Sixth Annual BlackStar Film Festival Announces 2017 Award Winners

BlackStar Film Festival proudly announces the winners of the 2017 Festival awards. The Festival, which took place August 3-6, 2017 in Philadelphia, was the biggest yet, attracting thousands of film enthusiasts from around the world with multiple sold-out events.

“We were lucky to have an exceptionally strong lineup of films this year, and we saw them resonate with our audience,” says producing artistic director Maori Karmael Holmes. “We’re proud that BlackStar can provide a platform for excellent work across genres and give filmmakers of color a place to convene and share ideas.”

This year’s Festival, with the theme of Resistance, featured over 60 films from around the world. Juried awards were presented at the BlackStar Awards Ceremony at World Café Live. Audience favorite awards are determined by audience member ballots. The 2017 award winners are:

JURIED AWARDS

Richard Nichols Luminary Award

Ava DuVernay

Best Documentary Feature

NOMINEES

Action Kommandant (Nadine Cloete)
Horace Tapscott: Musical Griot (Barbara McCullough)
Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities (Stanley Nelson)
Whose Streets? (Sabaah Folayan and Damon Davis)

WINNER: Whose Streets? (Sabaah Folayan and Damon Davis)

Best Narrative Feature

NOMINEES

Ayiti Mon Amour (Guetty Felin)
Hello Cupid (Dennis Dortch, Numa Perrier, Tina Cerin)
Ironwood (Shahin Izadi)

WINNER: Ayiti Mon Amour (Guetty Felin)

Best Short Documentary

NOMINEES

black enuf* (Carrie Hawks)
How They Sway (Jaad Asante)
Kojo: A Short Documentary (Michael Fequiere)
Water Warriors (Michael Premo)

WINNER: Water Warriors (Michael Premo)

Best Short Narrative

NOMINEES

Conversations With Otura Mun (Omid Fatemi)
Marabout (Sy Alassane)
The Philadelphia Bicycle Vignette Story (Bryan Oliver Green)
See You Yesterday (Stefon Bristol)
The Tale of Four (Gabourey Sidibe)
They Charge for the Sun (Terence Nance)
To Be Free (Adepero Oduye)

WINNER: They Charge for the Sun (Terence Nance)

Best Experimental Film

NOMINEES

Forged from the Love of Liberty (Vashti Harrison)
A Hotel Called Memory (Akin Omotoso)
Kindah (Ephraim Asili)
Mtindo (Ng’endo Mukii)
Mugabo (Amelia Umuhire)
Proclamation Punctuation (Sewra G Kidane)

WINNER: Mugabo (Amelia Umuhire)

Best Youth Film (Ages 11-18)

NOMINEES

Moore’s Class Documentary (WHYY Media Lab)
We Are Sankofa (Big Picture Alliance)

WINNER: We Are Sankofa (Big Picture Alliance)

Best Youth Film (Ages 19-23)

NOMINEES

Flesh and Iron (Emma Michalak)
Greetings to Browned Blue Flowers (Udochi Ekwerike)
Hot & Bothered (Leah Byrd)

WINNER: Flesh and Iron (Emma Michalak)

FOX Inclusion Emerging Voices Award: Narrative

Sketch (Mariama Diallo)

Fox Inclusion Emerging Voices Award: Documentary

Kojo: A short Documentary (Michael Fequiere)

AUDIENCE AWARDS

Favorite Experimental Film: A Hotel Called Memory (Akin Omotoso)
Favorite Documentary Feature: Whose Streets? (Sabaah Folayan and Damon Davis)
Favorite Narrative Feature: 195 Lewis (Chanelle Aponte Pearson)
Favorite Documentary Short: Baobab Flowers (Gabriela Watson Aurazo)
Favorite Narrative Short: The Tale of Four (Gabourey Sidibe)
Favorite Youth Film (ages 11-18): I Am Philly (Anthony M. Rivera)
Favorite Youth Film (Ages 19-23): Tied between Walking Wounded (Tshay Williams) & I & She (Kaia Naadira)