BlackStar Projects Releases Full Schedule of Programs for 2026 Film Festival

BlackStar Projects, the premier organization celebrating visionary Black, Brown and Indigenous film and media artists, is thrilled to announce the full schedule of programs, jury and award nominees for the 2026 BlackStar Film Festival, taking place from August 6-9, 2026. All individual program tickets are now on sale here, with festival passes also available here.

The festival is an annual celebration of independent cinema from the global majority and a one-of-a-kind gathering of diverse audiences centered on connection, discussion and learning, with nearly every screening followed by a Q&A. The world premiere of West Side Familia, directed by Taylor Hosking, will be the festival’s opening night screening and the final part of the five-part epic Black Lions – Roman Wolves, directed by Haile Gerima and making its North American premiere, will be the closing night screening. Other highlights include the world premieres of Dr. Fahamu Pecou’s The Store, Iyabo Kwayana’s Old Man River, Louis Massiah’s Tenants of Lenapehocking in the Age of Magnets, Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes’ The Keeper and Miryam Charles’ Treasure Island (L’île aux trésors).

The Daily Jawn, the festival’s live morning show, will return with a dynamic lineup of rotating hosts. Co-sponsored by NEON, the show presents conversations with featured filmmakers, festival programmers and other special guests. Additionally, panels featuring industry experts and thought leaders will be held throughout the festival, challenging attendees to consider new perspectives as they engage with the work. Notable guests and speakers at this year’s festival include Adam and Zack Khalil, Amandla Baraka, Annemarie Jacir, Arlieta Hall, Devon Delmar, Fahamu Pecou, Haile Gerima, Jason Jacobs, Juan C. Dávila Santiago, Julie Dash, Kevin Jerome Everson, Noura Erakat, Rodney Evans, Sarah J. Jackson, Sky Hopinka, Suneil Sanzgiri, Tananarive Due, Tshay Williams, Yoruba Richen and Yvonne Michelle Shirley.

“This 15th edition of the festival continues to celebrate the power of the moving image to connect audiences and artists,” said founder Maori Karmael Holmes. “The experience of BlackStar is like no other, and it offers a vibrant and affirming space for independent filmmakers of the global majority to connect and exchange with each other and with an engaged international audience, eager to offer both kudos and loving critique.”

BlackStar will also host a mix of parties and community events throughout the weekend including the opening night party at Frankie’s Summer Club; a Friday evening concert and celebration at the Barnes Foundation, a Saturday evening industry mixer at Leo and a closing night party at the Barnes Foundation. Yoga will be held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings at 9:00am facilitated by various practitioners at The Kimmel Center.

“We are thrilled to announce this expansive slate of programs and events that will augment our screenings,” said Festival Director, Nehad Khader. “With this festival lineup, we hope to break open the discourse and engage more fully with the public.”

This year’s festival jury, listed in full below, will consider nominees for Best Experimental Film, Best Feature Documentary, Best Feature Narrative, Best Short Documentary and Best Short Narrative.

All access passes for the festival are available for purchase here and individual tickets for in-person and virtual screenings are available here. The full schedule of programs is below (all times EST):

Events & Panels:

• The Daily Jawn Morning Show – Thursday,, August 6 @ 11am, Friday, August 7 @ 11am, Saturday, August 8 @ 11am, Sunday, August 9 @ 11am — The Daily Jawn Stage, Kimmel Center
• Revisioning A Different World presented by Netflix, with Felicia Pride, Shawn Peters, Jordan Hall and Doreen St. Felix – Thursday, August 6 @ 2pm — The Daily Jawn Stage, Kimmel Center
• School of Elev8Docs presented by Color Congress, with Sahar Driver, Chana Ginelle Ewing, Tracy Nguyen-Chung, Carlos Gutierrez and Ani Mercedes – Thursday, August 6 @ 2pm — The Daily Jawn Stage, Kimmel Center
• Undocumedia: Humble Beginnings with Set Hernandez, Jesús Iniguez, Stephanie Solis and Nancy Meza  – Friday, August 7 @ 2pm — The Daily Jawn Stage, Kimmel Center
• On Ayiti with Pierre Michel Jean, Miryam Charles, Michèle Stephenson, Elisee Junior St Preux and Cybille St. Aude-Tate – Friday, August 7 @ 5pm — The Daily Jawn Stage, Kimmel Center
• BlackStar Bazaar – Saturday, August 8 @ 12pm, Sunday, August 9 @ 12pm — Kimmel Center Tier 2 Lounge
• Spotlight Conversation: Scene Not Heard with Deesha Dyer, Dyana Williams, Tina Morton, Mercedes Martinez and Maori Karmael Holmes – Saturday, August 8 @ 5pm – The Daily Jawn Stage, Kimmel Center
• Image, Power and Visual Authorship with Lendl Tellington, Michael Cambio Fernandez, Iyabo Kwayana, Simone Holland and Shaandiin Tome – Saturday, August 8 @ 5pm — The Daily Jawn Stage, Kimmel Center
• Spotlight Conversation: A Different Image with Alile Sharon Larkin, Margot Muhammad, Adisa Anderson and Melissa Lyde – Sunday, August 9 @ 2pm — The Daily Jawn Stage, Kimmel Center
• By Indie Means Necessary: 15 Years of BlackStar Film Festival with Imran Siddiquee, Kim Brundidge, Maori Karmael Holmes, Sekou Campbell, Nehad Khader and Denise Beek – Sunday, August 9 @ 5pm – The Daily Jawn Stage, Kimmel Center

