Video on demand (VOD):
VOD films can be accessed and watched anytime between April 16-26.
By purchasing a festival all-access pass, you have access to over 70 official selection films on-demand, as well as timed special events during the festival weekend, April 23-25, (see below for details).
Screening blocks & timed events:
During the festival weekend, April 23-25, you can join us for daily timed events that feature entertainment and conversations with filmmakers. **This content is only available during the date/time indicated.** Each screening block includes films that explore the following themes: A Diaspora in Displacement, Decolonizing the Narrative in Our #OwnVoices, The Future of Our Identity (youth-focused films), and Black Love, Self Love; as well as an opening night Director’s Spotlight set of short films. Films associated with the screening blocks are available on-demand, April 16-26.
OPENING NIGHT: AN EVENING OF BLACK BRILLIANCE
Join us for a special multidisciplinary opening night event on Friday 4/23 @ 7 PM, and enjoy our “Director’s Spotlight” selection of short films on-demand anytime 4/16-25. Black Brilliance is the theme of our Seattle Black Film Festival 2021 Opening night event! This evening of performances from across genres and art forms will center Blackness and amplify Black creation. Event host Sharon Williams, Executive Director of CD Forum for Arts & Ideas, will be our master of ceremonies as we celebrate our creation and speak with a few directors from SBFF 2021, previewing some of this years’ films. The special event is paired with a “Director’s Spotlight” VOD selection featuring a fresh set of short films from across the diaspora. VOD Films included with this event: Legacy; DEPRESSION: ANTIDOTE; Boxing Day; A Rodeo Film; the truck; A Wolf Comes At Night; Pegasus; A Living Sculpture; Grab My Hand: A Letter to My Dad; AJE IJO SERIES (4th INSTALLMENT FINALE): IMMORTAL; Limelight; Black Boys Can’t Cry; Resonance; The Deliberate Death Of My Father; SUCH AN HONOR; The Mark; Covered; Take out girl; Maxie; BAZZOOKA
DECOLONIZING THE NARRATIVE WITH OUR #OWNVOICES
Join us for a special event on Saturday 4/24 @ 4 PM, and enjoy a selection of on-demand films anytime 4/16-25 on the theme: Decolonizing the narrative with our #OwnVoices. Urban ethnographer and performance historian Jasmine Mahmoud, Ph.D. will help us dig deeper into our quest to elevate Blackness beyond how we have been labeled by our colonizers. She will host a conversation on agency, and the power of us telling our own story in our #OwnVoices. VOD Films included with this event: Decolonizing the Narrative: The Subject; BEFORE THINGS FELL APART; O’ America, I’ll Never Be Your Son; A Promising Voice; In My Skin; T.E.M.P.L.E. – Tell ‘Em My People Leave Enriched Documentary; Away; A Natural Choice; When We Try.
BLACK LOVE, SELF LOVE
Join us for a special event on Saturday 4/24 @ 7 PM, and enjoy a selection of on-demand films anytime 4/16-25 on the theme: Black Love, Self Love. Love is… Black and beautiful! Stories of Black love and care from across the diaspora show our love, radiant, multi-faceted, and strong. This event is paired with a selection of VOD films from across the diaspora that delves deeper into the theme. VOD Films included with this event: Love Like Winter; The Meaning of Daisey; Soft light, Brilliant light; Smell the Trees; ISSUES OF THE HEART; January 14th; TRY; Sundays in July; Low Key; SKY BLOSSOM – Wexford; Mr. and Mrs. Ellis; Hands Up, Don’t Shoot !!! (Because We Want To Live); The Black Family Stone.
A DIASPORA IN DISPLACEMENT
Join us for a special event on Sunday 4/25 @ 3 PM, and enjoy a selection of films anytime 4/16-25 on the theme: A Diaspora in Displacement. We belong here. But we are faced with a persistent battle to fight for and defend our right to be. Head of Seattle Public Library Civic Engagement Programs C. Davida Ingram will host a screening of the film EGUN, and a discussion bridging the themes of our official selection films exploring land justice, displacement, and belonging to the struggle for justice in our own communities. This event is paired with a selection of VOD films from across the diaspora that delves deeper into the theme. VOD Films included with this event: EGUN; “I’m Just a Layman in Pursuit of Justice” Black Farmers Fight Against USDA**; The North Star: Finding Black Mecca; Restoration: A Concert Film; Saving Grace; HARESTAY; It Stays With You: Use of Force by UN Peacekeepers in Haiti; Vagrant; Enemy in The Square; Ophir; I Like It Here – **Please note this film is not available to stream to audiences in: NY, NJ, PA, MA, CT
OUR IDENTITY, OUR FUTURE (Youth-focused films)
Join us for a special event on Sunday 4/25 @ 6 PM, and enjoy a selection of films anytime 4/16-25 on the theme: Our Identity, Our Future. Emerging cinematic voices explore the quest for Black identity with fresh eyes. This unique selection of film elevates the voices that will carry us into the future. This event is paired with a selection of VOD films from across the diaspora that delves deeper into the theme. VOD Films included with this event: Red Horizon**; Black Mama Sable; Dandelion; Eavesdropping on the Elders; wow; Deez Nuts!: Black Bodies Dancing Defiance; Hollywood Star; Years To Become Me.; Lovena; MICKEY HARDAWAY(Proof Of Concept Short); No Excape; Shaina; The Violin; ID Babylon; Ira Aldridge; Being Seen; A Whole New World in Focus – **Please note this film is only available to US audiences
WATCH THE 2021 #SBFF TRAILER NOW
