Harlem International Film Festival
129 Convent Avenue
New York, NY 10031
129 Convent Avenue
at West 135th Street
Harlem International Film Festival at Aaron Davis Hall
Celebrating the art of cinema in the home of the Harlem Renaissance, The Harlem International Film Festival (Hi) inspires and entertains by honoring dynamic films by anyone about anything under the sun. Conceived from the belief that we all have unique experiences and perspectives to share, the Festival actively seeks and exhibits fresh and urgent work. Hi is committed to exemplifying the eminence that Harlem represents and is dedicated to bringing attention to the finest filmmakers from Harlem to Hong Kong.
The Hi experience integrates the best that Harlem has to offer 鈥 great restaurants, unique boutiques, world-class music venues, prestigious universities and cultural institutions, and a long history of excellence in the Arts. The Festival showcases features, documentaries, shorts, animation, youth projects, episodic work and cutting edge music video. Other events include Hi noon lunchtime screenings, the screenplay showdown, panel discussions, nightlife, the Hi Honors and the Renaissance Awards gala.
In addition to showcasing some of the best films from around the world, the Festival also features the Harlem Spotlight, which highlights films produced or directed by Harlem residents, films shot in Harlem, or films about Harlem and her legendary history.
Films Expected to be Screened
Black Macbeth Writer: Cameron Monaghan
1936. A 20-year-old Orson Welles directs a Black cast in a Harlem adaptation of Shakespeare鈥檚 Macbeth as part of the 鈥淣egro Unit鈥 of the government-funded Federal Theatre Project.
Homes For Colored People Writer: Julie Loretta Seely
A black carpenter determined to build homes for those escaping racism and lynching in the Deep South loses everything during the Great Depression. Now, he must salvage and rebuild his life plank by plank to keep his family together.
Rabbit鈥檚 Foot Saloon Writers: Phillip W. Fite, Kyle Williams
All talented musician Pat Chapel wants to do is leave Boston, move back to Jacksonville, open a saloon and vaudeville theater with his two brothers but it鈥檚 1895 and he鈥檚 not white.
Robbery of an Essence Writer: Ericka Smith
An elderly couple becomes the target of a home invasion, so the criminals think this is their easiest robbery yet until they realize it is all a setup.
The Devil鈥檚 Creed Writer: Cheyenne Smith
Forced together with a new partner straight out of the academy after years of working alone, jaded detective Cyrus Fontaine investigates the mysterious death of a gambling kingpin in which nothing is as it seems and whose dark depths will force Cyrus to confront her own sins.
The Elephant and the Donkey Writer: Lonnie Hughes
The Elephant and The Donkey is a suspenseful political thriller between a Blackman and his White mother set during the 2025 LA Fires. Longen, a well spoken Black psychologist returns to his estranged White Mother's mansion, demanding answers to why she adopted him as a little boy. What unfolds that night is a battle of love, identity, and power-revealing the deeply ingrained biases that shape their lives. Set in one location, the film explores the complex dynamics of race, class, and the struggle for control in a divided world.
The Original Harlem Globetrotters
Director: Loradonna Frucci, Lizbeth Fuentes, Country: United States, Running Time: 12 min
Basketball players Hot Shot and Cheese, visit Maysles and their film students to reconnect with Harlem from behind their lenses. Lizbeth and Loradonna got exclusive interviews with the players and behind the scenes access to their 10-day residency.
Two is One and One is None
Director: Annette Hampton, Country: United States, Running Time: 10 min
Being prepared is one thing, but there鈥檚 also being paranoid. Briefly speaking on her own experience Annette turns the question of emotions, expression and preparation to her friends.
.fullstop.
Director: Camara Ife Aaron, Felicia Shayda Sobhani
Country: Dominica, Germany, Slovakia, Switzerland, United States, Running Time: 9:52
12-year-old Liv, the star of her middle school soccer team and its only girl. When she gets her period in the middle of playoffs, her best friends, Zora and Priya, have to help her find a pad so she can get back on the field and play. Along the way, they find an unlikely ally in a member of Liv鈥檚 all-male team.
Harlem Dawn
Director: Cathleen Campbell, Country: United States, Running Time: 3 min
For the past 9 years, I've kept a not-quite-daily photo diary of sunrise above the Harlem rooftops that i see from my window.
Harlem Wine
Director: Natasha Beste, Country: United States, Running Time: 3 min
Harpist Maurice Draughn performs his original composition, titled "Harlem Wine,' captured specially for this film using a selection of antique and custom-made lenses.
