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Venues & Hotels

Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts

3680 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Annenberg School for Communication

3620 Walnut Street
Room 110
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA)

118 S. 36th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Lightbox Film Center

International House
3701 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Leonard Pearlstein Gallery

URBN Annex
3401 Filbert Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Mitchell Auditorium

Bossone Research Center
3140 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104

World Cafe Live

3025 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104

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 - 17 hours

RT @seen_journal: "The camera, for me, is an encouragement to ask a question." - filmmaker Wang Qiong in an interview with @abbypsun for Se…

@BlackStarFest - 17 hours

RT @lynne_bias: For @BlackStarFest’s SEEN issue 003, I was invited to write about the work of @TexasIsaiah, who I am always learning from.…

Instagram

Issue 003 of @seen_journal is out today! Order or

Join us in welcoming a new addition to the BlackSt

Join us in welcoming a new addition to the BlackStar team, the new Editor-in-Chief of @seen_journal: Dessane Lopez Cassell! As Seen grows, we're excited to have Dessane with us to lead the overall project and help us explore new ways to highlight film and visual culture. She has been a longtime BlackStar Film Festival program committee member, last serving on the experimental committee in 2021. ⁠
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Read more about @dahsawn and her work at the link in our bio and be sure to follow @seen_journal to keep up with new releases.⁠
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📸 by Rachell Morillo (@negraanegra)

#byindiemeansnecessary⁠
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[Image Description: A photo of Dessane Lopez Cassell shows her wearing a green coat, standing with their left shoulder facing the camera and her head turned to look at us as well.]

Our 10th Anniversary Print Sale is back with a new

Our 10th Anniversary Print Sale is back with a new print from acclaimed filmmaker and artist Kahlil Joseph! This limited edition print (only 30 available) is a still from “m.A.A.d,” his 2014 film featuring the music of @kendricklamar. Joseph is a Los Angeles-based artist and filmmaker best known for his large-scale video installations. His most recent and ongoing project, “BLKNWS,” is a two-channel fugitive newscast that blurs the lines between art, journalism, entrepreneurship, and cultural critique.⁠
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Head to the link in our bio to learn more and purchase your print!⁠
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Kahlil Joseph⁠
Still from m.A.A.d⁠
2014⁠
8.5 x 11 in.⁠
Pigment print⁠
Edition of 30⁠
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#BlackStar10 #KahlilJoseph #BLKNWS ⁠

As we continue to celebrate 10 years of BlackStar,

As we continue to celebrate 10 years of BlackStar, here’s a look back at all of the films that have won Best Documentary Short at the festival! #BlackStar10
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THIS BUILDING WILL SING FOR ALL OF US dir. by Oliver Hardt (#BSFF14)⁠
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ESCRAVOS E SANTOS (OF SLAVES AND SAINTS) dir. by Marcio Nunes de Abreu (#BSFF15)⁠
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TWO CITIES dir. by Darius Clarke Monroe (#BSFF16)⁠
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WATER WARRIORS dir. by Michael Premo (#BSFF17)⁠
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NUUCA dir. by Michelle Latimer(#BSFF18)⁠
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A LOVE SONG FOR LATASHA dir. by Sophia Nahli Allison (#BSFF19)⁠
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THE HEART STILL HUMS dir. by Savanah Leaf & Taylor Russel (#BSFF20)⁠
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DEAR PHILADELPHIA dir. by Renee Maria Osubu (#BSFF21)⁠
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[Winners are listed in order of festival year. No specific winner was named during the inaugural festival in 2012. The 2013 festival awarded a single "Best Short" prize, which was awarded to a short narrative film.]⁠
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#byindiemeansnecessary⁠

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[Image description: A carousel of still images from the films listed above. More details available in alt-text.]

