Philadelphia’s BlackStar Film Festival returns showcasing nearly 100 global films

Philadelphia’s BlackStar Film Festival returns for its 14th year, showcasing 92 powerful films that bring Black, Brown and Indigenous stories from around the world to the big screen.

This year’s standout selections include a documentary shot in Gaza, a mosaic of Black life in a lower-income Los Angeles neighborhood and a biographical film on Black writer and activist Toni Cade Bambara.

Featuring 20 award-nominated films, this year’s festival confronts pressing global issues—from climate justice and political repression to cultural resistance—reinforcing BlackStar’s mission to amplify underrepresented voices and harness the power of film for social impact.

In a statement to PhillyDaily.com, Maori Karmael Holmes, BlackStar’s Chief Executive and Artistic Officer, said the festival gives filmmakers a chance to explore social themes across time while building community within the industry. 

“BlackStar is intentionally focused both on cross-racial solidarity as well as expanding the form of cinema as a whole,” Holmes, also the founder of BlackStar, said. “We welcome genre-defying work that seeks to connect with our literal and artistic ancestors while at the same time being future-thinking. It is also a social festival, where filmmakers and audiences provide feedback to one another.”

Another award nominee, Sugar Island is a story about Makenya, a Dominican-Haitian teenager who is forced to navigate an unwanted pregnancy, family burdens and severe labor struggles. The film, directed by Johanné Gómez Terrero, connects both past and present challenges in a huating cinimatic display. (Credit: BlackStar)

 Beginning in 2012, the four-day festival has been a staple in Philadelphia’s film and arts scene, featuring panel discussions and community events alongside film screenings. This year’s festival, running July 31 to Aug. 4, will be held at major venues including the Kimmel Center, Suzanne Roberts Theatre and Wilma Theatre.

The nearly 100 screenings, spanning documentaries, shorts and genre-bending narratives representing 40 countries, will be entered in a juried competition with five winning categories: Best Experimental Film, Best Feature Documentary, Best Feature Narrative, Best Short Documentary and Best Short Narrative.

All-access passes, virtual passes and individual film tickets are available for purchase on the festival’s website. For those who can’t attend the Philadelphia events in person, the festival will also be available to stream online globally.

2025 Film Screenings

This year’s BlackStar Film Festival offers a bold and expansive lineup of films that challenge convention and center stories from the global majority. From world premieres to restored classics, the festival spotlights artists pushing the boundaries of form and narrative.

“BlackStar is interested in presenting work that often gets overlooked, misunderstood or misplaced in mainstream outlets,” Homes said. “The films in this year’s festival, as always, provide a multivalent lens with which to view the stories and histories of people of color helmed by some of the most daring artists from these communities.”

Showcased on the festival’s opening night is the world premiere of “TCB – The Toni Cade Bambara School of Organizing,” directed by Louis Massiah and Monica Henriquez. The film celebrates the life of Toni Cade Bambara, a groundbreaking writer and activist whose work fueled major cultural and political change in the 20th century. 

A trailblazer for reform, Bamabara famously wrote, "Words are to be taken seriously. I try to take seriosly acts ofo language. Words set things in motion."  (Credit: BlackStar)

Bambara, having passed at only 56, continues to inspire future generations through her transformative writing and art. Featuring intimate stories from friends like Toni Morrison and Haile Gerima, the documentary brings her powerful legacy to life.

Another notable film, “The Great North,” directed by Jenn Nkiru and making its North American premiere, will be screened on the closing night. The film explores Manchester’s industrial history alongside its modern architecture, drawing parallels between architectural forms and the human body as they both evolve through time.

Other special screenings include Kahlil Joseph’s genre-blurring “BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions” and a 4K restoration of Charles Burnett’s “Killer of Sheep,” a powerful depiction of everyday Black life in Los Angeles’ Watts neighborhood. Both visionary directors are slated to appear in person for intimate Spotlight Conversations, giving attendees the chance to hear directly from two of cinema’s most innovative voices. 

More information on this year’s film screenings, along with a full schedule, is available on BlackStar’s website. 

Community Events and Celebrations

Outside of screenings, several community events will also pop up throughout, including the BlackStar Pitch—a live pitch competition for short non-fiction projects, with a grand prize of $75,000 cash—and the Opening Night Party at the Cherry Street Pier, both happening July 31. Other festivities, like the First Friday at the Barnes Foundation and Closing Night Party, will extend celebrations into the evening. 

The Daily Jawn Stage in the Kimmel Center Cultural Campus will be the venue for most panels and community conversations throughout the weekend. (Credit: Daniel Jackson, BlackStar)

The weekend is also packed with panels and community conversations where attendees can dive deeper into film themes and engage with artists. Highlights include “The Daily Jawn,” the morning show hosted by Maori Karmael Holmes, Rashid Zakat, and Anne Ishii, as well as the “Black Media Legacy” and “Reclaiming the Reel” panels. 

Whether you're attending for a specific film or to attend the evening festivities, BlackStar introduces powerful films and encourages conversations that explore pressing cultural and artistic themes.

“Film has an incredible power to shape how we see ourselves and how we look at the world,” Holmes said. “BlackStar works to interrogate and widen those views.”