Major Spotlights:

• The Store (w/ Q&A) – Thursday, August 6 @ 1pm — Suzanne Roberts Theatre
• West Side Familia (with Q/A) – Thursday, August 6 @ 8pm — Kimmel Center
• Black Lions – Roman Wolves – Thursday, August 6 through Sunday, August 9 — Visit [link] for screening times and locations.
• The Keeper – Saturday, August 8 @ 8:30pm — Kimmel Center

Shorts Programs:

• Lamentations (w/ Q&A) – Thursday, August 6 @ 11:30am — Kimmel Center

Featuring: HomeGoing, Voicemail, Solace, White Musk To Run Is to Return, When They’re Gone

• Chrononaut (w/ Q&A) – Thursday, August 6 @ 1pm — Suzanne Roberts Theatre

Featuring: The Store, Watch Out for the Ghosts, An Impossible Address

• Intradependence (w/ Q&A) – Thursday, August 6 @ 2:30pm — Kimmel Center

Featuring: The Seeds We Carry, Philly Rumba, Authors of the Estate

• Aquarius (w/ Q&A) – Thursday, August 6 @ 4:30pm — Wilma Theater

Featuring: Ixquic, Same Water, Charip: Lightning in the River, Communion

• Numinous (w/ Q&A) – Thursday, August 6 @ 7pm — Suzanne Roberts Theatre

Featuring: Jesus Is Coming (to Take the Church Away), God Sleeps on Sundays, For Peace of Mind, The Aura

• Autoscopy (w/ Q&A) – Friday, August 7 @ 11:30am — Kimmel Center

Featuring: Remote Views, Muoz-Doic Mixtape, Are You Native?, 66 Days, i wonder shall i fly

• Reclamations (w/ Q&A) – Friday, August 7 @ 11:30am — Wilma Theater

Featuring: At the Stage When / 此時此刻, Enjoy the Tropix and Have a Banana!, Another Day Shall Come, Olinda’s Golden Arches

• Volition (w/ Q&A) – Friday, August 7 @ 2pm — Suzanne Roberts Theatre

Featuring: Revival 24, Our Bodies Ours, Glass Bricks, Free Lyric, I Got My Brother

• Luminiferous (w/ Q&A) – Friday, August 7 @ 2:30pm — Kimmel Center

Featuring: Old Man River, Free Joan Little, A Bundle of Silences

• Scene Not Heard (w/ Q&A) – Friday, August 7 @ 4:30pm — Suzanne Roberts Theatre

Featuring: An Afternoon with a Gnawa, Ella, Scene Not Heard: Women in Philadelphia Hip Hop

• Chile, Please! (w/ Q&A) – Saturday, August 8 @ 5pm — Suzanne Roberts Theatre

Featuring: ChikaBOOM!!, Don’t Wake the Sleeping Child, We Act Like Children, Treasure Island, Tell Me When You Get Home

• Quintessence (w/ Q&A) – Saturday, August 8 @ 8:30pm — Kimmel Center

Featuring: Fists of Mothers, Potato Salad, Ish Meets a Mermaid, Angels Pull Your Hair, The Keeper

• Noctidial (w/ Q&A) – Sunday, August 9 @ 2pm — Wilma Theater

Featuring: Whispers of a Burning Scent, Wholesome, After What Happened at the Library, How to Hide It

