BlackStar Film Festival

Last updated
BlackStar Film Festival
BlackStar Projects Logo.png
Location Philadelphia, United States
Founded2012;13 years ago (2012)
Founded byMaori Karmael Holmes
Festival dateOpening: 31 July 2025 (2025-07-31)
Closing: 3 August 2025 (2025-08-03)
LanguageEnglish, American Sign Language
Website www.blackstarfest.org

The BlackStar Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by BlackStar Projects. The festival focuses on films about and by black, brown and indigenous people from around the world. [1] It takes place each August in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It has been described as the "Black Sundance." [2] [3]

Contents

The festival is named after Marcus Garvey's shipping line, the Black Star Line. [3] It was founded in 2012 by Maori Karmael Holmes, with the first BlackStar Film Festival initially conceived as a one-day "microfestival" that, due to the large number of submissions, ultimately turned into a four-day international event. [4] Holmes developed the festival due to her view that there were very few film festivals for Black filmmakers, [5] as well as a desire to share stories that go beyond stereotypical representations of people of color. [6] Backers of the festival include the MacArthur Foundation, the Knight Foundation, HBO, CAA, Comcast, and Lionsgate. [3]

The first festival included a master class and screening of part of Middle of Nowhere by Ava DuVernay. [7] [8] Produced by nonprofit BlackStar Projects, that festival included 40 films from four continents. [5] Later festivals have included films by Arthur Jafa, [9] Ja'Tovia Gary, [10] Terence Nance, Jenn Nkiru, [11] Gabourey Sidibe, [12] Janine Sherman Barrois, [13] Darius Clark Monroe, Shatara Michelle Ford, [14] Garrett Bradley, [15] and Naima Ramos-Chapman. Panels have included Bradford Young, Rashid Shabazz, [4] Spike Lee, and Tarana Burke. [16]

Yaba Blay, Akiba Solomon, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, and Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter have all previously served on the advisory board of the festival. [17]

In 2024, the festival had over 17,000 attendees. [18]

Sister programming from Blackstar Projects includes Seen, a biannual journal of art and writing; a seminar for artists of color; a fellowship; and exhibitions. [5]

