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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 - 9 hours

We're thrilled to be partnering with @sundancefest to present some satellite programming during this year's Sundanc… https://t.co/ZhJrW1IMbZ

@BlackStarFest - 14 hours

Don't miss @maorikarmael on this amazing panel Friday! https://t.co/jXEUlvbWjm https://t.co/nOy4WQcAXO

Instagram

.@designweekmag recently interviewed @archivaljels

.@designweekmag recently interviewed @archivaljelsen to delve into the creative process behind designing Issue 001 of our new @seen_journal! ⁠⠀
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Check it out at the link in bio and order your copy at seen.blackstarfest.org 📖

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Illustration of @thumbelulu by @tlynnfaz, in an interview by @heidi_saman.

#GivingTuesday is still going! Donate today to hel

#GivingTuesday is still going! Donate today to help us continue to create wondrous space for Black, Brown, and Indigenous film and media artists.⁠
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Quote reads: "[BlackStar] is this place where we get to put our guard down and engage with the world, lead with wonder and curiosity, and open up in a way that creates all these other creative possibilities." - Loira Limbal (@djlaylo_) during a @DOCNYCfest panel earlier this year 🖤⁠
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Link in bio 👉🏾 blackstarfest.org/donate

In a year like 2020 — filled with so many challe

In a year like 2020 — filled with so many challenges and tragedies — amplifying the work of Black, Brown and Indigenous artists has felt as vital as ever. Over the past twelve months BlackStar has continued to do just that, shining a light on our communities while expanding our scope and reach to meet the moment. Whether through the production of our first-ever virtual festival — which reached more than 3.5 million viewers — or the launch of a new journal of film and visual culture (@seen_journal), this year has been a reminder of what’s possible when we come together around the art of radical Black, Brown, and Indigenous storytellers.⁠
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And there is so much more yet to come! Our plans for the coming year include a new seminar for filmmakers of color, the debut of a podcast, and a year-long celebration centered around our 10th annual film festival. All of which is sustained by your ongoing support. This #GivingTuesday, help BlackStar continue to shine by making a donation!⁠
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Link in bio :)

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Quote reads: “BlackStar is the most important film festival in the country. And soon, everyone will understand why.” - Kahlil Joseph, 2014 #GivingTuesday BlackStar

Congrats to all of this year's @sundanceorg Moment

Congrats to all of this year's @sundanceorg Momentum Fellows — including BlackStar alumni Shalini Kantayya, Loira Limbal, Ekwa Msangi, Jacqueline Olive and Angel Kristi Williams! 🎉⁠
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"The full-year program...gives customized creative and professional support for mid-career writers and directors from underrepresented communities who are poised to take the next step in their careers in fiction and documentary filmmaking." - @Deadline ⁠
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@shalinikantayya, @djlaylo_, and @ekwapics all had films at #BSFF20 (CODED BIAS, THROUGH THE NIGHT, and FAREWELL AMOR, respectively) while Jacqueline was last at #BSFF19 (ALWAYS IN SEASON) and @angelkristiwms at #BSFF15 (CHARLOTTE).⁠
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Read more about all of the fellows at the link in bio!

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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2020 Festival Re-cap

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