The Ann Arbor Black Film Festival is here!
Come out and see films that showcase the Black experience from around the world.
June 6:
Overcoming – 12:00-2:00pm at the State Theater – “Beyond Unstoppable,” “A Pretty Pass,” “The Missing Piece,” Saltwater Psalms, and “Best in Class: Blenda J. Wilson, Jon Oyne Lockard, and the Portrait that Connected Them,”
The Struggle for Belonging – 2:00-4:00pm at Third Mind Books. Bittersweet: Black College Life at a Predominantly White Institution - Amid unprecedented attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education, Bittersweet shows what DEI programs have meant for Black students, faculty, and staff at one predominantly white institution, Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Alternate Paths – 2:20-4:10pm at the State Theater. Both of the two films here will be over an hour long – “Shot By Shot” and “Nothing To See Here: Watts.”
Local History & Generational Poetry – 4:15-6:15pm at Third Mind Books. The four films shown free here will be “The Sea,” “Sending Up The Timber,” “A Ripple In Ann Arbor,” and “The French Dukes: Rhythm, Roots, and Legacy.
Self-Reflection – 4:40-6:40pm – This three film State Theater offering will include Version 24, Nuisance, and The Book of Ahmad.
Stories of the Proud– 6:50-8:30pm – Films about the proud and resilient. State Theater stage to themselves from 6:50 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. with five films. They are The Cut, Meet the Friends, To Move in My Mother’s Prayers, We Keep Us Safe and Bound.
Hard Consequences – 8:50-10:30pm These three films will include Pericarp, Cordao de Prata, and I Promise You Paradise.
June 7:
Knowledge & Healing – 1:00-2:15pm at the AADL. These three films involving education are “The Nights Were Velvet,” “Stolen School,” and “Are You A Librarian? Black Librarians And Freedom Through Literacy.”
Using AI to Take Your Screenplay from Promise to Production – 2:30-3:30pm at the AADL – AI is changing everything about everything. This segment says according to the AABFF advertisement for this workshop: “AI is reshaping Hollywood — not replacing storytellers, but empowering them to do more with less. Join us and learn to bridge the gap between promise and production using accessible, ethical, and creative technology.”
Reform & Justice – 3:45-4:50pm at the AADL – “Free Joan Little” is 37 minutes and “Where’s My Coffee Cup?” Is 30 minutes.
Career Genocide & Cinema as a Space of Healing – 5:00-6:00pm at the AADL – This is a multi-media event to be hosted by Sharim. He will share how film can be used to document societal issues and drive change, just as his documentary does with America’s increasingly aging prisoner population.
