Global Creatives • All over the African Diaspora • August 13th, 2025-August 17th, 2025

An immersive, global, 5-Day Film and Music Experience, celebrating Black origins.

WED

8/13

Black Fantastic Otherness

Wednesday August 13th - Click to learn about our media partner KWELI TV!

  • Welcome Videos from Darice & Khalil

  • Black Origins of House Music by Khalil

    Films That Show Our Diverse Gifts

  • Documentary Short – Pantsula: How We Move  – South African dance as a pathway for young people preserving culture in SA.

  • Animated Short – The Graham Girls Emotional Intelligence – Three sisters in a futuristic cosmic setting teach the audience about emotional intelligence.

  • Documentary – Class of Her Own – Gloria Jean Merriex created a curriculum from scratch to make her lessons relevant to her students. Recognizing rhythm and repetition help children grasp and remember complex concepts, she experimented with music and movement

  • Narrative Short  – Mute – In a metaphorical world where specific groups of people are stripped of their voice, a girl learns the power of one and how to use it to fight for those who cannot be heard.

  • Narrative Short – I Wanted to be a Ballerina – A girl goes out to discover her new neighbourhood when she has an unexpected encounter that changes her life forever. 

  • Experimental Short  - If Words Fail Us, The Sea Tells Our Story – On a beach in Salvador, two Black women, Joana, a mature woman who has seen much in life, and Yara, a young woman at the beginning of her journey, meet to share their experiences. Two women connected by the strength of the sea.

  • Narrative Short – Picture - When antique lover, BRIT, is gifted a vintage polaroid camera, she unknowingly unleashes a malignant demon with an insatiable appetite.

  • Narrative Short  - Sweet Heist - A young woman heavily burdened with a student loan narrates a fictitious heist story to her co- workers that then showcases her creative potential, hence bringing change in her life in unforeseen ways.

  • Documentary Short - Amala: The Xango Stone Walk - Amalá, also known as an offering to Xangô, represents the strength and power of the Lord of Justice, the documentary tells the story of the Xangô Stone Walk in Cajazeiras, Salvador- Bahia.

  • After Party with DJ Kream

THUR

8/14

Welcome Videos from Darice & Khalil

  • Black Origins of House Music by Khalil

Films That Invite Us Explore Visions

  • Music Video - Fire– “FIRE” tells the raw, emotional story of a woman who battles through judgment, struggle, and social rejection on her path to self-discovery and success.  

  • Documentary Short – I Have the Key, I Have the Charm -  The documentary raises questions and seeks answers for the construction and consolidation of self-esteem among young black people from the outskirts of the city.

  • Experimental Short – ÌBÀ OBÍNRIN – ÌBÀ OBÍNRIN is an investigation of the influences of ritual, nature and place in Black women’s traditional practices to care for community.

  • Music Video - Many Faces – Music video about many faces a person can have in a day   

  • Narrative Short – Melodi – Peo, a young singer, and KG, her producer boyfriend, create music in a small home studio, dreaming of fame. Navigates a sketchy music industry.

  • Animated Short – OOMPH – a tale of strength and resilience. It's the story of the contrasting roles looted Benin Art plays across cultural divides of the West versus the people of Benin.

  • Narrative Short – The Muses – Kelly, a young domestic worker from the ghettos of Recife, dreams of becoming a brega singer. Torn between her exhausting daily life and the pursuit of her dream, she finds herself conflicted.

  • Music Video - Flor de Urucum - Annatto flower - Set in the heart of the Jequitinhonha Valley, Flor de Urucum unfolds a visceral narrative blending love, longing, rebellion, and healing against a backdrop of profound environmental transformation.

  • Documentary Short - Afrissippi - A Senegalese chef and musician's journey from Dakar to the U.S. unfolds through the rhythms of his music and flavors of his cuisine, revealing how food and art transcend borders to forge identity, belonging, and cultural connection.,

  • Experimental Short - Stand in Your Power - The powerful Sentinels of Gabon are Ancestral Guardians that protect humanity. In the sacred vortexes of Sedona, they are calling us to Stand in Power and not to fear because we are protected.

  • Documentary short - Albina Music Trust - Mini documentary about Black Music in Portland, Oregon. Specifically about the legendary Albina Neighborhood.

  • After Party with DJ Kream

FRI

8/15

BlAcK CuLTurAL DiVErSitY

FRIDAY AUGUST 15th – CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT OUR FESTIVAL DJ!

