Harlem International Film Festival

Harlem International Film Festival

Location	Harlem, New York City, New York
Founded	2005
Festival date	September
Language	English
Website	harlemfilmfestival.org

The Harlem International Film Festival (Hi) is an annual five-day film festival in Harlem, New York. ^[1] The first festival took place in 2005. ^[2] Michael Franti's I Know I'm Not Alone was named Best International Documentary at the festival that year. ^[3] The short film Eme Nakia was selected to be screened at the 2006 festival. ^[4] Also that year, The Hip Hop Project produced by Queen Latifah and Bruce Willis was named Best Documentary Film. ^[5] Nigerian film Anchor Baby was named Best Film at the 2010 festival and won another award there as well. ^[6] Omoni Oboli was named Best Actress that year. ^[7] Najat Jellab's short film The Projectionist premiered at the 2013 festival. ^[8] The festival named Vanessa L. Williams Best Actress one year. ^[9] Short film In The Field, directed by Matthew Hope, was screened at the festival one year. ^[10]

Harlem International Film Festival 2024 award winners ^[11]

Award	Film	Winner
Best Film	Valley of Exile
Best World Film	When Morning Comes
Best Documentary	Return to Your Corner
Best World Documentary	Three (Extra)Ordinary Women
Audience Award	One Person, One Vote?
Best Director	Stakes is High	Jean-Pierre Caner
Best Documentary Director	FIREFLY: The Tay Fisher Story	Christopher Nostrand
Mira Nair Award for Rising Female Filmmaker	Playing Through	Balbinka Korzeniowska
Best Actress	As if it’s True	Ashley Ortega
Best Actor	My Last Best Friend	Eric Roberts
New York Vision Award	Skate Night
Best Short Narrative	I Promise You Paradise
Best Short Short	Pen, Again
Best Short Documentary	How to Sue The Klan
Harlem Spotlight (Feature Narrative)	What Somalia Wants
Harlem Spotlight (Feature Documentary)	Sing! Fight! Sing! Fight! From Leroi To Amiri
Harlem Spotlight (Short Narrative)	Speak Up Brotha!
Harlem Spotlight (Short Documentary)	Interception: Jayne Kennedy • American Sportscaster
Uptown Award (Narrative)	Bronx Park Thunder
Uptown Award (Documentary)	The Book of Days
Best Youth Short (Narrative)	Project: KLB2
Best Youth Short (Doc)	Little Sahara
Best Animation	A Cow In The Sky
Best Experimental Film	For Those That Lived There
Best Music Video	Null Island – Cyano Sun Suite
Winning Webisode	Vibrations: Offerings
Best Virtual Reality	Nirwana Gold
Winning Feature Screenplay	Black Mountain	Joe Villanti
Winning Short Script	Ryan Fenson-Hood	No Rules Radio

Harlem International Film Festival 2023 award winners ^[12]

Award	Film	Winner
Best Film	Blow Up My Life
Best World Film	Illyricvm
Best Documentary	Ricochet
Best World Documentary	King of Kings
Audience Award	The Right to Read
Best Director	Honor Student	Tamika Miller
Best Documentary Director	Blind Eye Artist	Ashwin Chaudhary
Mira Nair Award for Rising Female Filmmaker	Stronghold	Julia Camara
Best Actress	Our Father, the Devil	Babetida Sadjo
Best Actor	Our Father, the Devil	Souleymane Sy Savané
Best Production	The Way to Happiness
New York Vision Award	Orange and the Blues
Best Short	A Mukbang to Remember
Best Short Short	Visiting Day
Best Short Documentary	John Leguizamo Live at Rikers
Harlem Spotlight	In Search of Bengali Harlem
Uptown Award (Feature Film)	In the Weeds
Uptown Award (Short Film)	The Obituary of Jasper James
Best Youth Film	The Lake Merritt Monster
Best Animation	There is Exactly Enough Time
Best Experimental Film	Harlem is Nowhere
Best Music Video	Winter in Pluto
Winning Webisode	Closet B!tch
Best Virtual Reality	Thank You for Sharing Your World
Winning Feature Screenplay	A Man Called White	Randy Hines
Winning Short Script	1918	Jenna Brister

