Maori Karmael Holmes (LTA ’06, ACG ’06, ’05), Leeway’s Associate Director, presents the 1st Annual BlackStar Film Festival from August 2 to 5. BlackStar is the only event of its kind in Philadelphia—a celebration of cinema focused on work by and about people of African descent in a global context. The 2012 festival will feature narratives, documentaries, music videos, and experimental films highlighting the global black experience. The festival will be a showcase outlet for often overlooked cinema by emerging, established, and mid-career directors, writers and producers working in narrative, documentary, experimental and music video filmmaking.
The inaugural festival will take place at the African American Museum, Art Sanctuary, and International House, and feature work by tiona.m. (LTA ’09, ACG ’07), Ava Duvernay, Byron Hurt, Nelson George, dream hampton, Pierre Bennu, Andrew Dosonmu, Jason Orr, and Nelson George, among many others. There will also be a market in the lobby outside the theater featuring several pop-up shops and vendors featuring local and national handcrafted goods, music, and art, accompanied by an art exhibit featuring the work of the Shaolin Jazz Collective.
Tickets can be found on BlackStar’s website; check out the festival trailer on Vimeo.