As a native of Detroit, opportunities for creative excellence were prevalent throughout Maurice Draughn鈥檚 formative years. The musical heritage of his family and the artistic community in Detroit continues to inspire him as an artist and composer. It is this inspiration that informs Draughn鈥檚 writing whenever he composes. Being an active performer has allowed him to collaborate with various artists, from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra to Stevie Wonder. Through these collaborations, Draughn has received commissions from various artists, ensembles, and organizations.
Harlem Fragments
Director: Cameron Tyler Carr, Country: United States, Running Time: 17 min
An Afro-futurist scrapbook storytelling of a Harlem Black family's beautiful destruction during the 2008 recession. A natural disaster so mesmerizing you can't look away from the tragedy. Based on true events.
Harlem Blues
Director: Kia C. Folsom, Country: United State, Running Time: 17 min
"Harlem Blues" is a poignant drama following Kaycee, a woman grappling with the aftermath of a shattered engagement as she navigates the vibrant streets of Harlem, finding solace in friendship while confronting the ghosts of her past. Through moments of introspection and unexpected encounters, Kaycee learns to embrace the possibility of a fresh start, discovering resilience, redemption, and the enduring power of love amidst the rich tapestry of life in the city.
Feeling
Director: Hilton Goode, Country: US, Running Time: 28 mins
On the night of 脡lys茅e Jackson's 23rd birthday, her old friend Bento Benson, in a bid to make the occasion unforgettable, declares they must listen to at least one of her prized records while under the influence. What unfolds for the pair is the creation of a shared realm-crafted embrace, where the world around them begins to fade away, leaving room for their relationship to blossom on this single unforgettable night.
September 18, 2025
12:00 pm
Director: Oday Rasheed, Country: Iraq, Running Time: 97min
In a remote Mesopotamian village on the banks of the Euphrates River, twelve-year-old Adam decides to stop time within himself. Only three people believe in his ability to defy time: Anki, his loyal best friend; Ali, his younger brother; and Iman, his cousin, whose dreams of a future with Adam are shattered by his choice.
Director: Hester Jonkhout, Country: Netherlands, Running Time: 58 min
Nomade in No Man's Land takes you to the eventful life of Caribbean artist Felix de Rooy. De Rooy, queer and 'of color', is seen as a pioneer. The first in the Dutch Kingdom to speak freely through his art about what it means to be queer and Caribbean. With his work he challenges the establishment to look at itself in the mirror. In a documentary that combines past and present, the maker searches for the motivations of this limitless artist with an endless urge to create, but is confronted with the unpredictability of his life. Felix suffers a cerebral infarction and has to reorganize his life. What does it mean that the most important thing in his life, creating art, is no longer possible? And what value does everything he created and did still have? What value does his oeuvre still have today?
1:30pm
Director: Richard Van Kleeck Country: United States, Running Time: 58 min
A powerful documentary examining the legendary multiple Pulitzer Prize winning photographers of the Louisville Courier-Journal. Viewers will relate to powerful photographs illustrating the excitement, art, danger, craft and emotional tribulations that all photojournalists experience. Compelling stories include an African American photographer assigned to cover a Ku Klux Clan rally; mind changing images from the Breona Taylor demonstrations; the social divides at the Kentucky Derby; a different look at Muhammed Ali; the human cost of the "killing fields" of Cambodia; the tragic price of coal mining; U.S. Presidents from Truman to Biden; the early consequences of assault weapons in the hands of civilians, and the disputed photograph that went all the way to the Supreme Court; the power of photography to change laws, hearts and minds; and the fall of a family media empire.
Director: Lana AdamS, Country: United States, Running Time: 41 min
After serving 38 years in prison for the rape and murder of an 8-year-old girl. David Bryant maintained his innocence. With the help of a nonprofit organization, he is released and sent home, but nothing could prepare him for what would happen next.
Director: Ericka Smith, Country: United States, Run Time: 86 min
A battle rapper is forced to ghostwrite for a popular athlete who threatens his life in more ways than one.
Preceded by:
1) Kaleb & Ms. Kelsey
Director: Andrew A Cano, Country: United States, Running Time: 2 min
Kaleb is just an 8 1/2 yr old who loves to spy on the adults around him. He hears many things he doesn't understand. He seeks help from Ms. Kelsey, his wacky millennial neighbor who gladly explains any and everything to Kaleb, no matter how inappropriate. Kaleb & Ms. Kelsey is a short puppet series that helps adults in the real world understand all the popular (internet) slang around them. Made to feel reminiscent of the shows you grew up with, but with the sense of humor and relatability of adulthood. It's a Kids鈥 Show for Adults!