Harlem International Film Festival 2022 award winners ^[13]

Award	Film	Winner
Best Film	Never Better
Best World Film	The Ugly Truth
Best Documentary	Stateless
Best World Documentary	Girls for Future
Audience Award	Love is in the Legend
Best Director	Maya and Her Lover	Nicole Sylvester
Best Documentary Director	Ushiku	Thomas Ash
Mira Nair Award for Rising Female Filmmaker	Blurring the Color Line	Crystal Kwok
Best Actress	Never Better	Sofia Bryant
Best Actor	Broken Blooms	Jeric Gonzales
Best Production	Person Woman Man Camera TV
New York Vision Award	Leveling Lincoln
Best Short	Black Rainbow
Best Short Short	Wildcat
Best Short Documentary	When I Get Grown – Reflections of a Freedom Rider
Harlem Spotlight	Cinema and Sanctuary – Hans Richter & America’s First Documentary Film School
Uptown Award (Feature Film)	My Mother’s Son
Uptown Award (Short Film)	If My Voice Rang Louder Than My Skin
Best Youth Film	En Avant
Best Animation	Peek-a-Boom
Best Experimental Film	Black Love Manifesto
Best Music Video	Enough
Winning Webisode	Lost/Found
Best Virtual Reality	Stories of Home
Winning Feature Screenplay	A Black Tribute and a Red Scare
Winning Short Script	My Town

Harlem International Film Festival 2021 award winners ^[14]

Award	Film	Winner
Best Film	Voodoo Macbeth
Best World Film	Reflection
Best Documentary	100 Years from Mississippi
Best World Documentary	Queens of the Revolution
Audience Award	Coogan's Way
Best Director	Sundays in July	Joseph E. Austin II
Best Documentary Director	Truth to Power: Barbara Lee Speaks for Me	Abby Ginzberg
Mira Nair Award for Rising Female Filmmaker	All on a Summer's Day	Avril E. Russell
Best Actress	Voodoo Macbeth	Inger Tudor
Best Actor	Kalel, 15	Elijah Canlas
Best Production	Voodoo Macbeth
New York Vision Award	Full Circle
Best Short	Baby
Best Short Short	Before I Knew
Best Short Documentary	Anthony Crawford - The Man the South Forgot
Harlem Spotlight	The Drop Shot
Uptown Award	First Move
Best Youth Short	I'm Ready
Best Animation	Gon, the Little Fox
Best Experimental Film	Summer in Hindsight
Best Music Video	Skyrocket
Winning Webisode	Praize
Best Virtual Reality	Hominidae
Winning Feature Screenplay	Ella, Witnessing
Winning Short Script	Survival as a Ghostwriter

Harlem International Film Festival 2020 award winners ^[15]

Award	Film	Winner
Best Film	Haingosoa
Best World Film	Omar and Us
Best Documentary	Thumbs Up for Mother Universe
Best World Documentary	Opeka
Audience Award	The Patterson
Best Director	Thin Skin	Charles Mudede
Best Documentary Director	El Susto	Karen Akins
Mira Nair Award for Rising Female Filmmaker	The Subject	Lanie Zipoy
Best Actress	Iska	Ruby Ruiz
Best Actor	Waiting	Khalid Ahmed
Best Production	Before the Fire
New York Vision Award	#like
Best Short	Little Brother
Best Short Short	W
Best Short Documentary	Finding Elijah
Harlem Spotlight	Frederick Douglass Boulevard AKA Food & Drink Boulevard AKA F.D.B.
Uptown Award	Sundays at the Triple Nickel
Best Youth Short	Shine & Shade
Best Animation	Malakout
Best Experimental Film	Bubble
Best Music Video	On My Mind
Winning Webisode	Before We Wrap
Best Virtual Reality	Reconstruct: Five Confederates and a Tennis Player
Winning Feature Screenplay	The Ambassador of Love
Winning Short Script	Channel Bibi

Harlem International Film Festival 2019 award winners ^[16]

