Taking back our bodies, our space. Thank you to our screening partners: <a href="https://www.aaunited.org/" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Asian Americans United</a> and <a href="https://noarenaphl.org/" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Neighbors &amp; Communities in Solidarity</a>.

Screenshots of the reality of an islander who enjoys having at the expense of being — like a twist of fate, as if trapped in a hamster wheel, where our slightest desire has to be satisfied now, perhaps in the hope of compensating for all the days without. Welcome to “the Tropics”! Where the paradoxes of neocolonial daily life are at work in a suffocating economic and health context.

Enjoy the Tropix and Have A Banana ! (An diw jwi ! On a la banane sous les tropiques !)

Screenshots of the reality of an islander who enjoys having at the expense of being — like a twist of fate, as if trapped in a hamster wheel, where our slightest desire has to be satisfied now, perhaps in the hope of compensating for all the days without. Welcome to “the Tropics”!

As the genocide in Gaza unfolds, nearly 2 million Palestinians holding Israeli citizenship and living in historical Palestine find themselves confined within an intensifying imposed silence. Since October 2023, words have grown dangerous and gestures increasingly restrained, and even the act of speaking carries serious political consequences. Within this suffocating reality, Aida, a Palestinian filmmaker, chooses to resist silence by listening.&nbsp;Through an open call, she reached out to Palestinians across the 1948 borders, inviting them to share their feelings through anonymous voice messages. These recordings tell the story of 76 years of suffocation, highlighting what it feels like to mourn quietly and to live a life of alienation and fear. While hearing these voices, we follow the camera, wandering through streets, landscapes and ordinary spaces heavy with violence and erasure — telling the little-known reality of Palestinians living within Israeli society, on the verge of disappearance.

Another Day Shall Come (سيجيء يوم آخر)

A portrait of Palestinians living in the suffocating 1948 borders during Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza. The film weaves together anonymous voice recordings and present-day footage of historical Palestine, encapsulating 76 years of identity deprivation and alienation.

In the early 2000s, amidst the political fervor of the city of Olinda, an unusual clash unfolded. The capitalist giant McDonald’s prepared its arrival, while a communist was ascending as a favorite for the mayoralty. The people of Olinda were about to witness a late Cold War and take sides. What made Olinda known as the first city in the world to bankrupt a McDonald’s?

Olinda's Golden Arches (Os Arcos Dourados de Olinda)

The historic city of Olinda becomes the stage for a late Cold War between Brazil’s first communist mayor and the arrival of McDonald’s. What made Olinda known as the first city in the world to bankrupt a McDonald’s?

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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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