For collective action. Thank you to our screening partners: <a href="https://siftmediacollective.org/" target="_blank">SIFTMedia Collective</a> and <a href="https://cinespeak.org/" target="_blank">cinéSPEAK</a>.

A short documentary weaving intimate portraits of community farm stewards in Southwest Philadelphia. Through the rhythms of planting, cooking and sharing food, the protagonists reveal how everyday acts of care and resistance nurture belonging, foster cross-cultural kinship and preserve a sense of home amid the pressures of gentrification and displacement.

The Seeds We Carry

A short documentary weaving intimate portraits of community farm stewards in Southwest Philadelphia. Through the rhythms of planting, cooking and sharing food, the protagonists reveal how everyday acts of care and resistance nurture belonging, foster cross-cultural kinship and preserve a sense of home amid the pressures of gentrification and displacement.

The rhythms of rumba originate from West Africa and accompanied enslaved Africans to Cuba when they were forcibly abducted from their homeland. Rumba is not just a musical style; it’s a means of gathering. Afterall, rumba means “party” in Spanish. Several percussionists can play rumba at a time, and audience members also participate by singing the chorus and dancing. Rumba is meant to bring people together, to express joy, anger and everything in between. Most of the rumba you’ll hear in this documentary is not rumba in its pure form but Philly rumba. Fifty years ago, musicians in Philly — African American, Latin American and others — were inspired to form groups like Little Afrika and the Rumba Brothers when they first heard the addictive rhythms of rumba. They replicated the sounds, wrote their own lyrics in English, and sometimes played with no vocals at all. As time went on, formal elements of rumba such as specific rhythms, traditional songs and instruments like the clave rightfully found their way into the music. As time goes on, the mainstay of rumba musicians are becoming elders. While there is a new generation picking up the baton, this film documents the folklore of this tradition in order to preserve local history and pass it down to future generations.

Philly Rumba

Philly Rumba is a short documentary about a group of African American men in Philadelphia who gravitated toward Cuban rumba as an expression of their African roots during the civil rights and pan-African eras. Fifty years later, they continue to play rumba together, proving that music can create community and solidarity in difficult times.

Only one in 10 authors in Britain are working-class. The Authors of the Estate changes that. It is a platform created by the people, for the people — a reclamation of authorship and authority. What began as a grassroots publishing project has evolved into a documentary that amplifies those same voices, bringing their words to life and inspiring the next generation of writers from estates across the United Kingdom. What started as a simple idea to help the neighbors of the St. Raphael’s Estate and Chalkhill Estate in Northwest London, connected through storytelling, has since grown into a movement not just to write their stories but to own them. These books shattered stereotypes and allowed residents once seen as statistics or nameless faces to emerge as authors, voices of authority over their own lives. The film continues that mission by capturing the faces and voices behind the pages. It explores how two residents from neighboring estates saw beyond the false narratives that defined them. Through redevelopment, stigma and renewal, they chose to tell their stories before someone else did. The result is a collection of raw and powerful books that redefine what life on an estate can mean.&nbsp;

Authors of the Estate

In Northwest London, two estates take their stories into their own hands, exploring what would happen if a council house became a publishing house in this tale of ownership, creativity and the power of community.

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BlackStar Film Festival is an annual celebration of the visual and storytelling traditions of Black, Brown, and Indigenous people from around the world. Produced by BlackStar Projects, the 14th edition of the festival takes place July 31- August 3, 2025, both in-person in Philadelphia and online around the world.

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BlackStar Film Festival an annual celebration of the visual and storytelling traditions of Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities globally. 

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