March On!™ Festival 2026   |  September 29 - October 6, 2026   |  Celebrating 250 Years of Democracy: The Unfinished Story      

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March On! Festival 2025

The Right To Be Well

The 2025 festival highlighted overlooked stories—from reproductive health, disabilities and the political implications of rest, to broader medical research, ethics and access issues.

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2025 Honorees

JOHN ROBERT LEWIS
LIFETIME LEGACY AWARD

The Lifetime Legacy Award was established to honor a lifetime of extraordinary achievement in advancing civil rights and social justice. Awarded to Congressman John Lewis himself and renamed the John Lewis Lifetime Legacy Award in his honor after his passing, this prestigious award recognizes leaders whose unwavering commitment to equity and justice reflects the core principles that guided Congressman Lewis— courage, resilience, and transformative action.

Senator Cory Booker

Cory Booker is a U.S. Senator representing New Jersey, serving since 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party and the first African-American U.S. Senator from New Jersey. Before his Senate career, he was the mayor of Newark from 2006 to 2013. He also served on the Newark Municipal Council for the Central Ward from 1998 to 2002.

MARCH ON! AWARD

The March On! Awards were established to recognize leaders and organizations whose commitment to advancing civil rights and social justice is unparalleled. Honorees exemplify the spirit of activism, advocacy, and creative expression that drives meaningful change. Through their work—whether in the arts, public service, or community leadership—recipients of the March On!™ The lifetime achievement award has only been bestowed upon one other individual.

Stanley Nelson and Marcia Smith and Firelight Media

Stanley Nelson is today’s leading documentarian of the African American experience. Awards received include a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, five Primetime Emmy Awards, lifetime achievement awards from the Emmys and IDA, and the National Medal in the Humanities from President Obama.

Marcia Smith is the former President of Firelight Media. Under her leadership, Firelight Media was honored with a MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. She has written several films alongside Stanley Nelson including: Freedom Riders, Through the Fire: The Legacy of Barack Obama, Jonestown, and The Murder of Emmett Till.


In 2000, Mr. Nelson and his wife, Marcia Smith, co-founded Firelight Media, a non-profit organization that provides mentorship, funding, and artistic development opportunities to emerging documentary filmmakers of color.

Vivian Malone Courage Award

Presented biennially by Dr. Sharon Malone—renowned OB/GYN and sister of civil rights pioneer Vivian Malone Jones—this award honors individuals who demonstrate extraordinary courage in the fight for racial justice.

Joy-Ann Reid

American political commentator, author, and television host known for her prominent roles on MSNBC. She made history as the first Black woman to anchor a prime-time cable news show and is the author of several bestselling books, including Medgar and Myrlie.

2025 Programs

2025 Film Competition Finalists

Student Narrative Film Competition Finalist 2025 | 24 mins The early days of the war in Ukraine. Ukrainian children displaced by the conflict are brought to a Russian elementary school. One of them turns out to be the long-lost nephew of Victoria, a music teacher of Ukrainian descent. Victoria awakens from the slumber of Russian propaganda and begins a desperate fight to save the boy.
Student Narrative Film Competition Finalist 2025 | 20 mins Alice Ye, Sarah Zhou. A homeless mother faces impossible choices as she fights to protect her daughter's innocence while struggling to secure shelter and survive on New York City's unforgiving streets.
Student Narrative Film Competition Finalist 2025 | 16 mins On May 21, 1990, the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) stormed the DC campus of the National Institutes of Health to protest the lack of available drugs to treat AIDS. From his office, Dr. Anthony Fauci watches as the activists march around his building, chanting and shouting for his resignation. Meanwhile, a young gay filmmaker captures the events of the protest while attempting to deliver an important package to Fauci. As tensions rise and the demonstrations threaten to upend the scientists' work, Dr. Fauci is forced to reckon with his power and privilege.
Student Documentary Film Competition Finalist 2025 | 09 mins The high and low points surrounding the newly burgeoning culture of skateboarding in Lagos. From winning hundreds of thousands in prize money, to board seizure for "civil disobedience," the life of a skater in Lagos is anything but uneventful.
Student Documentary Film Competition Finalist 2025 | 19 mins The first Black collegiate polo team at Morehouse College chases national USPA certification, training a rag-tag team of charismatic cowboys into pioneering polo stars.
Student Documentary Film Competition Finalist 2025 | 21 mins Jeffery Campbell has served 24 years of a 47 year sentence for a crime he knows he didn’t commit. Accused and charged for murder, he was incarcerated in 2001, leaving behind three young daughters and his mother. Determined to reunite with his family, he applies for two legal processes that could bring him closer to freedom.
Emerging Narrative Film Competition Finalist 2025 | 13 mins Michelle, a 10-year-old survivor of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, attempts to escape both her past and her new home when she learns that her new “family” is not what they seem.
Emerging Narrative Film Competition Finalist 2025 | 12 mins A young Filipina filmmaker attempts to overwrite a painful memory of her mother with a perfect narrative.
Emerging Narrative Film Competition Finalist 2025 | 24 mins A college basketball star is called to stand for social justice by an activist who is forced to work with police to alleviate racial tensions in their city.
Emerging Documentary Film Competition Finalist 2025 | 21 mins Teaching America is a short documentary exploring the battle around the teaching of African-American history and studies from inside the classroom, focusing on the transformative journeys of the Arkansas teachers, students and families who are part of the very first, inaugural classes of students taking Advanced Placement African-American Studies nationwide.
Emerging Documentary Film Competition Finalist 2025 | 20 mins An immigrant mother emerges as a community leader during the historic campaign to end the sharing of the Philadelphia police database with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Expanding Sanctuary tells a rarely told story about a Latinx immigrant community’s successful journey to change legislation and protect families.
Emerging Documentary Film Competition Finalist 2025 | 16 mins Love Souley, Tristan Daley, Carter M. Stewart As the year concludes for Mohammed Schools of Atlanta, Principal Khalil reflects on the 90 year legacy of his great-grandmother building the first Muslim private school system in the country.
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