Award	Film	Winner
Best Film	Wheels
Best World Film	Doing Money
Best Documentary	The Last American Colony: One Man’s Revolution
Best World Documentary	Eliades Ochoa: From Cuba to the World
Audience Award	Strive
Best Director	Katrina’s Dream	Mirko & Dario Bischofberger
Best Documentary Director	Madagasikara	Cam Cowan
Mira Nair Award for Rising Female Filmmaker	Boy Genius	Bridget Stokes
Best Actress	Strive	Joi Starr
Best Actor	Goliath	Sven Schelker
Best Cinematography	No Way Out
New York Showcase Award	Decade of Fire
Best Short	83 Days
Best Short Short	The Highbridge
Best Short Documentary	The Man of the Trees
Harlem Spotlight (Feature)	When Harlem Saved a King
Uptown Award (Feature)	Seaman and 207
Uptown Award (Short)	Chevere con Salsa
Best Youth Short	We the Children
Best Animation	Substance
Best Experimental Film	Salt Water
Best Music Video	Ice Moon
Winning Webisode	Gray Ground
Best Virtual Reality	The Negro Building VR Experience
Winning Feature Screenplay	Harlem Fever
Winning Short Script	Woke?

Harlem International Film Festival 2018 award winners ^[17]

Award	Film	Winner
Best Film	The Best of All Worlds
Best World Film	Elvis Walks Home
Best Documentary	My Tourette’s
Best World Documentary	Retracing Jeneba
Audience Award	The Rainbow Experiment
Best Director	Mandela’s Gun	John Irvin
Best Documentary Director	The Jazz Ambassadors	Hugo Berkeley
Mira Nair Award for Rising Female Filmmaker	Incarcerated Rhythm	Indrani Kopal
Best Experimental Film	The Silent Eye
Best Actress	The Best of All Worlds	Verena Altenberger
Best Actor	Mandela’s Gun	Tumisho Masha
Best Cinematography	Sayakbay
New York Showcase Award	Write When You Get Work
Harlem Spotlight (Feature)	The Breeding
Harlem Spotlight (Short)	Congo Cabaret
Best Short	Hold Me Down
Best Short Documentary	Home Street Home
Best Youth Short	Blacked Out
Best Animation	Two Balloons
Best Music Video	Stand Down
Winning Webisode	A Whole New Irving
Winning Feature Screenplay	The Other Side	Alexandra Farias
Winning Short Script	Crushing	Simbi Kali

Harlem International Film Festival 2017 award winners ^[18]

Award	Film	Winner
Best Film	Krotoa
Best World Film	Groom’s Block
Best Documentary	Garden of the Peaceful Dragon
Best World Documentary	Servant or Slave
Audience Award	Curtsy, Mister
Best Director	Moscow Never Sleeps	Johnny O’Reilly
Best Documentary Director	The Land Beneath Our Feet	Sarita Siegel & Gregg Mitman
Mira Nair Award for Rising Female Filmmaker	NANA	Serena Dykman
Best Actress	Ordinary People	Hasmine Killip
Best Actor	Ordinary People	Ronwaldo Martin
New York Showcase Award	Day After Day
Harlem Spotlight (Documentary)	The Speech
Harlem Spotlight (Short Narrative)	Search Party
Harlem Spotlight (Short Documentary)	A Girl Can Dream… Bre Scullark
Best Experimental Film	White Face
Best Short	Dem Dem!
Best Short Short	Hello, Malcolm
Best Short Documentary	The Sara Spencer Washington Story
Best Youth Short Documentary	Statement of Truth
Best Youth Short	Cocoa Butter Short
Best Animation	Trip to the Stars
Best Music Video	Iridescence
Winning Webisode	The New Adventures of Brobot Johnson
Winning Feature Screenplay	Ghost Patriot	Todd Wise
Winning Short Script	Eleventh Earl of Getzford	Jess Grant

Harlem International Film Festival 2016 award winners ^[19]