2) I Hate My Love Life
Director: Tiffany JackmanCountry: United States, Running Time: 15 min
After years of bickering, a well-seasoned married couple decide to go on dates with other people to see if the grass is really greener on the other side; only to find out they are not prepared for the woes of new-age dating.
4:00 pm
Director: Maria Usbeck, Country: Ecuador, Running Time: 4 min
In this music video the director spent 3 years capturing how a foreign object like a corporate cubicle would interact with the essence and the creatures of the woods.
Over time, the forest did just that. Moss crept through the walls, seeds scattered into small holes, and creatures came and went as they pleased. The cubicle became a strange, living hybrid鈥攑art workspace, part wilderness.
Current is about feeling trapped in the very systems we鈥檝e built鈥攚orking, paying, surviving鈥攚hile quietly yearning for something more elemental, more free. It asks: are we living the way we鈥檙e meant to? Or have we lost touch with a deeper, more essential way of being?
Director: Peter Brian Thurling, Country: Canada, Running Time: 80 min
Rubin Hurricane Carter was a black destroyer in the ring. But in 1966, he was sent to prison for killing three whites in a hometown New Jersey bar. The film production begins in 2011 when Rubin is diagnosed with terminal cancer. He鈥檚 sick, but feisty and ready to fight for his life once again. On a last round-trip back to rural Georgia, where he picked cotton as a child, he is with his longtime friend John Artis who went to prison with him. They weren鈥檛 freed until 1985 after a Federal judge ruled the case against them was based on 鈥渞acism over reason鈥. Rubin escapes to Toronto, working to free others wrongly convicted, and helping to make it a mainstream issue, one that he fought for right to his deathbed in 2014. Even today, his spirit lives on.
6:00 pm
is a documentary about award-winning novelist Cai Emmons and her loving, open-hearted journey towards death. In 2021, at the age of 70, Cai was diagnosed with ALS. Taking place in 2022, during the last six-months Cai鈥檚 life, the film is, first and foremost, a story about the agency of expression 鈥攈aving a voice to create a legacy in the world.
See You Friday
Director: Makeba L. Ross, Country: United States, Running Time: 11 min
Zuri is finally ready to be serious with Amare; but Amare just got some news that threatens to ruin the romantic date he planned for her. The sequel to See You Thursday is here!
Break A Leg
Director: Thomas J. Cooksey, Country: US, Running time: 19 min
A struggling actor is thrown into the role of a lifetime, when an unconventional exercise places him in the middle of an extortion plot.
After Alma
Director: Lorena Dur谩n,Country: US, Running Time: 9 min
In the Astoria housing projects of New York, a demanding single mother grapples with her daughter鈥檚 last day home, revealing her own fragility.
Breathe
Director: Jamie Burton-Oare, Country: United States, Running time: 16 min
For Eric, it is a normal day in his life/neighborhood. For the world, it鈥檚 the day Eric faces the reality of taking his last breath. #breatheericgarnershort
The End
Director: Wil Pinke, Country: United States, Running Time: 18 min
In this surreal noir-comedy, an aging, wannabe mystery writer struggles to finish his first detective novel before it's too late. As he approaches the end, the lines between his real and fictional lives begin to blur.
Staging Ana
Director: K.M. Murphy , Country: United States, Running Time: 20 min
A Theatre Company prepares for season previews under a manipulative Director, whose fanatical tactics blur the line between illusion and reality.
Aly
Director: Kevin L. Lee, Country: US, Running Time: 15 min
Tonight might be the night Michael and Aly take their relationship to the next level. But Aly has a secret.
8:20 pm
Fist Bump
Director: Madeleine Fray Country: United States, Running Time: 60 min
Fist Bump is the story of Marcus Knight, an astounding success story; a talented and charismatic bi-racial young adult with autism and cerebral palsy who pursues his dream career of a life on Broadway. As a college freshman, he鈥檚 accused of sexual harassment from a friendly fist bump and struggles to piece together his shattered ambitions..