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

References

  1. ↑ Blichert, Frederick (July 4, 2019). "Questlove, Alex Gibney-produced hip hop docuseries to screen at BlackStar Film Fest". RealScreen . Archived from the original on 2019-07-04. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  2. ↑ Hatmaker, Julia (August 4, 2017). "'The Black Sundance' is under way in Philadelphia". PennLive . Archived from the original on 2019-07-24. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 Obenson, Tambay (August 1, 2019). "BlackStar: How a Film Festival for People of Color Became 'the Black Sundance'". Indiewire . Archived from the original on 2019-08-01. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  4. 1 2 Allen, Taylor (February 28, 2019). "How one woman expanded a Philadelphia-based black film festival to the international stage". WHYY . Archived from the original on 2019-02-28. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Hellmann, Melissa (2025-07-30). "The 'Black Sundance' honoring film-makers of color and focusing on community building". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2025-08-11. Retrieved 2025-08-16.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "BlackStar Film Festival: Celebrate Black Independent Films in Philly". EBONY . 2012-08-02. Archived from the original on 2022-09-27. Retrieved 2025-08-16.
  7. ↑ Zeglen, Julie (February 20, 2018). "Maori Karmael Holmes moved to LA to work for Ava DuVernay. What about BlackStar?". Generocity . Archived from the original on 2019-06-20. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  8. ↑ Rickey, Carrie (October 5, 2012). "She's a Graduate of an Unusual Film School: Ava DuVernay and Middle of Nowhere". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 2012-10-07. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  9. ↑ Tomkins, Calvin (December 14, 2020). "Arthur Jafa's Radical Alienation". The New Yorker . Conde Nast. Archived from the original on 2020-12-14. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  10. ↑ Marine, Brooke (August 8, 2023). "Ja'Tovia Gary Grew Up on the Internet". The Cut . New York Magazine. Archived from the original on 2025-07-20. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  11. ↑ Tillet, Salamishah (August 3, 2022). "At the BlackStar Film Festival, a Revelatory Understanding of Cinema". The New York Times . The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2022-08-03. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  12. ↑ Hornaday, Ann (August 17, 2017). "Festivals celebrating black films provide cinematic safe space when it's sorely needed". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on 2017-08-18. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Brara, Noor (August 2, 2018). "8 Standout Films to See at This Year's Blackstar Film Festival in Philadelphia". Vogue . Archived from the original on 2018-08-02. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  14. ↑ Elfadl, Murtada (August 5, 2024). "'Dreams in Nightmares' Review: A Subversive Take on the Road Movie". Variety . Archived from the original on 2025-01-04. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  15. ↑ Choudhury, Bedatri (August 20, 2020). "A Celebration of Black, Brown, and Indigenous Stories". Hyperallergic . Archived from the original on 2020-08-22. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  16. 1 2 Sims, Megan (July 15, 2019). "Spike Lee and Tarana Burke to participate in 2019 BlackStar Film Festival". TheGrio . Archived from the original on 2019-07-15. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  17. ↑ "Board". BlackStar Film Festival . Archived from the original on 2020-05-07. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  18. ↑ Beltran, Alana (2025-07-02). "BlackStar Film Festival set to return for its 14th year in Philadelphia". NBC10 Philadelphia . Archived from the original on 2025-08-12. Retrieved 2025-08-16.
  19. 1 2 3 4 "'Things Never Said,' 'Homegoings' Anchor 2013 BlackStar Film Festival Awards". Blavity News & Entertainment . 2013-08-14. Archived from the original on 2025-05-18. Retrieved 2025-08-20.
  20. ↑ "2014 BlackStar Film Festival Award Winners – 'Evolution of a Criminal,' 'Dreams Are Colder Than Death'". IndieWire . 2014-08-07. Archived from the original on 2016-06-24. Retrieved 2025-08-20.
  21. ↑ "2015 Blackstar Film Festival Award Winners". Blavity News & Entertainment . 2015-08-03. Archived from the original on 2023-11-28. Retrieved 2025-08-20.
  22. 1 2 3 "5th Annual BlackStar Film Festival Announces 2016 Award Winners". Blavity News & Entertainment . 2016-08-10. Archived from the original on 2023-12-04. Retrieved 2025-08-20.
  23. 1 2 3 Cummings, Sinead (2017-07-26). "BlackStar Film Festival will return for sixth year". PhillyVoice. Archived from the original on 2017-07-26. Retrieved 2025-08-20.
  24. 1 2 3 Cummings, Sinead (2019-07-26). "2019 BlackStar Film Festival includes projects by Questlove, Solange Knowles". PhillyVoice. Archived from the original on 2025-06-23. Retrieved 2025-08-20.
  25. ↑ Wellington, Elizabeth (2021-08-04). "BlackStar Film Fest is world-premiering the new 'Eyes on the Prize' before it goes to HBO Max, and I'm Philly proud to say so". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Archived from the original on 2021-08-04. Retrieved 2025-08-20.
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Cummings, Sinead (2020-07-07). "Philadelphia's ninth BlackStar Film Festival goes virtual". PhillyVoice. Archived from the original on 2020-07-17. Retrieved 2025-08-20.
  27. 1 2 3 Cummings, Sinead (2021-07-06). "BlackStar Film Festival 2021: 10th anniversary lineup revealed". PhillyVoice. Archived from the original on 2021-07-06. Retrieved 2025-08-20.
  28. 1 2 3 Woods, Kathia (2022-07-26). "The 2022 BlackStar Film Festival returns to its hybrid model". The Philadelphia Tribune . Archived from the original on 2025-08-20. Retrieved 2025-08-20.
  29. 1 2 Qureshi, Hira (2023-08-01). "Here's everything you need to know before attending BlackStar Film Festival in Philly". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Archived from the original on 2025-04-18. Retrieved 2025-08-21.
  30. ↑ Choudhury, Bedatri; Cartagena, Rosa; Myers, Michelle; Qureshi, Hira; Savage, Henry (2023-08-01). "The 2023 BlackStar Film Festival starts Wednesday. Here's what we are watching". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Archived from the original on 2023-08-01. Retrieved 2025-08-21.
  31. ↑ Diop, Arimeta (2024-08-08). "The BlackStar Film Festival Has a Mission, and Plenty of Ambition". Vanity Fair . Archived from the original on 2024-08-08. Retrieved 2025-08-21.
  32. 1 2 3 Cartagena, Rosa; Hopkins, Earl; Ragland, Raymond; Qureshi, Hira; Savage, Henry; Choudhury, Bedatri (2024-07-30). "11 films you should not miss at the BlackStar Film Festival". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Archived from the original on 2025-06-13. Retrieved 2025-08-21.
  33. 1 2 3 Woods, Kathia (2025-07-30). "BlackStar highlights Black and brown stories in Philly film festival". The Philadelphia Tribune . Archived from the original on 2025-08-11. Retrieved 2025-08-21.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.