Award	Film	Winner
Best Film	Children of the Mountain
Best World Film	Hear the Silence / Höre Die Stille
Best Documentary	I Go Back Home – Jimmy Scott
Best World Documentary	Nuclear Neighbour
Audience Award	Thirsty
Best Director	Good Grief	Brandon Ford Green
Best Documentary Director	Rigoberta Menchú Tum – Daughter of the Maya	Dawn Engle
Mira Nair Award for Rising Female Filmmaker	For Kibera!	Kati Juurus
Best Cinematography	The Sister
Best Editing	West Coast
Best Actress	Children of the Mountain	Rukiyat Masud
Best Actor	Rain the Color Blue with a Little Red in It	Mdou Moctar
Best Ensemble Cast	42 Seconds of Happiness
Most Remarkable Young Person on Screen	Two Worlds	Laura Gontarczyk
	Jonas and the Backyard Circus	Jonas Laborda
	Kojo	Kojo Roney
	Good Funk	Leonay Shepherd
	Thrive	Matthew Whitaker
New York Showcase Award	H.O.M.E.
Harlem Spotlight (Short Documentary)	By Jamal Joseph
Harlem Spotlight (Short Narrative)	World’s Not For Me
Harlem Spotlight (Feature)	Good Funk
Harlem Spotlight (Documentary)	Daddy Don’t Go
Best Experimental Film	The Sky Over Berlin of My Childhood
Best Youth Feature	The Remnant
Best Youth Short Documentary	Out of the Ashes
Best Youth Short	Let’s Stay Together
Top Ten Best Shorts	A Beautiful Day
	Any Day Now
	Boat People
	MBFF
	Neurophreak
	Princess Eun Hwa
	Shen
	The Frozen Eye
	The Telegram Man
	Ugly
Best Short Documentaries	Do You Hear What I Hear?
	One Day at a Time
	Soul City
Best Short Shorts	L’Encenedor Quàntic
	The Crip Who Loves Yoga
	Thrive
Best Animation	Sisters
	The Night Witch
Best Music Video	Bangers
	Dove
Winning Webisode (Narrative)	Everything I Did Wrong in My 20s
Winning Webisode (Documentary)	My Life Offline
Winning Feature Script	Riding on Duke’s Train	Ken Kimmelman & Mick Carlon
Winning Short Script	Run, My Dear	Marjory Kaptanoglu

Harlem International Film Festival 2015 award winners ^[20]

Award	Film	Winner
Best Film	America is Still the Place
Best World Film	My Life with the King
Best Documentary	Adolfo Perez Esquivel: Rivers of Hope
Best World Documentary	Zemene
Audience Award	Korla
Best Director	Wildlike	Frank Hall Green
Best Documentary Director	American Native	Steven Oritt
Mira Nair Award for Rising Female Filmmaker	Behind Some Dark Cloud	Chelsea Kane
New York Showcase Award	Kensho at the Bedfellow
Best Youth Actress	Before the Bomb	Sterling Jerins
Best Youth Actor	Hagereseb	Joseph Smith
Best Actress	Wildlike	Ella Purnell
Best Actor	The Last Saint	Beulah Koale
Harlem Spotlight (Short Documentary)	Serenity Garden
Harlem Spotlight (Short Narrative)	King of Guangzhou
Harlem Spotlight (Feature)	Subways
Harlem Spotlight (Documentary)	The Beauty That I Saw
Best Cinematography	Eventide
Best Youth Feature	My Voice, My Life
Best Youth Short Documentary	Call Me Joe
Best Youth Short	Falling
Top Ten Best Shorts	Tom in America
	The Dangle
	Hagareseb
	Before the Bomb
	Love Always Eartha
	Keeper of the Past
	The Bravest, the Boldest
	The Story of a Rainy Night
	The Yellow Festival
	Welcome
Best Short Documentaries	Code Oakland
	Even The Walls
	Sir Shadow
	Why We Stay
Best Short Shorts	Split End
	Unforgiven
	Breaking in
	Project Brave
	I’ve Just Had a Dream
Best Animation	Golden Shot
Best Music Video	Chops
Winning Feature Script	Hell and Hallelujah!	Margaret Ford-Rogers & Shaytee Gadson
Winning Short Script	The Real Man	Cathy Reinking & Darryl Dillard

