A black boy learns contradicting lessons of manhood and masculinity on the day of his cousin's funeral.

“A Galaxy Sits in the Cracks” is a short, experimental documentary in six parts exploring the ways black communities in Chicago, Detroit, and Durham, NC use the concept of Afrofuturism as a tool to inspire young people, organize politically and economically, and reimagine the spaces around them.

When a black man accidentally kills a white cop in self-defense, the cover-up sets off a chain reaction of deceit, blackmail, and murder.

An introspective slice-of-life story about two generations of black men, living within the same household, juggling the demands of raising a young son with autism.

These powerful stories feature fictional characters and actual people as they discover aspects of their personalities they did not know exist, or learn of people and places that they find to be insightful and inspirational. These become gateways to love, inner peace, and new possibilities.

*Black Lens Shorts: Preserving & Combating Memory* contains narratives that struggle with whether memory is friend or foe. Characters confront memory in the form of abandonment and exploitation, and seek to determine what they should learn from it, how they have been harmed, and what they should cast aside forever.

Caught in the throes of a depressive fugue, young Lynn resorts to debauchery to find joy — only to discover that happiness is a much more complicated proposition.

A favorite on the festival circuit, *Dark City: Beneath the Beat* presents an immersive experience into the choreography and club music that reverberate from the streets of Baltimore all the way into your living room. Far more than just a feature-length music video, director TT The Artist presents stories through dance and beats that provide a greater insight into a city often associated with "The Wire."

A 16 year old and her 10 year old brother find themselves homeless in Harlem, NY.

After 17 years apart, Walter, an Angolan immigrant, is joined in the U.S. by his wife and teen daughter. Now absolute strangers sharing a one-bedroom apartment, they discover that a shared love of dance may help overcome the emotional distance between them. Director Ekwa Msangi cements herself as an exciting new filmmaking talent with this deeply personal take on the immigrant story filled with music, humanity, and heart. WISCONSIN ONLY

Tyshun Wardlaw's feature documentary debut follows three young Black people growing up in the heart of our city as they grapple with daily experiences of racism and segregation, while fighting to avoid becoming a statistic. Stark yet hopeful, Wardlaw's film is essential viewing for all of Milwaukee, to see through the eyes of these young folks and build empathy around their singular, yet all too familiar, experiences.

A writer is inundated with memories as she struggles to tell the story of growing up with her dysfunctional musician father.

Keon, a young Black photographer, meets up with his brothers, Amiri and Dre, and they embark on a journey to acquire a new camera to complete his college entrance portfolio. Along the way, they negotiate obstacles and dangers, subtle and complex but all too real, in an environment intent on policing.

Speculating about the birth of Rock and Roll and the best curl pattern. This film explores Black queer identity and self acceptance as a pathway to personal utopia. Origin of Hair culls from Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s legacy as a Black queer woman in the 50s and 60s claiming power through musical invention and radical self-love.

Queenie Lawrence, a 73-year-young Black Lesbian and resident of the Marcy Projects, navigates applying for the Stonewall Houses, NYC's first LGBT Elder affordable housing.

Filmmakers Marlon Johnson and Anne Flatte follow the youth of River City Drum Corps, led by Ed “Nardie” White, throughout the city of Louisville. We learn of White’s dedication to uplifting and empowering African American youth for three decades through the Drum Corps, the triumphs and tragedies he has faced, and his transitioning of the program to his successor and former student Albert.

Through the lyrical poetry of actor and playwright Denise Yolen and smooth compositions from the lens of filmmaker Joseph Austin II, the film follows a young couple through three acts that take the audience through the way they initiate their romance, establish a relationship, and develop a life together. Every stage captures the levels of intimacy, vulnerability, and truth that intensify as they grow closer together.

After an unexpected one night stand, two women at very different stages of their lives, share an even more intimate morning after.

Renesha is having a great day. She wakes up next to her boyfriend Evan, heads to her her dream job, and grabs drinks with friends. But things quickly go downhill when a flirtatious stranger drugs and sexually assaults her. The next day Evan and Renesha wade through a bog of bureaucracy to get a hospital rape kit. Reminiscent of *Never Rarely Sometimes Always*, director Shatara Michelle Ford's feature debut is a lyrical indictment of our healthcare system.

After most of the human race has evacuated earth and relocated across the galaxy, a group of survivors forms a desperate plan to escape our planet and join the rest of humanity…but the plan comes with a significant risk.