Voices of Culture
A non-competitive showcase of short films directed by persons of African descent. Curated by invitation only, this section highlights outstanding works that reflect the breadth of the global Black experience. Films submitted for—but not selected as finalists in—the HBO® Short Film Award competition are automatically considered for inclusion.
Couples Skate
USA | 11 min | WORLD PREMIERE
A night at the roller rink reveals the cracks in a relationship.
Director: Kaliya Warren | Writer: Kaliya Warren | Producers: Magen Ashley Young, Roan Bibby, Hughes William Thompson, Kaliya Warren | Cast: Jordan Coleman, Myko Olivier
Crossroads
USA | 19 min
A wrongfully fired financier and a guarded lawyer connect unexpectedly on a blind date, turning a night of bad news into something more.
Director: Horane Henry | Writer: Shari Brown | Producers: Victorious De Costa, Rasheen “Raye” Donaldson | Cast: Okema T. Moore, Rory Clarke, Saint Thompson, Horace Henry, Donnadeen Rowe-Henry
Oh Happy Day!
USA | 12 min
Over the course of Easter week, a young boy struggles to impress his crush.
Director: Ivan Rome | Writer: Ivan Rome | Producers: Leah Simone Scott, Brianna Jones Appiah | Cast: Kaden Taylor, Blossom Cole, Chantal Maurice, Ann Nesby, Alfred Lamar, Syer Blu Wilson
Penny in the Sky
USA | 20 min | WORLD PREMIERE
When a man contemplating his life decides to put his fate into a coin toss, he’s interrupted by the sudden appearance of a woman there to end her life as well.
Director: Drew Allyn & Alexis Wilson | Writer: Drew Allyn | Producers: Cee Wright | Cast: Benjamin Earl Turner, Ryn Stafford
Please Return Your Cart
USA | 14 min | WORLD PREMIERE
A former soldier turned shopping cart attendant, resigned to a life on the sidelines, is challenged by a vibrant consultant to embrace his greatest fear – a second chance at love.
Director: Kendra Jo | Writer: Kendra Jo | Producers: Andrew St Juste, Color Creative | Cast: Russell Hornsby, Kimrie Lewis, Jabari Banks, Ratoya Banks, Tabitha Brown
Woman Land
USA | 10 min
Two young Somali sisters in Minneapolis have to balance rebellion with their reputations when their secret matchmaking business attracts a client a little too close to home.
Director: Yasmin Yassin | Writer: Yasmin Yassin, M.A. Lepage | Producers: Yasmin Yassin, Filsan Said, Nolan Morice | Cast: Hodan Hassan, Nadira Hussein, Beera Luula, Abdurahman Muhumed
BERTHA
COLOMBIA | 13 min | WORLD PREMIERE
A woman must be more stubborn than a goat to find her freedom.
Director: Laura Asprilla Carrillo | Writer: Laura Asprilla Carrillo | Producers: Laura Asprilla Carrillo | Cast: Barbara Perea
Bid
USA | 10 min
During a Thanksgiving dinner an eager grad student attempted to reconnect with family through a game of Spades, the only obstacle is her mother.
Director: Matthew Price | Writer: Matthew Price | Producers: Chelsea Stardust, Alex Coulter, Matthew Price | Cast: Phylicia Wissa, Nikko Austen Smith, Tim Russ, Teri Gamble, Sheroid Evans, Jeffrey Reddick
Buttercup Pudding Pie
USA | 15 min | WORLD PREMIERE
Looky here: A daddy runs outta gas on the way to his baby girl’s birthday, then everything goes sideways.
Director: Keith Powell | Writer: Keith Powell | Producers: Keith Powell, Venkatesh Potula | Cast: Burl Moseley, John Earl Jelks, Milton TJ Taylor, Talya Klein
JOHN
USA | 17 min | WORLD PREMIERE
Facing discrimination, a black female lawyer disguises herself as a white man to navigate with more privilege.
Director: Amirah Adem | Writer: Amirah Adem | Producers: Yennefer Fang, Nellie Luna, Tosin Omolola | Cast: Samantha Marie Ware, David Shatraw, Spencer Neville, Lisagaye Tomlinson
This Is Private
USA | 14 min
A stripper cunningly decides to use her private dances as therapy sessions in order to prevail in her collegiate psychology class.