Harlem International Film Festival 2014 award winners

Award	Film	Winner
Best Film	Kamkam
Best World Film	Depois da Chuva
Best Documentary	The Cooler Bandits
Best World Doc	Brown Bread
Best Director	Tempo Girl	Dominik Locher
Best Documentary Director	You have his Eyes	Christopher Wilson
Mira Nair Award For Rising Female Filmmaker	Redemption Trail	Britta Sjogren
Audience Award	Children of the Light
Best Experimental Film	Duran / Circling
Best Actor	Magkakabaung	Allen Dizon
	101 Chodyangal	Minon
Best Actress	Love Me	Viktoria Spesyvtseva
Best Cinematography	Si-o-se Pol	Kristian Leschner
Best Short Documentary	The Game Changer	Indrani Kopal
Best Short Shorts	18 Seconds
	Berxen Kulek
	La Loteria
	One Question
	The Devil Goes Down
	The Way You Love
Best Short	0.60 MG
	Battle Of Island Mound
	Fleecing Led Zeppelin
	Into The Silent Sea
	Kasita
	La Donna
	The Perfect Sacrifice
Best Animation	Le Gouffre
	Puggums
Best Youth Feature	Flying Paper
Best Youth Short Documentary	A Teen's Guide to Understanding and Communicating with People with Autism
Best Youth Short	Perfect Day
Best Music Video	The Lion
Harlem Spotlight (feature)	Know How
Harlem Spotlight (documentary)	Changing Face of Harlem
Winning Feature Script	The Blacktivist
Winning Short Script	Brewster Commons

^[21]

Harlem International Film Festival 2013 award winners

Award	Film	Winner
Best Film	Clutter	Diane Crespo
Best World Film	Tu Seras Un Homme (You’ll Be A Man)	Benoit Cohen
Best Documentary	Lessons of Hayti	Edward J. Harris II and Byron Hunter
Best World Doc	Post 9-11: Fear, Anger & Politics	Nadia Zouaoui
Best Director	Four of Hearts	Eric Haywood
Best Documentary Director	16 Acres	Richard Hankin
Mira Nair Award For Rising Female Filmmaker	Bittersweet Monday	Jaime Lee
Audience Award	Sex, Love & Salsa	Adrian Manzano
Best Experimental Film	Objects Attack!	Rona Mark
Best Actor	Dar He: The Lynching of Emmett Till	Mike Wiley
Best Actress	Nuwebe	Barbara Miguel
Best Cinematography	The Passage	Alexander Douglas
Best Short Documentary	Not Anymore: A Story of Revolution	Matthew Vandyke
Best Short	Daughter	Assia Lakhlif
	Empty Paper Bag	Majid Sarvini
	Farewell Jimmy	Sanghyun Kim
	Kombra	Ali Kamanda
	Pillowcase	David Lombroso
	Sum-ba-kok-jil (Hide ‘n Seek)	Hanuk Lee
	Sweet, Sweet Country	Dehanza Rogers
	The Projectionist	Najat Jellab
Best Animation	Daddy ABC	Hamad Alawar
	Ed	Gabriel Garcia
Best Youth Short	Remain Still	Armaan Uplekar
Best Music Video	Sufferin’ Till You’re Straight	David Scheve
Harlem Spotlight (feature)	Fight, Dance Sing	Kamal Robinson
Harlem Spotlight (short)	Happy New Year!	Judianny Compress
Winning Feature Script	The Rose That Grew From Concrete: The Story of Tupac Amaru Shakur	Reginald Jackson
Winning Short Script	She Was Left Alone	Bela Wolf

^[22]

