The 7th Annual Blackstar Film Festival

A dynamic conversation between long time friends was one commendable highlight of the 7th Annual Blackstar Film Festival.

Last weekend, the 7th Annual Blackstar Film Festival made West Philadelphia the hottest place to be. An elevated array of fashionably dressed, Afro'ed, braided, loc'ed peoples, their beautiful faces in all meccas of brown, glowing radiant from healthy sun and lots of loving affection. The film buffs and the filmmakers carried an extreme sense of woke consciousness-- the greatest accessory among migrations from place to place. Main events were housed at Lightbox Film Center, Institute of Contemporary Art Philadelphia (ICA), and Pearlstein Gallery with opening reception at Johnny Brenda's and closing awards ceremony at World Live Cafe.

Festivities started on Thursday morning and ended Sunday.

Glory Edim with Radha Bank, Janine Sherman Barrois, and Roni Nicole Henderson. 

On Friday morning, Well Read Black Girl founder Gloria Edim led an insightful panel featuring talented women creators/heavyweights: screenwriter/playwright/actress Radna Bank (She's Gotta Have It, Empire), producer/screenwriter/director Janine Sherman Barrois (ER, Criminal Minds, Claws, French Fries, upcoming Madame CJ Walker Netflix project starring Octavia Spencer), and visual artist/filmmaker/music video director
Roni Nicole Henderson. The women share a mutual love for writing goddess, Toni Morrison and boasted endlessly on Beloved as well as generational stories, hand-me-down narratives, and oral storytelling. Henderson's dream about her mother's life after her death was very visceral and heartfelt. The women also spoke about their respective careers in episodic television, the challenge of getting features made, becoming a slashie (I first heard this in Zoolander)-- people are inclined to having more than one purpose, importance of building community with kindred spirits (tribe members) who are willing to critique and rip it up, and being patient, especially in white controlled environments.

Nijla Mu'min, Avril Speaks, and Bruce Francis Cole discuss the behind-the-scenes trials and tribulations of filmmaking. 

On "The Making of Jinn" panel, writer/director Nijla Mu'min shared influences behind a story that she wrote many years prior, putting it away after receiving unwarranted criticism by a professor. The poetry lover began having recurring dreams about Jinn, deciding to rewrite the draft and sent it to Avril Speaks, a director/producer she previously collaborated with.
Jinn, loosely based on Mu'min's upbringing, and her father's conversion, was shot in nine days-- shocking considering that bigger budgets take on months, a year even at a time. Speaks came on, at first mentoring: providing an attentive ear and encouraging feedback before becoming fully engaged to making sure Jinn received as much funding as possible. As production began, she worked hard on getting every last promised dollar. Enter director of photography, Bruce Francis Cole-- who went to film school and wasn't invited back until he learned about cinematography-- helped every step of the way.
Films like Dee Ree's Pariah and Céline Sciamma's Girlhood inspired Mu'min to think about color. Thus, Jinn features pinks and greens to highlight girliness and nature respectively.

Celebrated cinematographer Bradford Young with Color of Change's Chief Storytelling Officer Rashid Shabazz in front of a beautiful projected image of Gordon Park's Nation of Islam sisters of the M.G.T. and G.C.C. Class. The late Ethel Sharrieff, Elijah Muhammad's eldest daughter, is at the forefront.

On Saturday evening, Bradford Young and Rashid Shabazz's conversation spilled the most tantalizing tea. Nothing was off limits as the two tight friends discussed black artist champions James Van Der Zee and Gordon Parks, the relationship between blackness and spirituality, and the value in creating a place to distribute infastructure, a legacy whilst navigating through Hollywood hostility. Young stated that cinematography was geometry and trust on set (that trust between him and the director) were pivotal. He compared the camera to a gun-- the white man's invention-- and the power black people wield as filmmakers, but wasn't afraid to address terrible imperfectness, the fear to criticize and unpack even films like Moonlight for its women characters. The deeper context raised questions about black cinema-- potential versus pushing development-- and that a film attached with a black director, black cast, and black money doesn't equal a black film. Young's suggested inclusions in the black cinema cannon are Haile Gerima's Ashes and Embers, Kathleen Collins' Losing Ground and Charles Burnett's Killer of Sheep and To Sleep With Anger and Nefertite Nguvu's In the Morning. Hopefully, the entire list will be released soon.

Back of the Theater Live! podcast hosted by two hilarious filmmaker friends, Menelek Lumumba (left) and Hans Charles (right). They are joined by filmmaker, Nefertite Nguvu (center).

Sunday contained more essential goodness.

