BlackStar Film Festival Gives the Floor to Cinema for Liberation
Showcasing 92 films by Black, brown and Indigenous filmmakers from around the world.
Summary
- The 14th edition of the BlackStar Film Festival will run from July 31 through August 3
- The festival will showcase over 90 films by Black, brown and Indigenous directors hailing from 35 countries
- The selections will be viewable in-person in Philadelphia or online for international audiences
The BlackStar Film Festival returns to Philadelphia for its 14th edition. Kicking off on July 31 and running through August 3, the 2025 iteration promises over 90 films from 35 country, spotlighting the work of Black, Brown and Indigenous artists from around the world.
“In our fourteenth year we continue to view the festival as an urgent gathering for filmmakers and cinephiles of color,” said BlackStar founder Maori Karmael Holmes. “The need in this moment is not only visionary cinema, but to be in space together around the work—to experience pleasure, rejuvenation and radical care in ways that push us towards action.
The upcoming lineup spans wide thematic terrain, including films that center music as resistance, climate resilience and communal healing. Highlights for this year’s edition includes the A24-backed BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions Afro-futurist epic by Kahlil Joseph, honoring Black history and the legacy of his late brother, artist Noah Davis. Actor Letitia Wright makes her directorial debut with Highway to the Moon, a tender coming-of-age tale of brotherhood fused with magical realist elements.
Also on deck is the world premier of TCB – The Toni Cade Bambara School of Organizing by Louis Massiah and Monica Henrique, and closing the program will be Jenn Nkiru’s The Great North, an experimental documentary that captures the cultural mosaic that is Manchester, England.
This year’s selections “embody BlackStar’s vision of cinema as a tool for liberation,” festival director Nehad Khader described. “Amidst troubling times,” she continues, “these filmmakers remind us of what is possible.”
The 14th edition of the BlackStar Film Festival will run from July 31 through August 3 at multiple venues across Philadelphia and will be viewable online. To purchase tickets or learn more about the full lineup, head to BlackStar’s website.