• Heredity (w/ Q&A) – Sunday, August 9 @ 4:30pm — Kimmel Center

Featuring: Kanenon:we – Nwanne M Nwaanyị, National Seating, The Philadelphia Sensei: Lovett Hines, Vis-à-Vis, Lani B. Supreme: Legacy, Buckskin

Feature Film Screenings:

• Boca Vieja (w/ Q&A) – Thursday, August 6 @ 10:30am — Wilma Theater
• The Prophet (O Profeta) – Thursday, August 6 @ 10:30am — Suzanne Roberts Theatre
• Let Them Be Seen (w/ Q&A) – Thursday, August 6 @ 1:30pm — Wilma Theater
• Black Lions — Roman Wolves (Parts 1 & 2) – Thursday, August 6 @ 2pm — Mainstage, Film Society Center
• What Will I Become? (w/ Q&A) – Thursday, August 6 @ 4pm — Suzanne Roberts Theatre
• Tenants of Lenapehocking in the Age of Magnets (w/ Q&A) – Thursday, August 6 @ 5:30pm — Kimmel Center
• The Tropic Sun and His Eyes (Soley Twopikal Ak Pitit Li) (w/ Q&A) – Thursday, August 6 @ 7:30pm — Wilma Theater
• West Side Familia (w/ Q&A) – Thursday, August 6 @ 8pm — Kimmel Center
• And She Didn’t Die (w/ Q&A) – Friday, August 7 @ 10:30am — Suzanne Roberts Theatre
• Black Lions — Roman Wolves (Part 3) – Friday, August 7 @ 2pm — Mainstage, Film Society Center
• One More Show (ضايل عنا عرض) (w/ Q&A) – Friday, August 7 @ 2:30pm — Wilma Theater
• Scene Not Heard: Women in Philadelphia Hip Hop (w/ Q&A) – Friday, August 7 @ 4:30pm — Suzanne Roberts Theatre
• We, People of the Islands (Nós Povo Das Ilhas) (w/ Q&A) – Friday, August 7 @ 5:30pm — Wilma Theater
• Zenón and the Rebel Boats (Zenón y la Flotilla Rebelde) (w/ Q&A) – Friday, August 7 @ 5:30pm — Kimmel Center
• Black Zombie (w/ Q&A) – Friday, August 7 @ 7:30pm — Suzanne Roberts Theatre
• A Sad and Beautiful World (نجوم الأمل و الألم) – Friday, August 7 @ 8:30pm — Wilma Theater
• Call of My Life (w/ Q&A) – Friday, August 7 @ 8:30pm — Kimmel Center
• Becoming Human (Chiet Chea Manusa) – Saturday, August 8 @ 11:00am — Suzanne Roberts Theatre
• Palestine ’36 – Saturday, August 8 @ 11:30am — Kimmel Center
• No Sunshine in Here (Aqui Não Entra Luz) (w/ Q&A) – Saturday, August 8 @ 12pm — Wilma Theater
• Black Lions — Roman Wolves (Part 4) – Saturday, August 8 @ 2pm — Mainstage, Film Society Center
• Reading the World (Lendo o Mundo) (w/ Q&A) – Saturday, August 8 @ 2pm — Suzanne Roberts Theatre
• Mickey (w/ Q&A) – Saturday, August 8 @ 2:30pm — Kimmel Center
• A Life in Art: Through the Eye of Dr. Leslie King Hammond (w/ Q&A) – Saturday, August 8 @ 3pm — Wilma Theater
• Finding Your Laughter (w/ Q&A) – Saturday, August 8 @ 5:30pm — Kimmel Center
• Bouchra (w/ Q&A) – Saturday, August 8 @ 6pm — Wilma Theater
• Aanikoobijigan [ancestor/great-grandparent/great-grandchild] (w/ Q&A) – Saturday, August 8 @ 8pm — Suzanne Roberts Theatre
• We Are Not Dreaming (Não Estamos Sonhando) (w/ Q&A) – Saturday, August 8 @ 9pm — Wilma Theater
• Wood Street (w/ Q&A) – Sunday, August 9 @ 10am — Kimmel Center
• A Different Image – Sunday, August 9 @ 12pm — Wilma Theater
• An Incomplete Calendar (w/ Q&A) – Sunday, August 9 @ 1:30pm — Kimmel Center
• True North (w/ Q&A) – Sunday, August 9 @ 3pm — Suzanne Roberts Theatre
• Powwow People (w/ Q&A) – Sunday, August 9 @ 5pm — Wilma Theater
• Variations on a Theme (Variasies op ’n Tema) (w/ Q&A) – Sunday, August 9 @ 6:30pm — Suzanne Roberts Theatre
• Black Lions — Roman Wolves (Part 5) (w/ Q&A) – Sunday, August 9 @ 7:30pm — Kimmel Center