Uncensored, raw, and humorous, Back of the Theater Live! the podcast was a treat. The roaring chemistry between Hans Charles and Menelek Lumumba sent instant reminders of my brothers-- differing ideals and convictions, overwhelmingly nestled by a fierce, loving bond. For these two (Menelek is a writer/director and Hans Charles is a noted cinematographer) film is that glue bridging them together. They argued, cursed, and hollered. Yet Lumumba gave sweet sentiments to Charles for all his help and dedication in seeing through Lumumba's first writing/directing feature film effort, 1 Angry Black Man (debuted at Blackstar). And the biggest on set struggle involved a couch. The hilarity....

Nefertite Nguvu and Hans Charles discuss their collaboration on her film, In the Morning.

"If you're the smartest in the room, you're on the wrong set," Nefertite Nguvu, who joined the podcast, wisely stated.
Despite various mishaps (sneakily filming scenes on restricted property and being horrendously followed or reusing stale bagels to the point of scrapping mold off or almost losing a whole days worth of shot footage), she managed to complete her award-winning feature, In the Morning thanks to a diligent team. The blood, sweat, and tears are half the battle. It takes not just the tenacity of the filmmaker-- the whole team plays a role in keeping things at bay, each contributing to problem solving. Yet once production ends, the editing process behind another element. And a film could be told in three ways-- the way it is written, the way it is directed, and the way it is edited. Each scenario can conflict emotion. Still, Nguvu and spoke highly of collaboration. Yes, some artists enjoy the natural thrill of isolation, being married to their ideas. However, more often than not, another creator could bring in just the right puzzle pieces at the right possible moment to make the original vision a bigger masterpiece.

ICA curator Meg Onli moderated a discussion on black film experimentalism with Frances Bodomo, Jheanelle Brown, Kevin Jerome Everson, and Terence Nance.

The filled solid "Free Form: Using Nontraditional Cinema to Liberate Story" panel allowed no newcomers-- a "closed mouths don't get fed" situation-- well, in this case closed doors. Twenty minutes later, people streamed out, and I received permission to enter the fortress. The conversation already deep into black creativity, compelled the recesses of a starving soul. Artist/curator Meg Onli asked the tough questions about positions of power, putting out images to an audience that artists couldn't control, and circulation of works through capitalism, bringing up artists such as Sondra Perry. Curator Jheanelle Brown discussed artist responsibility, especially in terms of showing Frances Bodomo's work, Everybody Dies! and the guilty burden of consumption, of accountability. Artist/filmmaker Terence Nance (HBO's Random Acts of Flyness) revealed laughter landing hyper discomforts and the complicated spiritual and ethical gymnastics of self value whilst operating in a hypothetical monetary, tyrannical plantation. Screenwriter/director Bodomo (Afronauts and Everybody Dies!) brought out the importance of creating work for black people and having that be accessible to them specifically as well as breaking the film school rule books dictating that film must contain sequential narrative. Director/writer/editor/artist Kevin Jerome Everson (Cinnamon and Ears, Nose, and Throat) broke down formalistic properties of filmmaking execution. Overall, the authenticity of these great voices delivered abundant food for thought-- the integrity and intelligence outstanding. Plus, they reenforced the notion that it is not black filmmakers' responsibility to teach non-black people about blackness. If they cannot humanize our unique experiences as a people, as a culture, a whole host of talent are already making the stout commitment to do so.

Now I have volunteered many times for Philadelphia Film Festival and Athena Film Festival at Barnard College. In my second year at Blackstar, the homage to ancestors through spiritual creativity arrests strongly, vividly.  The environment is rich and vibrant, pulsing alive with the splendorous hearts of inspiring black geniuses. These artists create films and discuss them as unapologetically black significance. They create images for us, purely for black people, black people always at the forefront no matter what. Just as it is imperative to see ourselves on the screen, we also must see ourselves behind-the-scenes too. That utmost dedication to staying true to their visions even with capitalist hands digging into their pots, is a thing of undeniable strength and dignity.

Final gushworthy highlights: briefly meeting Terence Nance, Frances Bodomo, #MeToo founder Tarana Burke, and Janine Sherman Barrois. I greeted poet Sandra Sanchez, always a joy to see her out and about. I treasured Shaz Bennett introducing herself and swallowing back that sacred knowledge (check out my review of Blackstar screened Alaska is a Drag which debuted last year at Philadelphia Film Festival). I spoke to Life Is Fare writer/producer/director/actress, Sephora Woldu (will be reviewing her deliciously quirky film soon) and was thrilled to see recent Sundance Institute fellow A-lan Holt (Inamorota director) again. The best thing, however, was being in a cheerful, packed room, applause and whistles for Blackstar Film Festival creator, Maori Karmael Holmes, while her mother stood there, proud and joyful. It was a glorious full circle moment to bear witness-- the mother, the child, and the Blackstar baby.

Oh and the films.... Wow.