal premiered a new video at @cultured_mag featuring the artist, filmmaker, and cinematographer Arthur Jafa in conversation with Issue 003 guest editor Darol Olu Kae. In the full video, which you can watch now on Cultured or Seen’s IG pages, @anamibia and @darolkae_ chat about astrology, what it means to create "things" as a Black artist, and much much more. ⁠
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"Arthur Jafa: Studio Visit" expands on the article of the same name published in the latest issue of @seen_journal, which is on sale now at the link in bio.
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P.S. Check back here tomorrow for the release of the final print in our 10th Anniversary Print Sale — which also happens to be from Arthur Jafa. 🖤⁠
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#SeenJournal #BlackStar10⁠
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Video produced by @hrdwrker

[Video description: Arthur Jafa looks through Issue 003 of Seen as Darol Olu Kae watches. They specifically mention Nuotama Bodomo’s essay “Beyond the Colonial Camera: Three Departures” on page 58 of the issue.]

2021 Festival Recap

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