The BlackStar Film Festival is a Philadelphia

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...

focused on films about and by black, brown and indigenous people from around the world. It has been described as the "Black Sundance. The festival is named after

Marcus Garvey Marcus Mosiah Garvey Sr. (17 August 188710 June 1940) was a Jamaican political activist, publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator. He was the founder and first President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African ...

's shipping line, the

Black Star Line The Black Star Line (1919−1922) was a shipping line incorporated by Marcus Garvey, the organizer of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), and other members of the UNIA. The shipping line was created to facilitate the transportation ...

. It was founded in 2012 by Maori Karmael Holmes, initially as a one-day "microfestival" that in success became a four-day international event. Backers of the festival include the

MacArthur Foundation The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 50 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.0 billion and p ...

, the Knight Foundation, HBO, CAA, Comcast, and

Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...

. The first festival included a master class and screening of part of Middle of Nowhere by

Ava DuVernay Ava Marie DuVernay (; born August 24, 1972) is an American filmmaker, television producer and former film publicist. She is a recipient of a Primetime Emmy Award, a NAACP Image Award, a BAFTA Film Award and a BAFTA TV Award, as well as a nominee ...

. Later festivals have included films by

Gabourey Sidibe Gabourey Sidibe ( ; born May 6, 1983) is an American actress. She made her acting debut in the 2009 film '' Precious'', a role that earned her the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead, in addition to nominations for the Golden Globe an ...

, Janine Sherman Barrois,

Darius Clark Monroe Darius Clark Monroe (born 1980) is a writer, producer, and director, living and working in Brooklyn, New York. Early life and robbery Monroe was born in Houston, Texas. As a teenager, Monroe robbed a bank in Stafford, Texas; which resulted in hi ...

, Nijla Baseema Mu’min, and Naima Ramos-Chapman. Panels have included Bradford Young,

Rashid Shabazz Rashid Shabazz, known professionally by the nickname “Roc”, is an American IFBB Pro Champion, celebrity fitness trainer, and business owner. Best known for his accomplishments in the bodybuilding industry, Roc spent many years under the me ...

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

, and Tarana Burke. The Advisory Board of the festival is Yaba Blay, Akiba Solomon, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, and Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter.

References

Film festivals established in 2012 Film festivals in Philadelphia African-American film festivals 2012 establishments in Pennsylvania {{US-film-festival-stub