Preceded by:
1) Belief
Director: Christian Loubek, Country: United States, Running Time: 14 min
Alongside his wife and daughter, Lennox joyously unpacks their new home, but is left speechless when he finds a letter in a moving box labelled 'mom' that predestines a different life for him and one not as he remembers
2) Superman Doesn鈥檛 Steal
Director: Tamika Lamison, Country: United States, Running Time: 19 min
Based on true events, "Superman Doesn't Steal" is a coming of age story, set during the 1970's Atlanta child murders- as seen through the eyes of 9 year old Harriet & her brother, who are fascinated with superheroes. However, when they experience a troubling series of events- the impact on their family leaves emotional scars and causes them both to grow up fast as they redefine their definitions of heroes, villains and yes- even Superman.
Director: Kevin Schreck, Country: United States, Running Time: 92 min
This animation-documentary hybrid documents the inspiring story of rapper/producer/Ph.D. candidate, Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo, a.k.a., Sammus. With her autobiographical and afrofuturism-inspired music, Enongo tackles various subjects including (but certainly not limited to): mental health, growing up, and relationships. Through a combination of actuality and animation, the film tells a universally-relevant, intimate, empowering story of identity, artistic creation, and survival. Notably, it is the first feature-length film of any genre to have an all-Black women animation team.
Friday, September 19, 2025
12:00 pm
Director: Ivona Juka, Country: Bosnia, Herzegovina, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus and Poland, Running Time: 137 min
Four close friends in their young 20s, Lovro, Nenad, Stevan, and Ivan, fought against the Ustashas and Nazis by joining the partisans. Sixteen years later, they became renowned filmmakers. In 1957, in Communist Yugoslavia, their sexual orientation raised suspicion, and a communist party loyalist named Emir was assigned to sabotage their careers and lives. The pursuit of freedom becomes a fight for survival for the artists, while Emir's beliefs are challenged.
Director: Yuji Kakizaki, Country: Japan, Running Time: 133 min
This period piece set in Japan during the Edo Period, finds Yoshino, the wife of the shogunate's castle guard, a direct retainer of the Shogun, rebuking her husband, Furuta Kyuzo Masanari, after he is placed under house arrest for the crime of damaging the Shogun's bow while on duty at the Edo Castle. Kyuzo鈥檚 fate will soon be decided.
2:15 pm
Director: Asurf Amuwa Oluseyi, Country: C么te d'Ivoire, France, Nigeria, Running time: 116 min
Three women, once trafficked as young girls and stripped of their innocence, reunite years later with a single goal: to take down the powerful men who shattered their lives. Bound by their shared trauma and unyielding resilience, they embark on a dangerous journey of revenge, turning the tables on their captors in a story of justice, empowerment, and unrelenting retribution.
Director: Gordon Main, Country: United Kingdom, Running Time: 104 min
At the height of apartheid in the late 60s and early 70s, an international group of working-class students and workers living in London answered Oliver Tambo鈥檚 secret call for undercover agents.
This film tells the story of these young men and women who brought to life - at great personal risk - Oliver Tambo鈥檚 daring, non-violent strategy to keep hope alive in his embattled people in South Africa. Not everyone made it out.
4:15 pm
Director: Andrea M DeGeorge Garbarini, Country: United States, Running Time: 40 min
From the Arrival of the first busload of asylum seekers sent to NY from Texas in August of 2022, the film follows three tiny, underfunded volunteer organizations that welcomed, assisted, fed, clothed and provided kindness and dignity to the newcomers in need.
Preceded by:
1) The Seed
Director: H茅l猫ne Goupil, Country: United States, Running Time: 19 min
Guy Clark, an iconic figure in the LGBTQ community who's been selling flowers in San Francisco's Castro District since the AIDS epidemic, finds himself priced out of his own neighborhood and has to weather the seasons of a changing city.
2) Homeless to Homeowner
Director: Jahangir Golestan-Parst, Country: United States, Running Time: 26 min
Homelessness continues to devastate communities across our Nation. In Sacramento, California, a group of determined individuals are transforming this seemingly intractable problem. Homeless to Homeowner introduces Mohammad Mohanna, a successful Iranian American developer and philanthropist, who believes everyone deserves dignified and prosperous lives. Shocked that his homelessness neighbors are routinely harassed and relocated, he established a facility where people receive the resources they need to become members of society once again.
