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Staff

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Artistic Director & CEO

Maori Karmael
Holmes

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Program Director

Nehad
Khader

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Operations Director

Lauren
Hunter

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Communications Director

Imran
Siddiquee

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Administrative Coordinator

Kira
Rodriguez

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Program Coordinator

Leo
Brooks

Press/Media

For all press inquiries, please contact: blackstar@culturalcounsel.com

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 - 7 mins

RT @firelightmedia: Congratulations to Firelight fam @MalikaZW, @DJLaylo, + @ThrutheNightdoc 🔥🔥🔥 and all the nominees! https://t.co/lJmytDd…

@BlackStarFest - 2 hours

Congrats to Garrett Bradley and all of the nominees! #TIME #BSFF20 https://t.co/iDlGpIKfO3

Instagram

Tune into our IG Live today at 1 pm ET! Seen contr

Tune into our IG Live today at 1 pm ET! Seen contributors @jongenius and @jheaneeeeeelle will be taking over this account and @seen_journal to discuss their brilliant essays in Issue 001. ✍🏾

Jon-Sesrie’s essay in this issue, “Speaking of Rivers,” is on the importance of William Greaves, while Jheanelle explores “Rupture and Reparative Modes of Care From the Women of the LA Rebellion.” Get your copy at the link in bio!

And check back every Monday for more conversations between #SeenJournal contributors.

"15 years ago, I directed my first feature film, a

"15 years ago, I directed my first feature film, a documentary called 'Scene Not Heard: Women in Philadelphia Hip Hop.' The film’s title was a play on the Southern adage for children to be 'seen and not heard' in public spaces, one to which I felt women and gender non-conforming folks on the hip hop scene were also unofficially (and sometimes officially) conscripted, despite their essential contributions. Fresh out of graduate school, the journey of that film and the folks and institutions I encountered during its festival run directly led to my founding BlackStar Projects, and the BlackStar Film Festival. And now my work on BlackStar has led to this new publication, Seen, a journal of film and visual culture made for and about Black, Brown, and Indigenous artists of color." - @maorikarmael, in @blavity today. ⁠⠀
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This is adapted from Maori's 'Letter from the Editor' which appears in @seen_journal Issue 001 — out tomorrow!⁠⠀
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Read it at the link in bio and get your copy of #SeenJournal at seen.blackstarfest.org.⁠⠀

Revival! with @rashidzakat is back this Sunday! Ho

Revival! with @rashidzakat is back this Sunday! Hosted by @pearlsteingallery the show begins at 3 pm EST on Twitch (twitch.tv/pearlsteingallery). ⁠
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Learn more and register for free at the link in bio! And tune in with us Nov 22 📺.

"As we observe Native American Heritage Month, the

"As we observe Native American Heritage Month, there are as many historical contributions to celebrate by our people as there are things happening in the current cultural landscape. Within cinema, there’s been a recent blossoming of films by Indigenous filmmakers internationally on the festival circuit and beyond that have been pushing the form and actively engaging with the very open-ended question: what is an Indigenous Cinema?" - Adam Piron⁠
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ICYMI, @adampiron — who is on the editorial advisory board of our @seen_journal — recently wrote this great feature for @variety on Indigenous cinema. Read it at the link in bio.⁠
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Photo: Still from THE BODY REMEMBERS WHEN THE WORLD BROKE OPEN (2019) dir. Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (Blackfoot and Sámi) and Kathleen Hepburn, shows a character on the left with an arm around a character on the right who is looking down, and seems distressed.

For Transgender Awareness Week, which leads up to

For Transgender Awareness Week, which leads up to the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance, @hyperallergic highlights a few "lesser-known films about trans subjects, mainly by trans filmmakers, that are easily available to stream." Their list includes @isabelvsandoval's LINGUA FRANCA (2019) and @yanceford's STRONG ISLAND (2017).⁠
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Transgender Day of Remembrance, Nov 20, honors the memory of transgender people whose lives are lost in acts of anti-trans violence each year. #TDOR⁠
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Link to article in bio.⁠
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Image: Screenshot of Hyperallergic article titled "Films to Stream for Transgender Awareness Week," image under subtitle is a still from LINGUA FRANCA, showing director and star Isabel Sandoval looking off screen to the right. ⁠
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The first episode of @PhiladelphiaContemporary’s

The first episode of @PhiladelphiaContemporary’s new web series, "Talking Breakfast", is all about longtime BlackStar collaborator and all-around creative visionary @rashidzakat! ⁠Check it out now at the link in bio.⠀
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#TalkingBreakfast "features musicians, writers, filmmakers, and other creatives who film themselves making breakfast and talking about how they start the day and get in the headspace to create."

How do you like to start your day? 🖤
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#PhiladelphiaContemporary #BSFF⁠

We are thrilled to introduce Seen, a new journal o

"In December...nearly 50 years after she began mak

Shout out to BlackStar alums Sky Hopinka and Teren

Shout out to BlackStar alums Sky Hopinka and Terence Nance, who both have films coming to @criterioncollection's channel this month! 👏🏾 Learn more at the link in bio.⁠
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@_brother_sky was at #BSFF19 with FAINTING SPELLS and #BSFF20 with maɬni – towards the ocean, towards the shore. ⁠
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@terenceetc has screened multiple times at BlackStar over the years, including twice in 2019, with GUISADO ON SUNSET and AS TOLD TO G/D THYSELF (directed as part of The Ummah Chroma, along with Bradford Young, Jenn Nkiru, Marc Thomas & Kamasi Washington). BlackStar will also be presenting Swarm, the first solo exhibition of Nance's work, in 2022!
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2020 Festival Re-cap

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