BlackStar Film Festival Returns: Celebrating Cinema for Liberation from July 31 to August 3

BlackStar Projects has unveiled the complete schedule for the eagerly anticipated 2025 BlackStar Film Festival, set to captivate audiences from July 31 to August 3 in Philadelphia, with online streaming available worldwide. This celebrated annual event highlights independent films from the global majority, fostering an exceptional environment for connection, discourse, and education.

This edition of the festival will showcase over 90 films from 40 countries. Noteworthy in this year’s lineup are the North American premiere of Jenn Nkiru’s “The Great North” (2024), closing the event, and the world premiere of “TCB – The Toni Cade Bambara School of Organizing” (2025) by directors Louis Massiah and Monica Henriquez on opening night.

Distinctive voices will enrich the festival, including distinguished guests and speakers such as Cauleen Smith, Letitia Wright, Kevin Jerome Everson, Meg Onli, and Charles Burnett. Burnett will engage in a conversation with David Hartt on August 3 following a special retrospective screening of the newly restored 4K version of his 1978 masterpiece, “Killer of Sheep.”

Tickets and festival passes are currently available for purchase at blackstarfest.org/festival.

Opening Night Film: “TCB – The Toni Cade Bambara School of Organizing” by Louis Massiah & Monica Henriquez presents its world premiere. The documentary, filmed over several years, is a compelling feature that features interviews with Toni Cade Bambara, Toni Morrison, Nikky Finney, Haile Gerima, among others, depicting the narrative of Bambara’s impactful influence on cultural and political movements in the 20th century.

Special Screening: “BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions” by Khalil Joseph delivers a cinematic experience reminiscent of sonic album textures. This genre-defying documentary adapts Joseph’s esteemed video art installation into 21 unique tracks, each featuring distinctive artist perspectives. Khalil Joseph will also participate in a spotlight discussion on August 2.

Special Screening: “All That’s Left of You” by Cherien Dabis portrays a narrative of resilience and familial storytelling through the lens of a Palestinian mother and her teenage son’s poignant experiences amid a West Bank protest.

Closing Night Film: “The Great North” by Jenn Nkiru explores the interplay between architecture and the human form, reflecting on transformational history through the prisms of Manchester’s industrial legacy, Black music, and the Afro-surrealist tradition. This meditative film creatively hails the cultures and communities that define the city.

For more details, visit blackstarfest.org.