FORGET ME NOT Directed by Tamika Guishard
When their fellow East New Yorker is gunned down at the Capitol, a former Park Ranger invites an ex-cop to her National Monument to unearth (un)forgotten sisters.
12:45 PM-1:45 PMSOCIAL IMPACT SHORTSFilms featuring stories centered around specific social issuesFilms:
AMARU Directed by Jenesis Scott
Inspired by the heroic life of Tupac Amaru Shakur, a 19-year-old discovers he is magically impervious to white supremacy.
BLACK SOIL RISING
In Alabama’s largest oil field, a Black family — led by a climate activist who is one of their own — fights to protect their ancestral land, legacy, and justice from oil and gas exploitation
Something About Tomorrow
A successful attorney’s world is flipped upside down when discovering her daughter’s addiction
2:00 PM-3:!5 PMPanel Discussion: Meet The Commissioner: DC Office of Cable Television, Film, Music & Entertainment (OCTFME) Principal members from the OCTFME in DC share the various resources, programs, and initiatives they are providing to creatives filming in the Washington DC area, as well as benefits to brining productions to the city.Panelists:
Don Napoleon - Production/Event Coordinator
Lakeisha Wells – Program Analyst
Vikki Johnson – Public Space Coordinator
3:30 PM-5:00 PMFilm Screening:
AKWAABA THE AWAKENING Directed by Sybil D. Jatta
What happens when you take a group of African Americans traveling from Los Angeles, California to visit Africa The Motherland for the first time?
5:30 PM-7:00 PMFeature Documentary Screening:
I WAS THE WEIRDO Directed by Priest DaNomad
I Was the Weirdo’ uses the story of pioneering rapper Priest Da Nomad to illuminate the obscure hip-hop and arts subculture, incubated along Washington D.C.’s historic U Street corridor, famously known as “Black Broadway”; under the city’s backdrop of politics, crime, black prominence, and its own brand of music known as Go-Go.
7:30 PM-9:00 PMNIGHTIME SHORTSShort films that you may make you a little bit squeamish, but will also make you think… FILMS:
DRUGS ARE FUN
THE DELIVERY DRIVER Directed by Tyeisha Downer
A food delivery takes a deadly turn when the driver realizes his customers are cannibals.
White History Month Directed by Aaron Wallace
AAWIC Founder, Terra Renee
PRINCESS A. HAIRSTON
Princess A. Hairston is a filmmaker whose work cuts through noise and narrative alike. A director and Emmy-nominated editor based in New York City, she tells stories that demand space on screen and in culture. Her feature directorial debut, BREAKING THE NEWS, aired nationwide on PBS, amplifying the voices behind women-led journalism.
She also helped shape the rhythm of LADIES FIRST: A Story of Women in Hip Hop on Netflix, both as editor and producer, remixing history through a lens of power and presence. In the edit room, Princess crafts with intention. She cut the SXSW 2024 breakout Songs from the Hole and This World Is Not My Own, which premiered at SXSW 2023, blending image, sound, and soul. She has contributed as an editor on Amazon’s LulaRich, the Truer Than Fiction Independent Spirit Award-winning Pier Kids, FRESH DRESSED (Sundance 2015), and the Emmy-nominated Capture with Mark Seliger.
Her work has been honored by the Emmys, The Webbys, and celebrated across major festivals.
B.Monet
B. Monét is a distinguished writer and director who obtained her B.A. in English from Spelman College and an MFA in Film and Television with a concentration in writing and directing from New York University. In 2019, she became the first African American woman to direct and star in a Cadillac commercial. Additionally, she directed a branded short film, "She’s Revolutionary,” on the #MeToo founder Tarana Burke for Levi’s and Girlgaze. Differently, Monét was chosen as one of the winners of the Queen Collective in partnership with Queen Latifah, Tribeca, and P&G. Her short film Ballet After Dark is exclusively streaming on BET.
Her first feature documentary, Black Girls, celebrates Black women and girlhood, featuring voices like Allyson Felix, Marley Dias, and Alex Elle, exclusively streaming on Comcast’s Black Experience on Xfinity channel, Peacock, on X1, Xumo, and Flex. Most recently, she had the opportunity to be one of the filmmakers involved in The Next Generation Narratives at Warner Brothers, where she reimagined A Star Is Born for modern audiences, exclusively streaming on MAX, allowing a new generation to connect with its timeless themes
1:45 PM-3:30 PMFeature Doc Screening
TRUE NORTH Directed by Michèle Stephenson
Through never before seen compelling historical footage and the voices of those who lived through the tumultuous period of 1960s Montréal, TRUE NORTH uses a bold cinematic aesthetic that centers the power of memory and archive to expose the pivotal events of a moment that impacted the global movement for Black liberation.