6:30 pm
Director: Brittney M Russell, Country : United States, Running Time 51:59
In the United States, Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women, a disparity that rises sharply in the Bronx, one of New York State鈥檚 most impacted communities, where Black mothers face a maternal mortality rate nine times higher than their counterparts. This film captures the powerful stories of women in the Bronx navigating pregnancy and advocating for change. This documentary unveils the harsh realities of systemic inequalities, societal barriers, and the disparities in maternal care, shedding light on a national crisis with deeply local consequences.
Preceded by:
1) The Self-Love Act
Director: Kareema Bee, Country: US, Running Time: 20 min
In this series hosted by Kareema Bee, a Black woman and artist explores her journey through self-love in dialogue with others, supported by The Big We Foundation.
In the pilot episode, Kareema finds out her African ancestry in an unexpected way, which catapults her into an exploration of her roots and how it extends to her community, only to find what she's been searching for may have been there all along.
Director: David Kuhn, Lauren Sieckmann, Country: United States, Running Time: 85 min
This is the story of Bitcoin, from its inception as a response to the market crash of 2008, to its infancy as either the first realistic alternative to the oppression of a failed global fiat system, or the largest bubble waiting to burst in economic history.
Preceded by:
1) Cut Me Summa Dat Noise
Director: Cara Hagan, Country: United States, Running Time: 7 min
This musical film celebrates the rhythms of everyday life through the eyes of a neighborhood matriarch who sets the tone for a new day with the beat of her own heart. As the neighborhood comes to life, people of all ages unite in a joyous cacophony of sound that illuminates the connections between them as members of a vibrant and diverse community in rhythm.
8:10 pm
Director: Terry Dawson, Country: United States, Running Time: 94 min
A struggling screenwriter, obsessed with portraying Black Excellence and authenticity, 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.
Preceded by:
1) KENDRAKE
Director: Affion Crockett, Country: United States, Running Time: 9 min
In the aftermath of the RAP BEEF HEARD AROUND THE WORLD between KENDRICK LAMAR & DRAKE, stands a divided fanbase. When the division makes its way into corporate America, extreme measures must be taken.
2) Deli
Director: Max Garcia, Country: United States, Running Time: 14 min
3 NYC deli workers find themselves wrapped up in a government conspiracy after discovering the truth about Staten Island.
8:30 pm
Unbroken is an intimate athletic drama as well as a meditation on loss, age, legacy & mortality.
Following parkour practitioner Bryce Clarke, Unbroken is a documentary that captures an unflinching look at a man's grief & athletic triumph following the passing of his two closest friends -- Basilio 鈥淨uiet鈥 Montilla and Deyvid 鈥淲olf鈥 Garcia -- both of whom continue to live on in the New York City parkour community.
Preceded by:
1) Didn鈥檛 My Lord Deliver Daniel - The Anthem Spiritual
Director: Andrew Horton, Country: United States, Running Time: 4 min
Celebrate Black History with these professional baritones of the Hudson Heights Project's refreshed anthem spiritual:
"DIDN'T MY LORD DELIVER DANIEL"
Sense the Awakening...
An awakening sometimes follows a remembrance. The African-American (Negro) Spiritual is a historical embodiment of the conscious of the people it represents. Filmed with footage captured on the streets of Harlem, follow this unique group of professional baritones
known as the Hudson Heights Project as they utilize a refreshed Spiritual as a symbolic expression of contemporary sentiment.
2) Green Bay
Director: Shawn Antonio II, Country: United States, Running Time: 9 min
Set beneath a surreal green sky on a distant, crumbling world, the film captures the last survivors of a dying civilization鈥攚omen who perform a synchronized ritual dance to summon an ethereal extraterrestrial presence from another realm.
Green Bay is an experimental dance film that explores themes of survival, cosmic ritual, and the transcendent cycle of life through immersive visuals and visceral choreography.
3) Selam
Director: Tevin Lanier- Country: United States, Running TIme: 9 min
This short documentary covers my time teaching film and photography in the countryside of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. While there I met some beautiful and inspiring people who I believe changed my perspective on many things as well as giving me a new purpose. I was invited by Selamta, an organization that helps children find homes in Ethiopia.
3) Woshchi鈥檌shji: The One Close To Me,
Director: Carrie Johnson, Country: United States, Running Time: 9 min
Devaughn 鈥淰on鈥 Sylvester has lived his entire life on the Navajo reservation in Shiprock, New Mexico, playing the only sport that as a 6鈥2 guard took him anywhere else: basketball 鈥 but when Von spontaneously moves to Harlem, New York, the great change brings him face to face with a reflection of upbringing, and he must see if the sport that saved him once can save him again.