Director: LeAndre Thomas | Writer: LeAndre Thomas | Producers: Caitlyn Durkin | Cast: Birgundi Baker, Joseph Rye, Wendy Feign, Matthew Baetz, Skip Howland, S.B. Grey, William Romano-Pugh
TIGUERONAS
USA | 14 min
After ending an abusive relationship with her narcissistic boyfriend, Aaliyah and her friends hatch a bold plan for revenge on a girls’ night out, igniting a journey of self-empowerment and sisterhood.
Director: Imani Celeste | Writer: Imani Celeste | Producers: Imani Celeste, Flor de Oro Tejada | Cast: Daniella Denisse Macre RodrÃguez, Imani Brammer, Mariyea, Victoria Lino, Malik Tyree Sneed
Age Of Quorum
UK | 14 min
A young man’s New Year’s Eve takes a dramatic turn as the night transforms into an adversary he must conquer to survive.
Director: Yomi Ayeni | Writer: Yomi Ayeni | Producers: Laurelle Jones | Cast: Ade Femzo, Rhys Quilley, Justice Ezi, Mack Muggleton
Fairytales
USA | 12 min | WORLD PREMIERE
On their wedding day, a young bride’s monstrous powers are exposed during a violent police encounter, forcing her and her husband to flee through a city that now sees her as a threat— finding brief refuge at her loving father’s secluded home, until the outside world catches up and turns sanctuary into battleground.
Director: Tiffani Holland | Writer: Tiffani Holland | Producers: Christopher Gleaton, Tiffani Holland | Cast: Paulina Singer, Brian Reese, Steven Strickland
500 Seconds To Tell You
USA | 11 min
Before a catastrophe ends life on Earth, a young man struggles to put his feelings for his best friend into words.
Director: Gerard Clarke | Writer: Gerard & Rashielle Clarke | Producers: Gerard Clarke, Rashielle Clarke, Saham Hosseini, Asha Alaji-Sharif | Cast: Jared Jackson, Asha Alaji-Sharif
Intergalactic Ingenue
USA | 20 min
On the night he’s supposed to integrate with his Hive-mind alien girlfriend, James, a man with deep commitment issues, discovers his ex is also dating the same Hivemind.
Director: Nathan Deshawn Bouie | Writer: Nathan Deshawn Bouie | Producers: Ami Coulibaly, Quinn Murphy, Jayla Hodge | Cast: Jai’Reeh Demond, Akira Jackson, Mckayla Fontanez
Killer Of Men
USA | 13 min | WORLD PREMIERE
Set in the antebellum American South, an enslaved prize fighter faces a choice between life and freedom after attending the burial of the man he was forced to kill.
Director: Jordan Betine | Writer: Jordan Betine; Kiera Bratton-Lewis | Producers: Jordan Betine; Ruoxiao Li | Cast: Erik Orjiako, Sandra McDaniels
Peace by Piece
USA | 11 min | WORLD PREMIERE
When a so-called actor from the future travels back in time to study the ordinary man he will play in a movie, we all want to know… why him?
Director: Jordan K. Paul | Writer: Jordan K. Paul | Producers: Bria O’Brien, Sam Van Dyke, and Jordan K. Paul | Cast: Jordan Paul, Dante Rossi
The Day You Find Your Name
USA | 15 min
At the height of the Black Panther movement, a pregnant Afeni Shakur must defend herself against 189 felony charges in a trial that threatens her freedom and her unborn child’s future.
Director: Dominique R. Draper | Writer: Dominique R. Draper | Cast: Journey Carter, Mitchell Edwards
Echoes Beneath the Hill
RWANDA/BELGIUM | 17 min
On the verge of the genocide against the minority Tutsi. Jeanne, 10, a daredevil girl, is searching for her pet goat.
Director: Aime Octave | Writer: Aime Octave & Manon Poelman | Producers: Nora Essalama, Lead Producer | Aime Octave Ishimwe, Ass. Producerv | Cast: Uwihirwe Francine, Cyiza Bolce, Gakwaya Celestin, Uwimana Clementine
Ella
USA | 18 min
Ella sings her love songs–scatting through her darkest notes.
Director: Nikki Taylor-Roberts | Writer: Nikki Taylor-Roberts, Anthea Piscarik | Producers: Meleisha J. Edwards, JT Thames, Sophia Watson | Cast: Jill Scott, Destinee Rae
EL TIGUERE
USA | 20 min
In the Bronx, an Afro-Dominican father nurtures an underground mobile food garden while searches for a way to rebuild his relationship with his estranged son.
