Film Competition Finalist screenings

Debuting In 2016, The Student And Emerging Filmmaker Competitions Allows Filmmakers To Use Cinematic Storytelling To Answer Important Themes Like “what’s Your Civil Right?” And “Speaking Truth To Power.” The Annual Short Film Competition Receives Over 150 Submissions From Across The World. An Esteemed Jury Of Civil Rights, Industry Leaders, And Established Filmmakers Select The Winners, And The Shortlisted Films Are Screened During The Festival. Now In Its Eighth Year, The Competition Has Continued To Attract Industry Supporters, Including A Diverse Portfolio Of Funders. Prizes For This Competition Are Funded In Part By The Generosity Of Deborah Zipser And Craig Emanuel.

Student Narrative Shorts

(TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 33 MIN)

Mon Afrique | Director/Producer: Michael Thomas Solomon

The Ally | Director/Producer: Jennifer Marie

Anywhere the Wind Blows | Director: Jay Liu; Producers: Dalton Zongshian Lu, Allegro Yang

Student Documentary Shorts

(TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 48 MIN)

For Those That Lived There | Director/Producer: Shawn Antoine II

Freedom Waders: The Struggle to Integrate Chicago’s Rainbow Beach | Director/Producer: Alex S. Hinton

Half-Brother  | Director/Producer: William J Jenkins

TALKBACK WITH FILMMAKERS AFTER SCREENINGS

SNACKS DURING THE BREAK

Emerging Narrative Shorts

(TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 43 MIN)

Fannie | Director/Producer: Christine Swanson

Lyrical  | Director: Carter M. Stewart; Producers: Tristan Daley, Carter M. Stewart

A Lien  | Director: Sam Cutler-Kreutz, David Cutler-Kreutz; Producer: Tara Sheffer

Emerging Documentary Shorts

(TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 44 MIN)

“I Identify as Me” | Director/Producer: Tina Colleen, Monick Monell

The Purpose | Director/Producer: Dan Abrusci

1001cuts  | Director/Producer: Sarah M Temkin

Ticket price: Free with RSVP

2024 Jurors

LAURIE TOWNSHEND

Director

Director Laurie Townshend learned early that we shape stories; thereafter stories shape us. Her films include the dramatic short The Railpath Hero, and Charley. Laurie’s feature documentary, A Mother Apart (2024) is an emotionally sweeping tale of healing that accompanies poet-activist Staceyann Chin as she re-imagines the essential art of mothering.

SANDRA RATTLEY

Director

Sandra Rattley has over 40 years experience leading and launching multimedia projects. She was executive producer, director and writer of Searching for Augusta Savage. Rattley was also executive producer, director and writer for Unladylike2020, an animated documentary series about unsung women who changed America over a hundred years ago, which premiered on PBS’s biography series American Masters timed to the centennial of women’s suffrage and has attracted over 6 million viewers. With Charlotte Mangin, she is co-founder of Audacious Women Productions.

MARQUISE MAYS

Filmmaker

Marquise Mays is a filmmaker who examines Black life, especially in the Midwest. His work, featured on the Criterion Channel, PBS, BET, and The Redford Center, has earned a Webby Honor. His films, including Blindspot (2020), The Heartland (2021), and BLACK STRINGS (2023), carefully render collective Black experiences.

MAJIYE UCHIBEKE

Director

Majiye Uchibeke is a DGA Award-winning Director, BAFTA Finalist and Streaming Content Strategist with an MFA in Film and TV Production at USC School of Cinematic Arts.

QIONA WOFORD

Special Program Manager

As the Special Program Manager for Black Public Media, Qiona Woford has been instrumental in facilitating and coordinating some of BPMs talent development programs: 360 Incubator+, Story Summits, and PitchBLACK. She was also Associate Producer for 2 seasons of BPMs AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange, which airs on PBS.

DIANE McWHORTER

Author

Diane McWhorter is the author of Carry Me Home, a history of the civil rights revolution in her hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. It won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. Her young adult history of the Movement is A Dream of Freedom. She lives in Washington, D.C.