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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 - 4 days

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

@BlackStarFest - 4 days

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

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Throwback from the 2013 BlackStar Film Festival! H Throwback from the 2013 BlackStar Film Festival! Help celebrate 10 years of BlackStar by sharing your own favorite photos and stories with us. DM us or use the link in bio. ⁠ ⁠⁠ And join us again August 4-8 for the 10th BlackStar Film Festival! More details coming soon.⁠..⁠ ⁠⁠ #BlackStar10⁠ #tbt⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ [Image Description: A row of five people are seated on chairs on a stage. They are shown to be members of a panel having a discussion. One man, in the center of the group, is speaking into a microphone. In order from left to right: Nekisa Cooper, Nefertite Nguvu, Spike Lee, Lendl Tellington, Numa Perrier (holding a baby, Rockwelle Dortch). In the background, a graphic designed by Andrea Pippins, announcing BlackStar Film Festival, is projected on a screen.]
Issue 002 of @seen_journal — BlackStar's journa Issue 002 of @seen_journal — BlackStar's journal of film and visual culture — is almost here! Visit the link in bio to pre-order and to read select essays, reviews, interviews and more from the issue. ⁠⁠ "Indeed, perpetual alienation from land has defined Blackness in the Americas." - @cacata_fea, in a review of @NinoMartínezSosa's LIBORIO⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ "I am using the resources of Hollywood to make a film that critiques it." - @isabelsandoval, in a profile written by @orkidmedia⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ "[M]any of Minaya’s works revel in a brazen form of femme sexuality, thumbing their nose at that other suffocating gaze of respectability." - @dahsawn, in a profile of artist @joiriminaya ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ "A perpetual tinkerer, in her work Messam is less concerned with objects and more with making worlds." - @maorikarmael, from her interview with choreographer, movement director, and intimacy coordinator @coralmessam⁠.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ #SeenJournal⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ---⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Image Descriptions (more detail in alt text): The first image is a photo of a group of people, dressed in white and tan-colored clothing, and walking in a mountainous area. The second is the quote from Dixa Ramírex D'Oleo written above. The third image is a still from Isabel Sandoval's Lingua Franca, featuring the director. The fourth is the quote from Sandoval written above. Fifth slide is a piece by Joiri Minaya titled Container #7 (2020) which features a figure wearing a full-body spandex suit with a green leaf print. The sixth is the quote written above by Dessane Lopez Cassell. The seventh card is a photo of Messam wearing a jumpsuit and raising her right arm as she leans back. The eighth card is the quote from Maori Karmael Holmes written out above.
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!⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Still from "Traveling Shoes" 2019 8.5 x 11 in.⁠⁠ EDITION OF 30⁠⁠ PIGMENT PRINT⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ 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.⁠⁠” ⁠⁠ 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. ⁠⁠ #BlackStar10⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ---⁠⁠ [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.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Visit the link in our bio to learn more and get your tickets!⁠⁠ ⁠ June 17-19 @ 4601 W Girard Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19131. ⁠Showtimes vary.⁠ ⁠⁠ #BlackStar10⁠ ⁠ ⁠⁠ ---⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ [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.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ 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! ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ #BlackStar10 #BSFF21 #byindiemeansnecessary #tbt ⁠⁠ ---⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ [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 TODAY at 1 pm ET, join us for an IG Live conversation between Seen Issue 002 Guest Editor Dessane Lopez Cassell and electronic composer Jlin! ⁠You can join the conversation on our page or via @seen_journal. ⁠ ⁠ In addition to guest editing, @dahsawn contributed a profile of artist @joiriminaya to this issue and you can now read that at the link in bio! And look for @jlin_p's annotated score for a level from the video game “Songs of the Lost,” online and in the print edition of Seen Issue 002 in the coming weeks. ⁠ ⁠ Pre-order and subscribe today!⁠ ⁠ #SeenJournal⁠ ⁠ ---⁠ ⁠ [Image description: A graphic advertises the next Seen Issue 002 Contributor Conversation, hosted by @blackstarfest and @seen_journal, featuring Jlin and Dessane Lopez Cassell. June 8 at 1 pm ET. It displays headshots for both contributors.]⁠
"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.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Pre-order your copy of Seen Issue 002, which ships out after June 18.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ #SeenJournal⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ---⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ [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. ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ More info at the link in bio.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ---⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ [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 The deadline for applying to this year's BlackStar Pitch has been extended! Get your short nonfiction projects in by June 6 for a chance to pitch in front of a virtual audience and a panel of judges — including representatives from JustFilms, @ifthenshorts, @firelight_media, @worldchannel, Field/House, and @povdocs — and the opportunity to win an artist grant from @warnermedia @thisisonefifty.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Learn more and apply at the link in bio!⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ---⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ [Image Descriptions: First graphic advertises BlackStar Pitch Short Nonfiction, with the information written above plus the BlackStar logo, with all text in white and black against a purple background. Second image shows a crowd of BlackStar Film Festival attendees looking on during the 2019 BlackStar Pitch. Centered is a person with curly hair who is smiling and looking to the right with great interest. Third text-based graphic includes the text written above, plus the BlackStar "B" logo, all against purple.]⁠⁠

2020 Festival Re-cap

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