ALL ARTS has announced Afrofuturism: Blackness Revisualized, a new Afrofuturist film festival exploring the genre through 10 feature-length and short films from across the world. The festival will run on the last Friday of every month from March 26 to December 31, 2021. The films will be available to screen for free in the US.
Afrofuturism: Blackness Revisualized features short and feature-length films from the United States, Nigeria, Trinidad & Tobago, Brazil and Martinique.
The 10 films were hand-selected by filmmaker, visual artist, writer and self-described Black futurist Celia C. Peters, the curator of the festival. Directors featured in the film festival include Peters, Malakai, Donovan Vim Crony, Alain Bidard, C.J. ‘Fiery’ Obasi, Keith Josef Adkins, Nick Attin, Janeen Talbott, H. Leslie Foster II, and Jonathan Ferr. Actors featured include Sterling K. Brown (“The Abandon”) and Tabitha Brown (“Souls”).
Highlights from the festival programme include:
Souls
Friday, March 26 at 10pm
Director Malakai brings us the story of Kai, a young girl forced to confront the realities of her grandmother’s declining health as a result of Alzheimer’s. Featuring Tabitha Brown, this film is a journey across the stars in the search of hope.
The Abandon
Friday, July 30 at 10pm
Sterling K. Brown stars in this short film. Things take a surprising turn when five friends go on an annual hiking trip and learn a global event has changed the world. Now they must navigate interpersonal dramas as well as their own survival. Directed by Keith Josef Adkins.
Roxë15
Friday, August 27 at 10pm
From director Celia C. Peters comes the story of Roxë Jones, a high-strung prodigy who bets her future on technology. When a virus infects Roxë’s prized software and comes after her, saving her life’s work will also mean saving herself.
The Journey
Friday, December 31 at 10pm
Brazilian jazz pianist Jonathan Ferr directs this mystical short film soundtracked to Ferr’s song “Luv is The Way” from his album “Trilogia do Amor” (Trilogy of Love). Ferr explores the relationship between Aiye and Ona in this time-hopping experiential film.
For further exploration into each film, Afrofuturism: Blackness Revisualized will feature a monthly series of companion essays on the ALL ARTS website by a range of editorial contributors, including artists, academics, authors and changemakers at the forefront of Afrofuturist thought.
An “Afrofuturism 101” explainer video is also available to view on the site as an introduction to the genre. The festival will also feature filmmaker conversations livestreamed as part of the ongoing ALL ARTS Talks series to promote dialogue and understanding around each of the film’s themes.
All films will be available to stream for free nationwide on the All Arts app beginning Friday, March 26, 2021. For full film listings and more information, please visit allarts.org/afrofuturism.