Parties:

• Opening Night Party – Thursday, August 6 @ 9pm — Frankie’s Summer Club
• First Friday at the Barnes – Friday, August 7 @ 6:00pm — Barnes Foundation
• Closing Night Party – Sunday, August 9 @ 8pm — Barnes Foundation

BlackStar Juried Awards Categories & Nominees:

Best Feature Documentary

Nominees:

• Aanikoobijigan [ancestor/great-grandparent/great-grandchild], dirs. Adam Khalil & Zack Khalil
• Finding Your Laughter, dirs. Arlieta Hall & Brittany Alsot
• Zenón and the Rebel Boats, dir. Juan C. Dávila Santiago

Jurors: June Givanni, JT Takagi, Sonya Childress

Best Short Documentary

Nominees:

• Another Day Shall Come, dir. Aida Kaadan
• Authors of the Estate, dir. Abdou Cissé
• i wonder shall i fly, dir. Harlan Banks
• Old Man River, dir. Iyabo Kwayana
• Olinda’s Golden Arches, dir. Douglas Henrique

Jurors: Abiba Coulibaly, Juanita Anderson, Zaina Bseiso

Best Feature Narrative

Nominees:

• Becoming Human, dir. Polen Ly
• The Prophet, dir. Ique Langa
• Variations on a Theme, dirs. Jason Jacobs & Devon Delmar

Jurors: Aseye Tamakloe, Kelly Boutsalis, Tre Johnson

Best Short Narrative

Nominees:

• Angels Pull Your Hair, dir. Gabby Beans
• For Peace of Mind, dir. Amandla Baraka
• The Keeper, dirs. Tananarive Due & Steven Barnes
• Tell Me When You Get Home, dir. Tshay Meade
• Treasure Island, dir. Miryam Charles

Jurors: Aiko Masubuchi, Lynnée Denise, Nuotama Bodomo

Best Experimental Film

Nominees:

• A Bundle of Silences, dir. Sofía Gallisá Muriente
• An Impossible Address, dir. Suneil Sanzgiri
• An Incomplete Calendar, dir. Sanaz Sohrabi
• Remote Views, dir. Alexis McCrimmon

Jurors: Awa Konaté, Gervais Marsh, Meg Onli

Additional Awards

• Philadelphia Filmmaker Award
• Shine Award for First-Time Filmmakers (Voted by BlackStar Members)

For more information on the festival and its programs, visit https://www.blackstarprojects.org/festival.

This year’s festival is presented with major support from the Open Society Foundations. Other sponsors include Eventive, FotoKem, Visit Philly, Hyperallergic, NEON, Netflix, PECO, an Exelon Company, Color Congress, Firelight Media, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pillars Fund, Impact Partners, University of Pennsylvania Department of Cinema & Media Studies and The Gotham Film & Media Institute. Additional supporters include Critical Minded, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, City of Philadelphia and Councilmember At-Large Isaiah Thomas, Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development secured by State Senator Nikil Saval and State Representative Rick Krajewski, 188th District.

BlackStar Projects and its year-round programs are generously supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, Critical Minded, Color Congress, Department of Community and Economic Development, Ford Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Mellon Foundation, People’s Media Fund, Perspective Fund, Ruth Foundation for the Arts, Surdna Foundation, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Wallace Foundation, William Penn Foundation and Wyncote Foundation in addition to its board of directors, community partners and a host of generous individual donors and organizations.

About BlackStar Projects

BlackStar Projects, founded in 2012 by Maori Karmael Holmes as BlackStar Film Festival, creates the spaces and resources needed to uplift the work of Black, Brown and Indigenous artists working outside the confines of genre. Beyond the annual film festival the organization produces year-round programs, including film screenings, exhibitions, a filmmaker seminar, a film production lab and a journal of film, art and visual culture.

These programs provide artists opportunities for viable strategies for collaborations with other artists, audiences, funders and distributors. BlackStar is working towards a liberatory world in which a vast spectrum of Black, Brown and Indigenous experiences is irresistibly celebrated in arts and culture.