Introducing Issue 003 of Seen! ⁠Guest edited by

Introducing Issue 003 of Seen! ⁠Guest edited by @darolkae_, with art direction by @carohwash, and a cover featuring @yagurlsophia's "Eyes on the Prize: Hallowed Ground." Follow @seen_journal for a full list of contributors and more info in the coming days!⁠
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Seen is our very own journal of film and visual culture, focused on Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities globally, published twice each calendar year.⁠
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Subscribe or pre-order at the link in bio! ⁠
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#SeenJournal⁠

The Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival (@ph

The Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival (@phillyaaff) kicks off this week with over 10 days of unique programming and stories. You can watch films like @chriskahunahana's "Waikiki," which was also screened at this year's BlackStar Film Festival. ⁠
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Head to the link in our bio to see the full festival schedule and get you #PAAFF21 tickets.⁠
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[Image Descriptions: The first image is a still from the film Waikiki and shows a young woman smoking a cigarette and looking out from a car window. The second image is a photograph of director Christopher Kahunahana. He holds a microphone in one hand and raises the other to his chin while speaking.]

We're revisiting the winners of Best Experimental

We're revisiting the winners of Best Experimental Film from the last 10 years of the BlackStar Film Festival. How many of these unique stories have you seen?⁠ #BlackStar10⁠
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⁠REIFYING DESIRE dir. by Jacolby Satterwhite (#BSFF13)⁠
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YELLOW FEVER dir. by Ng’endo Mukii (#BSFF14)⁠
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VOW OF SILENCE dir. by Be Steadwell (#BSFF15)⁠
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EVERYBODY DIES! dir. by Nuotama Bodomo (#BSFF16)⁠
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MUGABO dir. by Amelia Umuhire (#BSFF17)⁠
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FUCKED LIKE A STAR dir. by Stefani Saintonge (#BSFF18)⁠
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BEREKA dir. by Nesanet Teshager Abegaze (#BSFF19)⁠
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THE GIVERNY DOCUMENT (SINGLE CHANNEL) dir. by Ja’Tovia Gary (#BSFF20)⁠
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LETTER FROM YOUR FAR-OFF COUNTRY dir. by Suneil Sanzgiri (#BSFF21)⁠
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[Winners are listed in order of festival year. No specific winner was named during the inaugural festival in 2012.]⁠
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#byindiemeansnecessary⁠
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[Image descriptions can be found in this post's alt-text.]⁠

Today we are also proud to announce the recipient

Today we are also proud to announce the recipient of BlackStar’s inaugural Music in Cinema Fellowship: @lildave215!

Supported by @popcollab, this one year fellowship embeds one musician in BlackStar’s year-round work to design activities intended to bring more Black, Brown, and Indigenous musicians into the world of filmmaking. As part of this work David “lil’dave” Adams will serve as the composer of this year’s Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab projects, which you can learn more about in our previous post and at the link in bio.

[Image Description: The second photo shows Dj lil’dave spinning during a taping of The Daily Jawn in 2021, taken by @embassy730. The first slide shares the details written above.]

BlackStar is thrilled to announce the inaugural cl $BlackStar is thrilled to announce the inaugural class of the Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab, presented by Xfinity! ⁠ ⁠ The 2021 Lab fellows are Bettina Escauriza, Jasmine Lynea, Julian Turner, and Xenia Matthews. Read more about each of them and their amazing projects at the link in bio!⁠ ⁠ “I am really impressed by the sheer diversity and boldness of this year’s applications. Our finalists represent just a fraction of the incredible talent in our city and we are thrilled to be able to support their vision for new work in this way.” - @maorikarmael, Artistic Director & CEO of BlackStar⁠ ⁠ The year-long fellowship supports and uplifts Black, Brown and Indigenous emerging and mid-career artists and filmmakers in the Greater Philadelphia area by providing access to equipment, funding, and mentorship, over the course of a year. BlackStar will act as an executive producer on the short films created during the Lab, providing feedback on works in progress and advice for working with crew, while Xfinity provided a major portion of the funding for production. The films will premiere at the next BlackStar Film Festival in August 2022 and will be featured on the Black Experience on @Xfinity Channel.⁠ ⁠ ---⁠ ⁠ [Image descriptions: A six-card carousel of graphics begins with a text-based announcement of "Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab 2021 Fellows" from BlackStar. The next four cards display the headshots of the selected fellows, named above, in alphabetical order by first name. The final card says: "The ⁠ Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab is presented in partnership with Xfinity with support from All Ages Productions, Independence Public Media Foundation, Kickstarter, Vimeo, and Wyncote Foundation." Additional info in alt-text.]$

2021 Festival Recap

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