Director: Andrew J. Rodriguez | Writer: Andrew J. Rodriguez | Producers: Yuki Maekawa-Ledbetter | Cast: Elvis Nolasco as Joaquin & Ansi Rodrigues as Junior
Fragments of Joy
USA | 15 min | WORLD PREMIERE
Taking his Alzheimer addled mother on a weekend jaunt to NYC in hopes of jogging her memory, an alcoholic son has to walk a fine line between frustration and responsibility.
Director: Andre Royo | Writer: Andre Royo | Producers: Darren Dean, Ante Novakovic, Sabine Ocaña, Isabella Cooper | Cast: Andre Royo, Maria Broom
The Checklist
USA | 13 min | WORLD PREMIERE
When a mother rediscovers a forgotten checklist from her past, she’s inspired to reclaim her adventurous spirit—pulling her skeptical daughter into a journey of self-discovery, nostalgia, and unexpected reconnection. (Light Drama)
Director: Jasmine T.Q. McLaurin | Writer: Kay Rich | Producers: Emma Jackson, Kay Rich, Tarra Denise Jackson, Linda Richardson-Gardner, Angie Blackwell | Cast: Karole Foreman, Tarra Denise Jackson, Shaun Bedgood, Emma J
I Got My Brother
USA | 17 min
Two brothers reflect on their candid and often humorous memories of surviving the foster care system and prison, realizing along the way that their path to healing has always been each other.
Director: Victor Gabriel | Producers: Rachel Earnest | Cast: Jarrett Harper, Baylon Harper
If only you knew
USA | 20 min | WORLD PREMIERE
A woman confronting her father about his absence.
Director: Safiyah Chiniere | Writer: Safiyah Chiniere | Producers: Safiyah Chiniere, Rox Campbell | Cast: Ashley Hernandez, Adrian Luke Sinclair, Steve Attie
Iku Aka (Knocking on the Door)
USA | 12 min
On the eve of her Iku Aka, Chinelo’s joyful Igbo marriage celebration is upended by a long-hidden family secret, forcing her to choose whether tradition will guide her or her jailer.
Director: Tiffany Lotanna Onyejekwe | Writer: Tiffany Lotanna Onyejekwe | Executive Producers: Epiphany Ciers, Onyii Ogomaka, Tiffany Onyejekwe | Producer: Asari Aibangebee | Cast: Jessica Otse, Dorothy Chinenyenwa, Francis C. Edemobi, Prince Ezerumaka, Ella Nwokedi
Keep My Brother
USA | 11 min
“Keep My Brother” tells the poignant story of Ava, who struggles to balance her family, career, and health while caring for her younger brother, Darryl, during his severe manic episode.
Director: Sharona D’Ornellas | Writer: Sharona D’Ornellas | Producers: Renée Elise Goldsberry, Sharona D’Ornellas, Cat Del Re, Jessy Greer | Cast: Renée Elise Goldsberry, Darryl Dunning II, Daniel J Watts
AFUFU
USA | 18 min
When a live-in housekeeper accidentally breaks a valuable item, her decision to hide her transgression from her employers has devastating consequences.
Director: Ellie Foumbi | Writer: Ellie Foumbi | Producers: Leo Blumberg-Woll; Jesy Odio | Cast: Babetida Sadjo; Saffron Burrows; Tate Donovan; Vivian Olyphant
Beach Day
USA | 11 min
In a world where one woman’s death means the end of everything, a man sets out on a surreal journey to ask her permission to die before she does.
Director: Brandon XIV | Writer: Brandon XIV | Producers: Brandon XIV, Shane Snow, Sylvia Brindis, Jess Black | Cast: Richard David, Aja Monet, Sekou Andrews, and LaChanze
Mini Me
USA | 18 min | WORLD PREMIERE
In the pursuit of an open cast call at the height of hurricane season, a Jamaican-American family learns to voice their pent-up grief.
Director: a. b. oddman | Writer: a. b. oddman | Producers: Redd Coltrane, Kaylee Hayes, Thyais Walsh | Cast: Symone Holmes, Kyrie McAlpin, Thyais Walsh, Taylor Crawford
Touching
USA | 11 min | WORLD PREMIERE
A young girl must protect her baby sister when a sleepover with their cousin becomes a nightmare.
