by Mary Spiller
October 13, 2024
The Black Harvest Film Festival in November will feature filmmakers across the African diaspora.
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Gene Siskel Film Center has announced the long-awaited full schedule for the 30th Annual Black Harvest Film Festival. The festival will celebrate 30 years of Black filmmakers and storytelling across the African diaspora, highlighting marginalized voices and award-winning pieces.
This year’s festival will take place from Nov. 8 to Nov. 21 at the Gene Siskel Film Center, and it’s set to feature over 75 first-time Chicago premieres, Reel Chicago reports.
According to the roster, the Black Harvest Film Festival will have 13 feature films and 10 short programs from 18 countries for this year’s event.
This year marks the 30th annual festival, and in honor of the milestone, the event will feature a “DIRTY 30s” shorts program. The piece will reportedly capture “life’s humor, heart, and complexities in your thirties, reflecting on the festival’s journey to 30 years.” The statement reads, “Audiences will enjoy exclusive screenings, thought-provoking dialogues, and celebratory receptions as they come together to honor three decades of Black Harvest.”
Black Harvest Film Festival Lead Curator Jada-Amina said of the event, “As we celebrate 30 years of Black storytelling, we honor the legacy of voices and visions that have brought us to this moment. Over the past three decades, new paths of cinematic expression have continued to unfold. Each film in this year’s lineup offers a powerful connection across time and space, reminding us of the stories that shaped our past and the visions that will inspire our future.”
As released in the lineup, opening night will most notably be emceed by NBC Chicago entertainment reporter LeeAnn Trotter. It will begin with a showcase of selected Black Harvest Film Festival short films and conclude with the announcement of the winners of the Richard and Ellen Sandor Family Black Harvest Film Festival and the Sergio Mims Prize for Excellence in Black Filmmaking prizes. Throughout the event, the Black Harvest Film Festival will have over 50 filmmakers sit for compelling dialogues following the showing of festival films and will show moving pieces, including the Chicago Premiere of The Debutantes, Jimmy, and Ernest Cole: Lose and Found.
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