3:45 PM-4:45 PMINTERNATIONAL FOCUS SHORTS SCREENING BLOCKCome see universal stories told from lands outside of the U.S. Represented countries include Egypt, Cuba, Germany and Jamaica.Films:
PANDORAS BUTTERFLY Directed by Shady George
In the heart of a society often shadowed by loneliness, a group of volunteers devotes their time caring for those the world has left behind. They walk us through their routines, sharing their personal stories, moments of doubt, sparks of hope and the unexpected joy and healing they discover in service.
BOB MARLEY BEACH: The Fight for Your Right
The Fight for Your Right is a socially charged documentary exploring the tension between private interests and public heritage. The film focuses on Bob Marley Beach, a site rich in cultural, environmental, and socialsignificance, as efforts emerge to privatize or restrict access to it.
The documentary sheds light on what Bob Marley Beach has meant historically and presently to local communities, Rastafarians, tourists, and cultural memory. It captures the struggles of everyday Jamaicans, civic activists, professors, and the Marley Family as they debate and resist changes imposed on this public space.
BEG YUH A CALL
Omar is handling life as best as he can in a new country. A call from back home changes everything.
DANCE WITH YOUR HEART
Jennyselt is a dancer of Afro Cuban Folklore, with great prestige within Cuba and internationally and currently dances with the group Yoruba Andabo. She seeks her successor to keep the legacy of Afro-Cuban culture, dance and religion alive. Jennyselt takes us to the side of Havana that is rarely seen by tourists, Juanelo.
Where there is a community project cultivating dreams and teaching the next generation of dancers. Who will she choose to keep the legacy alive?
¡DIMELO RAPEANDO!
Where daily practices become ritual, repetitive, looped, and sequenced. A transatlantic, experimental Hip-Hop collaboration between Germany & Cuba
5:00 PM-7:00 PMFeature Screening:
THE REWRITE Directed by Terry Dawson
A struggling screenwriter, obsessed with portraying Black Excellence and authenticity on the big screen, is forced to do a rewrite of his latest draft in order to save his career. But when he revisits the characters in his script in real life, he soon realizes that his own world is short on authenticity and anything but excellent.
Sunday, October 12, 2025LOCATION: EATON DC THEATER, 1201 K Street NW, Washington DC 20005, 12:00 PM-1:45 PMFeature Screening
Outdoor School Directed by Ime Etuk
A tree can be a home and a forest can be a school, but raised in the wilds of 90’sPortland, Vin must first learn to be a child. OUTDOOR SCHOOL is a transformative truestory about the search for shelter and the power of being seen.
2:00 PM-3:15 PMTHE WINNERS CIRCLE SHORTSTreat yourself to this group of short films that have been winning countless awards on the festival circuit
LAUNDRY Directed by Okema T. Moore
After his sons tragic accident, a husband struggles to save his marriage and himself, until a chance encounter at a laundromat shows him that even in grief, hope and healing can all come out in the wash.
ZEEN
Chad is a pretentious white Jamaican film director. With his ragtag Caribbean cast and crew, he aims to shoot a highbrow social drama called "Brothers in Babylon."
The Incredible Sensational Fiancée of Sèyí Àjàyí
Sugar Dumplin
A woman struggles to find her place in life, she is tasked with the responsibility of checking in on her estranged elderly father as he settles into the only retirement home that will take him in.
The daughter tries to forge a deeper connection with her father by preparing dishes that evoke memories of his Caribbean childhood while he grapples with dementia.
The daughter tries to forge a deeper connection with her father by preparing dishes that evoke memories of his Caribbean childhood while he grapples with dementia.
3:30 PM-5:00 PMFROM REALITY TO HOLLYWOOD: A FIRESIDE CHAT WITH
CANDIACE DILLARD BASSETT: Reality star Candiace Dillard Bassett (Real Housewives of Potomac) shares her trajectory from pageant winner, to reality star, to music, and now to film--and how turning the camera on themselves helped propel her into a vibrant acting career.
CANDIACE DILLARD BASSETT
Bio: Candiace Dillard Bassett is a multi-hyphenate talent—singer, songwriter, actress,entrepreneur, and television personality—best known for her breakout role on Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Potomac. A former Obama White House staffer and Miss United States 2013, Candiace blends intellect, artistry, and ambition across every lane she enters. She’s released two R&B projects, including the Billboard-charting Deep Space, starred in films for BET and Netflix, and co-owns a growing portfolio of beauty and wellness businesses. With her signature wit and unfiltered candor, she brings her full self to every mic she touches.
5:15 PM-8:00PMCLOSING FILM:
CAN YOU STAND THE RAIN Directed by Eden Marryshow
A group of lifelong friends reunite after the sudden death of their childhood anchor,only to confront buried dreams, hidden tensions, long-held regrets, and the truth aboutwho they’ve become... and who they still might be.