  • Welcome Videos from Darice & Khalil

  • Black Origins of House Music by Khalil

  • Pre-Party w/DJ Adam

    Films That Inspire Us to Action

  • Documentary - A History of Film In Uganda – A History of Film in Uganda is a film essay/documentary that explores the history of filmmaking as a social, cultural and political practice from the country's early colonial period, through the decades, to the present.

  • Short Documentary – Dream Stage – A captivating 24-minute documentary following the Afro-diasporic group Zunza as they pursue their dream of performing on the big stage at a prestigious festival in Toronto.   

  • Experimental Short – Entre Sortie – Nothing is more uncertain than a life we hang on circumstances whose ins and outs escape our will. From life to death, from dawn to dusk, could life be a race with an uncertain and unpredictable outcome? 

  • Music Video - Funk Insurance - Music video featuring RonKat Spearman and Katdelic

  • Documentary Short - It’s Not a Tale - It’s not a tale, it’s a Cuban story told in Brazil, Pomelapocha D’ Cuba is an artist with multiple talents, poet, musician, writer, actor and dancer. 

  • Experimental Short – Sativa - A girl wakes up in her sleep, pulled by love.

  • Experimental Short – Legacy– In a magical reality, the outskirts is an innovation point and houses in its core an ancestry entity in the shape of a tree, who feeds and protects the community.

  • Documentary Short - The Right Kinda Negro - explores the complexities of Black identity in America, blending personal narratives, historical analysis, and interviews to examine the societal pressures Black individuals face to conform. 

  • Narrative Short - XY (VOSTENG) - Xalil and Yamis, a couple bound by years of love, see their world shattered by the tragic loss of their only daughter. The accident that took her away leaves behind an immense void — a silence so heavy, it almost screams.

  • Documentary Short - The Function - The Function follows the journey of Stroy Moyd, a comedian and co-owner of the first Black-owned comedy club in the Bay Area. Through his story, the film explores the struggles Black comedians have faced over the past century and how The Function is reclaiming space for Black comedy.

  • Documentary Short - Naturally Crowned - A documentary exploration of the cultural and social significance of hair within the Black diaspora. Through a personal lens, the journalist investigates racialization and discrimination of Black hair through ethnographic research in beauty salons in four global cities: Atlanta, Brooklyn, London, and Cape Town.

  • Narrative Short - Tiwa - Tiwa is a spacey chronically online 25 year old, resisting change as it surrounds her from all directions. Her present life is dissociative, at best, as her circle becomes distant and unfamiliar, her favorite diner loses its charm, and her love life seems pathetic. Our story begins at a house party.

  • Pre-recorded party video (DJ Kream)

SAT

8/16

Black FuTuRes, BlaCk FanTasy

Saturday August 16th

  • Welcome Videos from Darice & Khalil

  • Black Origins of House Music by Khalil

  • Pre-Party w/DJ Adam

    Films That Spark Awakenings

  • Narrative Short – Art Hack – An autistic girl finds herself in a toxic and unabling self-centric environment. Her only hope is for her ingenious fine art talent to launch her to stardom.  

  • Narrative Short – Boys & Girls  –Boys & Girls is a dialogue-driven short film set in Enfield Island Village. It explores tension and misunderstanding that can arise between men and women in urban spaces, especially against the backdrop of modern-day gender politics, stereotypes, and social expectations.  

  • Narrative Short – Day In Black – In a despotic future, Carolina prepares for the Dia de Preto, or Dia de Zumbi dos Palmares. Only day black people can go out freely to celebrate their blackness. But how can a 65-year-old black woman look pretty for a special day?

  • Documentary Short – Òkúta - The film delves into the universe of black sculptures in Brazil, revealing how these works transcend mere artistic representation to become powerful portals of connection with the past, with Afro-Brazilian and African ancestry.

  • Music Video – REGALJASON-IAM – A tale of six characters being re-awakened to discover that the power they were searching for was inside them all along.

  • Experimental Short – KAI.OMI - The Guardians Of The Waters– The waters that have always inhabited this world, inhabit our bodies, flow in the rivers, in the seas, in the veins of our ancestors. KAI.OMI, two deities, two enchanted, Afro-Brazilian queens dance and move the waters to try to save our planet from the chaos we live in.

  • Documentary Short - The Soul of Oja - The film explores the rich history and cultural significance of the Oja, a high pitched flute made of wood that is indigenous to the Igbo people of Nigeria. 

