Since 2012, the BlackStar Film Festival has celebrated the visual and storytelling traditions of the African diaspora and global Indigenous communities, showcasing films by Black and Brown people from around the world. Lauded as a “Black Sundance” by Ebony magazine, the four-day event has become a highly visible platform for introducing independent filmmakers creating aesthetically challenging and genre-defying work to new audiences. This special program, focusing on altered states, the occult, liminal worlds and liminal beings, features five films: Happy Thanksgiving (dir. ishkwaazhe Shane McSauby, 2024); The Flacalta Effect (dir. Rochée Jeffrey, 2024); Enmity Djinn (dir. Mohamed Echkouna, 2024); The Dawn (dir. Alicia Mendy, 2024); To Exist Under Permanent Suspicion (dir. Valentin Noujaïm, 2024).

Co-sponsored by Africana and Latin American Studies, and Native American Studies.