Films
- Feature Documentary
A Litany for Survival: The Life and Work of Audre Lorde
Runtime: 1hr 30min
From Lorde's childhood roots in NYC's Harlem to her battle with breast cancer, this moving film explores a life and a body of work that embodied the connections between the Civil Rights movement, the Women's movement, and the struggle for lesbian and gay rights. At the heart of this documentary is Lorde's own challenge to "envision what has not been and work with every fiber of who we are to make the reality and pursuit of that vision irresistible."
- Feature Documentary
W. E. B. Du Bois: A Biography in Four Voices
Runtime: 1hr 54min
The long and remarkable life of Dr. William Edward Burghardt (W.E.B) Du Bois (1868-1963) offers unique insights into an eventful century in African American history.
- Feature Documentary
Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming a Space
Runtime: 1hr 52min
An in-depth biography of Zora Neale Hurston, the influential author whose groundbreaking anthropological work would challenge assumptions about race, gender and cultural superiority that had long defined the field in the 19th century.
- Feature Film
It Was All A Dream
Runtime: 1hr 23min
A visual memoir from director dream hampton's personal archives about the dawn of the golden era of hip hop.
- Shorts
Searching for Augusta Savage
Runtime: 22mins
Augusta Savage was the first person in the U.S. to open a gallery dedicated to African American art. A Harlem Renaissance sculptor and art educator, she was also one of the first Black women art activists of her time and fought for the inclusion of Black artists in the mainstream canon. Art historian Jeffreen M. Hayes, Ph.D. explores Savage's legacy, and why her artwork has been largely erased.
- Feature Film
Love Machina
Runtime: 1hr 50min
What if love could last beyond our mortal bodies? Meet Martine and Bina Rothblatt, two futurists who have commissioned a humanoid robot so they can house Bina's consciousness and extend their love affair into infinity and beyond.
- Feature Film
A Mother Apart
Runtime: 1hr 30min
An emotionally sweeping tale of healing and forgiveness, A Mother Apart accompanies powerhouse Jamaican-American poet and LGBTQ+ activist Staceyann Chin as she re-imagines the essential art of mothering—having been abandoned by her own mother.
- Feature Documentary
James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket
Runtime: 1hr 27min
Using rarely-seen archival footage from nine different countries, the film melds intimate interviews and eloquent public speeches with cinéma vérité glimpses of Baldwin and original scenes from his extraordinary funeral service in December 1987.
Student Narrative Shorts
- Student Narrative Shorts
Anywhere the Wind Blows
Runtime: 18mins
Alex is an activist who moved from Hong Kong to the US in fear of political persecution. As he is trying to rebuild his life, his ex-boyfriend Brandon unexpectedly visits him, rekindling unresolved desires.
- Student Narrative Shorts
The Ally
Runtime: 11mins
An energetic, young, white chick blurs the lines of black culture appreciation with appropriation, now she must avoid losing her dream job and her dignity.
- Student Narrative Shorts
Mon Afrique
Runtime: 4mins
Mon Afrique is an experimental student short, shot on film, that explores the experience of diaspora and longing through the journey of a hand-carved traditional African mask.
Student Documentary Shorts
- Student Documentary Shorts
Half-Brother
Runtime: 27mins
While documenting the birth of his niece, Director William Jenkins leads a series of intimate conversations with his father and half-brother — both named Ronald — as he confronts the impacts of Ronald’s incarceration on family dynamics.
- Student Documentary Shorts
Freedom Waders: The Struggle to Integrate Chicago’s Rainbow Beach
Runtime: 15mins
Inspired by sit-in campaigns of the South, Velma Murphy and Norman Hill organized wade-ins at Chicago's Rainbow Beach, braving mob violence.
- Student Documentary Shorts
For Those That Lived There
Runtime: 6mins
Amidst the gentrified remnants of Chicago's Cabrini Green, For Those That Lived There captures the haunting displacement of Black legacies and the emergence of migrant narratives, offering an evocative exploration of a community in metamorphosis.
Emerging Narrative Shorts
- Emerging Narrative Shorts
A Lien
Runtime: 15mins
On the day of their green card interview, a young couple confronts a dangerous immigration process.
- Emerging Narrative Shorts
Lyrical
Runtime: 18mins
A privileged, Black law student, trying to escape pressure from his dad, finds himself in a potential police violence situation.
- Emerging Narrative Shorts
Fannie
Runtime: 10mins
Mississippi civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer gives an impassioned speech at the 1964 Democratic National Convention and a prophetic warning to America.
Emerging Documentary Shorts
- Emerging Documentary Shorts
1001cuts
Runtime: 24mins
Explore the careers of the daughters of Title IX through the experiences of surgeons facing pervasive stereotypes and gender-based discrimination.
- Emerging Documentary Shorts
The Purpose
Runtime: 10mins
Born with a disability, a young music enthusiast is lured into a life of crime and spends a decade in jail after hanging with the wrong people. He discovers his purpose in jail: to help at-risk youth and prevent them from making the same mistakes he did.
- Emerging Documentary Shorts
“I Identify as Me”
Runtime: 10mins
Through the intimate lens of eight Black & Brown Trans, gender-diverse people, and masculine-presenting women, the social concept of gender is challenged.