Director: Lauryn Charliah Allums | Writer: Lauryn Charliah Allums | Producers: Jasmin Prophete, Jasiah Denise Washington, Aiyannah Tasker-Lewis | Cast: Rose De La Cruz, Alexandria Grice, Antoinette Allison, Nakia Borgella, David Perry
Vengeance Is All I Have
USA | 17 min | WORLD PREMIERE
An enraged young man infiltrates a picturesque suburban home with revenge on his mind, but his determination begins to falter when he discovers a connection with his younger half-brother.
Director: Christian Osagiede | Writer: Christian Osagiede | Producers: Kaylin Stanford | Cast: Patrick Walker, Jimmy Jean-Louis, Trent Allen Davis, Elizabeth Dantus
When They’re Gone
USA | 14 min | WORLD PREMIERE
After an abrupt encounter at a graveyard, two elderly men form an unexpected bond over the grief and love of their late wives.
Directors: Ragan Henderson, Lauryn Darden | Writer: Lauryn Darden | Producers: Gabriyèl Barlatier, Elizabeth Kurtz; Executive Producers: Glynn Turman, Marni Rosenzweig, Brian Kurtz, Janice Barlatier-Tawfiq, Leon Henderson Jr., Ana Verde, Taylor Wildenhaus, Brenda Robinson, Jenifer Westphal, Loy A. Webb, and Delta Dirt Distillery | Cast: Glynn Turman, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs
Cutoff
USA | 9 min
Chester connects with his nephew Quincy on the day of his baptism. Their relationship ruffles feathers, and Chester reconsiders his next steps in the boy’s life.
Director: Jalen Rayno | Writer: Jalen Rayno | Producers: Ethan Elkins | Cast: C.P Walker, Eli Romelus, Kamajhia Williams
H. P. V. (Her Pretty Vagina)
USA | 17 min | WORLD PREMIERE
Plagued by the physical and emotional tolls of endometriosis and HPV, Kaleigh’s relentless quest for empathy drives her to desperate measures.
Director: Kiah Clingman | Writer: Kiah Clingman, CJ Sykes | Producers: Kiah Clingman, Alex Woodruff, Abijeet Achar, Pink Maxwell, Breanna O’Conner, Sue-Ellen Chitunya, Taylor Polidore Williams, Marcella Arthur, Rennard West, CJ Sykes, Annie Jacob, Amer-Marie Woods | Cast: Taylor Polidore Williams, Vince Swann, Stephen Ruffin, Allen Burns, Jessica Fontaine
HOMEbirth
USA | 17 min | WORLD PREMIERE
As her due date nears, a first-time mother meticulously plans the perfect home birth, only to confront a haunting truth many Black women know too well- that doing everything right still may not be enough to survive.
Directors: Carra Patterson, Korey Jackson | Writer: Carra Patterson | Producers: Carra Patterson, Korey Jackson | Cast: Carra Patterson, Ruffin Prentiss III, Ngozi Anyanwu
The Last Wish
CANADA | 15 min
When an unsettling visitor disrupts her fragile new life, a 70-year-old widow is compelled to face her greatest fear, water, forcing her into a battle with both her past and her own mortality.
Director: Kimberley Ann Surin | Writer: Kimberley Ann Surin | Producers: Kimberley Ann Surin, Véronique Charbonneau | Cast: Marie-Aimée Cadet, Naïla Louidort, Nayla Mongeon-Levesque
Pan Gyul
NEVIS, WEST INDIES | 15 min
On the island of Nevis, a determined young girl challenges tradition and her mother’s opposition to learn the steel pan, hoping to connect with her celebrated musician father and claim her own voice.
Director: Juliette Jeffers | Writer: Juliette Jeffers | Producers: Juliette Jeffers, Damaris DiVito, Dawn Bridgewater, Carole Copeland and Thomas Austin Sinclair Bridgewater | Cast: Juliette Jeffers, Winston Crooke and Hadassah Daniels
Yellow Pages
USA | 15 min | WORLD PREMIERE
When a little girl, dreaming of becoming a comedian, begins using the Yellow Pages to test out her jokes, she unknowingly brightens the life of someone who needs it most.
Director: Simone Thomas-Rowe | Writer: Simone Thomas-Rowe | Producers: Devin Saddler, Simone Thomas-Rowe, Elodie Ghonda | Cast: Cadence Reese, Damien Leake, Danielle Banks, Mingjie Zhai, Sandra Walters