Harlem International Film Festival 2012 award winners

Award	Film	Winner
Best Film	True Bromance	Sebastian Doggart (UK, US)
Best World Film	A.L.F.	Jérôme Lescure (France)
Best Documentary	Herman's House (Canada, US)	Angad Bhalla
Best World Documentary	Not My Life (Brazil, Cambodia, Egypt, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Italy, Romania, Senegal, US)	Robert Bilheimer
Best Director	The Talk Man (US)	Gene Gallerano
Best Documentary Director	Mas Man (Trinidad & Tobago, US)	Dalton Narine
Mira Nair Award for Rising Female Filmmaker	A Gran Plan (Singapore)	Sangeeta Nambiar
Audience Award	The Glamorous Lie (US)
Best Actor	Hombre y Tierra (US)	Maurice Ripke directed by Christian Cisneros
Best Actress	A Gran Plan (Singapore)	Farida Jalal directed by Sangeeta Nambiar
Best Short Documentary	Check the Rhyme (US)	Tim Smoove
Top Seven Shorts (narrative)	Amos (US)	Taylor Maxwell
	I Can Smoke? (US)	Tony Ducret
	Playing Grown Up (Mexico)	Javier Solorzano Casarin
	Shoot the Moon	Alexander Gaeta (US)
	The Darkness is Close Behind (US)	Sheena Mccann
	The Hole (South Korea)	Joon Seong Ahn
	The Pilgrim & the Private Eye (US)	Joel Johnstone
Best Short Shorts (12 Minutes And Under)	And I on the Opposite Shore (US)	Mozell Miley-Bailey
	Co Raz Zostalo Zapisane (Poland)	Martin Rath
	Raise My Hands (Ireland)	Frank Kelly
	The Future (Australia)	Venetia Taylor
	The World Outside (US)	Zachary Kerschberg
Best Animation	The Hopper Alex Brüel Flagstad (Denmark)	Wolf Dog Tales Bernadine Santistevan (US)
Best Youth (Feature) Film	Brooklyn Bridges (Palestine, US)	Fran Tarr
Best Youth Short	Cross Court (US)	Rafael Cortina
Best Music Video	Soldier (US)	Cinque Northern
Harlem Spotlight	Stonefaced (US)	Vivian Ducat
Winning Feature Script	Eternal Spring Fist	Erik Bernard
Winning Short Script	The Tenth Door	Michael D. Lies
Screenplay Finalists	Hope is Not a Black and White Rainbow	Harold Brown
	Resilience	Lena Slachmuijlder
	You Dresses, Me Shoes	S. A. Green
Screenplay Semi-finalists	Fall Out	Michael Gold
	In 2 Me U	Kimberly Fernandez & Jeanette Villafane
	Kingpin	R. M. Chepesiuk
	Undivided	Trevor and Troy Parham

^[23]

References

1. Michael J. Feeney (September 11, 2013). "Harlem International Film Festival to include films about hip hop and 9/11". Daily News . Retrieved September 16, 2013.
2. "Hi-story". Harlem International Film Festival. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
3. "Spearhead frontman to play prison show". NME . May 3, 2007. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
4. "Sparta's Short Film Trailer: 'Eme Nakia'". Ultimate Guitar Archive . September 5, 2006. Archived from the original on September 16, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
5. Gregg Goldstein (October 30, 2006). "ThinkFilm backs new 'Project'". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved September 16, 2013.
6. Patrice Peck (August 19, 2013). "Lonzo Nzekwe Spotlights African Immigration in "Anchor Baby"". Black Entertainment Television . Retrieved September 16, 2013.
7. Chris Ajaero (August 3, 2011). "The Stars of Nollywood". Modern Ghana. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
8. "The Projectionist Gets US Premiere 9/15". Broadway World. September 6, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
9. Marti Parham (November 20, 2006). "Vanessa Williams Proves that Having the Right Stuff has Paid Off". Jet : 63.
10. "People news from Nice Shoes, Publicis Mojo and more". Creativity . April 11, 2011. Archived from the original on September 16, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
11. "2024 Awards – Harlem International Film Festival" . Retrieved 2025-04-25.
12. "2023 Awards – Harlem International Film Festival" . Retrieved 2025-04-25.
13. "2022 Awards – Harlem International Film Festival" . Retrieved 2025-04-25.
14. "2021 Awards – Harlem International Film Festival" . Retrieved 2025-04-25.
15. "2020 Awards – Harlem International Film Festival" . Retrieved 2025-04-22.
16. "2019 Awards – Harlem International Film Festival" . Retrieved 2025-04-22.
17. "2018 Awards – Harlem International Film Festival" . Retrieved 2025-04-21.
18. "2017 Awards – Harlem International Film Festival" . Retrieved 2025-04-21.
19. "2016 Awards – Harlem International Film Festival" . Retrieved 2025-04-21.
20. "2015 Awards – Harlem International Film Festival" . Retrieved 2025-04-21.
21. "2014 Awards". harlemfilmfestival.org. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
22. "2013 Awards". harlemfilmfestival.org. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
23. "2012 Awards". harlemfilmfestival.org. Retrieved July 19, 2016.

External links

• Official Website