Black Perspectives 30th Anniversary

A dynamic comedic talent on both ends of the camera, Marlon Wayans will be the recipient of the Festival’s Career Achievement Award. The actor will be on hand for a special in-person Tribute to discuss his impressive career and his artistic process.

DIR. Sterling Macer, Jr. | U.S.

Aunjanue Ellis Taylor mesmerizes as a devoted caregiver shielding two white children from domestic dysfunction in this deeply affecting 1960s-set drama. Written and directed by Sterling Macer Jr., the film champions the enduring dynamic of Black women who have continually put themselves on the line across generations—from historical domestic labor to modern caretaking within white households.

Actress Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor scheduled to attend & receive the Tour de Force Award

DIR. Cheryl Dunye | U.S.

A video clerk unearths the hidden history of a 1930s Black actress in Cheryl Dunye’s landmark queer comedy. A foundational classic of New Queer Cinema, Dunye’s debut brilliantly pioneered the hybrid “Dunyementary” form, blending sharp observational comedy, faux-documentary realism, and archival excavation. By creating an archive where formal institutions failed to preserve Black lesbian history, The Watermelon Woman remains an innovative, charming, and indispensable masterpiece that playfully yet pointedly explores desire, race, and representation in cinema.

Director Cheryl Dunye scheduled to attend & receive the Career Achievement Award

DIR. Stephen Winter | U.S.

In 1990s NYC, a group of HIV-positive queer activists wage fierce guerrilla warfare on corrupt politicians in this sharp, militant comedy-drama. An essential and groundbreaking entry in New Queer Cinema, the film operates far outside traditional assimilationist narratives.

Director Stephen Winter scheduled to attend

DIR. Ava DuVernay | U.S.

Ava DuVernay investigates the 14th Amendment, exploring its many facets, from who gets to belong in America to the rights they’re entitled to.

Director Ava DuVernay scheduled to attend.

DIR. David Greaves | U.S.

This sublime snapshot of a 1972 cocktail party filled with the living luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance reveals the complexities of the world-renowned artistic movement.

Director David Greaves scheduled to attend.

DIR. Alain Gomis | France, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau

Parallel timelines weave together a contemporary French wedding and an ancestral funeral in Guinea-Bissau for a West African diasporic family.

DIR. Arlieta Hall and Brittany Alsot | U.S.

In this joyful, moving documentary, Chicago comedian Arlieta uses improv comedy techniques to care for her father as he battles Alzheimer’s.

DIR. Rafiki Fariala | Central African Republic, France, Democratic Republic of Congo, Italy

A Congolese teen refugee in Bangui fights to protect his family and hold onto his musical dreams through rap amid growing civil precarity.

DIR. Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo | Rwanda, Gabon, France, Norway

In this stunning, intimate portrait of defiance and forgiveness, a Rwandan genocide survivor’s convictions are tested by her daughter’s unexpected pregnancy.

DIR. Elijah Davis | U.S.

Three stories connect across the Pan-African flag as an injured athlete, an evicted mother, and a sitcom star fight to survive modern Black America.

DIR. Fernanda Salgado | Brazil, Portugal, France

Following her grandmother’s death in Paris, a young woman travels to Brazil where she encounters her exact double in this lyrical animated drama.

DIR. Gessica Généus | France, Haiti, Belgium, Luxembourg, Canada

In coastal Haiti, a fiercely independent sex worker and an evangelical preacher’s son navigate desire, Vodou roots, and rigid religious dogma.

DIR. Various | Canada, Cuba, U.K, U.S.

From a contemporary, animated folktale to extraterrestrial activity with a religious bent, bold imaginations rule this program. Although these films differ in genre and approach, the throughline connecting them is the universal experience of grief, both the pain of losing loved ones and the eventual acceptance of the surprising paths life can take.