  • Narrative Short - Takeover - A young man, who has long carried the weight of his absent father, faces the choice of leaving home. 

  • Animated Short -Sankofa - A cashier at a store reconsiders his perspective on the importance of clothing after meeting special customers. Are clothes really that simple as we make it—or is it deeper?

  • Documentary Short - Talks With Casso Ep 4 (Billionaire Barbers Club) - What happens when dedication meets passion? For the fourth installment of Talks With Casso, I had the opportunity to interview and spotlight "Mizz The Barber" a black business owner operating out of New Castle, Delaware. Here is his story.

  • Narrative Short - Ghetto’s Punk - Rox is a Black girl from the outskirts who finds the power of speech and expression in rock. Alongside her friends Day and Tina, she seeks to establish herself with Banda Airela.

  • Documentary Short - ISE ONA NI ILE YORUBA: Onilu - A highly creative, informative and educational Yoruba documentary series showcasing creative arts and enterprises found in Yoruba land, with the aim of celebrating these crafts and educating the audience on the processes, expressions and opportunities attached to them.

  • After Party with DJ Kream

SUN

8/17

The UltiMaTe

BlaCk FaNtaStic

Sunday August 17th - CLOSING DAY FILMS! – CLICK HERE TO WATCH ON KWELI TV FREE!

  • Welcome Videos from Darice & Khalil

  • Black Origins of House Music by Khalil

  • Pre-Party w/DJ Adam

    Films That = Black Fantastic Otherness

  • Documentary – They Think I Am a Man - They Think I Am a Man is a powerful documentary that follows the journey of Nyasha Gurure, a trailblazing female photographer who has defied the odds in a male-dominated industry.

  • Documentary Short – The Shine of the Legacy - This film is a short documentary film directed by Deco Machado, a quilombola and visual artist born in the Quilombola Community of Caçandoca, in Ubatuba, São Paulo. 

  • Documentary Short – Polyamorous Us - Socially those in polyandrous and polyamorous relationships are often discriminated against similarly to members of the LGBTQi members. Who are these polyandrous, polyamorous non-monogamous individuals, what is the journey travelled?  

  • Experimental Short – February Light - February Light, penned by the luminary Emmy Award-Winning writer, Kwame Dawes, immerses audiences in the world of a couple navigating the complexities of love and how one delves into the profound alchemy of self-sacrifice, a metamorphosis that births a love of transcendent potency—a communion, a unity, a sacred entwining of souls.  

  • Narrative/Animated Short – Dona Davia Damiana: The Life and the Roda – Dona Dalva Damiana, the matriarch of Samba de Roda, narrates her own story. And, by narrating himself, he narrates the story of all of us.

  • Narrative Short - Touch Faith– Grieving the death of his loving mother, fashion designer Khamron Hines will discover what it means to open his heart.

  • Narrative Short – Couch Potato – A powerful short film that explores the emotional toll of trauma and its impact on fatherhood within the BIPOC community. The story follows a father who, burdened by unspoken pain, emotionally withdraws from his young son. As the boy grows up in the shadow of his father’s silence, the cycle of unresolved grief and disconnection deepens. 

  • Experimental Short – The Joy and the Sorrow of Time – Mind-bending, lush visual journey dealing with cycles, time, space, and ritual  

  • Documentary Short - The Grief - This documentary dives deep into the heart of loss, exploring the raw, real experiences of those navigating grief, and finding paths towards healing.

  • Documentary Short - ADOBE: Traditional Skills of Kalunga Construction - The film delves into the cultural richness and vernacular construction techniques of the Kalunga community. Through interviews with elders, community leaders, and youth, the film reveals how the use of adobe and other natural materials not only builds homes but also weaves the identity, resilience, and history of a people who have preserved their traditions for generations.

  • Experimental short - Black Kings Dance Too - Inspired by the Black Boys Dance Too movement, this film was created to combat negative stereotypes of black men projected in the mass media of today's society. By reinforcing positive images of black men from a performing arts perspective, this film celebrates the beauty and legacy of the black male presence through various dance styles.

  • Narrative Short - Weaving Bonds - When Rugamba’s disapproving father storms into an art center to confront him, he’s drawn into a whirlwind of music, dance, and creativity. The tension peaks when he discovers the world of art holds more than he expected, sparking a heartfelt moment that bridges the gap between him and his son.

  • After Party with DJ Kream