Narrative Features (U.S. & International)
A competitive section of feature-length films directed by, or written and produced by, persons of African descent. Selected films compete for Jury Awards, including the Grand Jury Prize for Best US Narrative Feature, Directing Award (Presented by Ally), Screenwriting Award (Presented by Amazon MGM Studios), and Performance Award. International films are eligible to compete for the Grand Jury Prize for Best International Feature.
ATHENA A.I.
USA | 1h 30m | WORLD PREMIERE
In 2035, in a seemingly perfected America, an exclusive dinner party turns deadly when its co-host—an unreleased A.I. named ATHENA—hijacks the night and forces guests into a series of games they must survive rather than play.
Director: Corey Grant | Writers: Lanett Tachel, Brian Kelsey, Craig Motlong | Cast: Lanett Tachel, Redaric Williams, Marissa Shankar, Andrew J. Katers, Anjianna Grasso, Marvin Ryan, Stephen P. Nemphos
Bust!
USA | 1h 45m
A former professional basketball player attempts a comeback through a fledgling sportswear company.
Director: Richie Kamtchoum | Writer: Richie Kamtchoum | Producers: Greg Oden, Sherwyn Santos, Danny April, Cindy Kamtchoum, Richie Kamtchoum, Monique Henry | Cast: Richie Kamtchoum, Casey Lawrence, Liam Harrington, Brittany Erica, DeJeanette Horne, Karen Smith, Richard Garifo, Bernard Clark
The Fridge
USA | 1h 35m | WORLD PREMIERE
A tough, queer teenager (Marsai Martin) leaves Brooklyn for the first time to spend the summer with her estranged, struggling composer father (Courtney B. Vance) in Los Angeles. The two are forced to reconnect over a used refrigerator, that nearly upends and further strains their father-daughter relationship in the process.
Director: Solvan Slick Naim | Writers: Solvan Slick Naim, Lane Williamson | Producers: Datari Turner, Solvan Slick Naim, Marsai Martin, Jamie Foxx | Cast: Marsai Martin, Courtney B. Vance
Funny Feelings
USA | 1h 38m | WORLD PREMIERE
A decade after building a comedy empire on their electric “are-they-or-aren’t-they” chemistry, two performers are forced to confront their unresolved feelings when a career-defining special unravels their act—and their truth—on a viral stage.
Director: Rhonda Baraka | Writer: Je’Don Holloway-Talley | Producers: Roderick McClure, Joshua Ferrell, Morgan McClure | Cast: Vena “Pretty Vee” Excell, Tristan “Mack” Wilds, Terri J. Vaughn, Pastor Mike McClure Jr, Etienne Maurice, Danielle LaRoach, Dasan Frazier, Chadwick Farley, Kinyumba Mutakabbir
Garden of Silences
BRAZIL/ITALY | 1h 33m | WORLD PREMIERE
After years in Italy, Tuã, a Black oncologist, returns to Brazil to confront his family’s past marked by the dictatorship, navigating loss, silence, and memory in a journey of reconciliation and belonging.
Director: Henrique Dantas | Writer: Henrique Dantas | Producers: Henrique Dantas, Eliane Ferreira, Alessandro Borrelli | Cast: FabrÃcio Boliveira, Helena Ignez, Luiz Pepeu, Federica De Benedittis
Homage
USA | 1h 30m | WORLD PREMIERE
A reformed street figure risks everything when he tries to help an old friend fresh out of prison only to discover that some debts don’t disappear, they come back to collect.
Director: Miles Mussenden | Writer: Dianne Diaz | Producers: Miles Mussenden, Samantha Van Sickle, Kristen Nothstein, Dianne Diaz | Cast: Miles Mussenden, Majah Hype, Nadirah Shakir-Ramseur, Kameron Washington, Noah Jay Wood, Mason Douglas, Jamal Morant, Julie Mango, Rueben Shaw, Adrian Epply, Jackson Che, Collin ‘Demarco’ Edwards, Chad Darnell, Eric Dodson, Sencere Brown, Nyel Simmons, Jason Francisco Blue, Adrian ‘Negus Goodhall, Jose Diaz, Nebula Allison, Samantha Van Sickle, Rebekah Tadros, Robert Humphery, Maxel Amador, David, Schifter, EliseoArreola, Thomas Kempen III
Hoop Street
USA | 1h 30m | US PREMIERE
Barred from his high school basketball team due to his temper, a hot-head, street-baller battles demons from his past and present to earn a spot on a summer league team and his last shot at a college basketball scholarship.
Director: Princeton James | Writer: Teresa Dickerson | Producers: Meleisha Edwards, Teresa Dickerson, Jordan Danelz, Mark Williams | Cast: Benjamin Holmes; Jeremiah Roberts; Kenneth Farmer; Kathy Lofton; Jordan Danyel; Robrecus Parker
Lights Out
CAMEROON | 1h 26m | WORLD PREMIERE
Every memory is a clue or a curse.
Director: Enah Johnscott | Writers: Nfua Buh Melvin (Baba Prox) | Producers: Carista Asonganyi, Nfua Buh Melvin (Baba Prox) | Cast: Wale Ojo, Ngongang Elizabeth Wandji, Shaffy Bello, Syndy Emade, Libota MacDonald, Brenda Shey Elung, Sylvia-Bright, Irene Nangi, Mbang Joseph, Lina Ikechukwu, Byssoh Anne, Iya Lim
Montmartre
USA/FRANCE | 103 min
Disillusioned with her disconnected life, JO visits the storied French district of MONTMARTRE, where she falls for TOUSSAINT, an eloquent tour guide, and their romance entwines Black history, art and love, reconnecting Jo to her long-lost passion for life.
Director: Leon Hendrix III | Writer: Leon Hendrix III | Producers: Leon Hendrix III, Ito Aghayere, Maurice D. Hendrix, Jill Officer | Cast: Jesse Williams, Ito Aghayere, Melanie Nicholls-King, Deborah Lukumuena, Firmine Richard
93 ‘til
USA | 1h 59m | WORLD PREMIERE
Two struggling Philadelphia artists meet at a job fair and spend one perfect day falling in love—no phones, no filters, just presence—before a toxic ex and a violent robbery tear them apart, forcing them to search the city to find each other again and choose love despite uncertainty.
Director: Alterik Miller | Writer: Alterik Miller | Producers: Alterik Miller, Richard Lee Noel, Petey McGee, Alicia Turner, LaRoyce Hawkins and Sophia Lucia Parola | Cast: Petey McGee, Sophia Lucia Parola, LaRoyce Hawkins, Keith Arthur Bolden, Kris D. Lofton, Taryn Delanie Smith and Jason C. Louder
Otra
USA | 1h 50m | WORLD PREMIERE
After a failed marriage proposal leaves him questioning love, Javier strikes a deal with his Guardian Angel to win back the woman of his dreams before his untimely death claims him for good — in this new-age, one-shot Latino musical.
Director: Armani Ortiz | Writer: Armani Ortiz | Producers: Asante White, Armani Ortiz, Deance Wyatt, Daniel Etzioni, Chike Ubu, Maurice Harkless | Cast: Rome Flynn, MarÃa Gabriela De FarÃa, Flor Delis Alicea, Dania Ramirez, Aria Celeste Castillo, Armani Ortiz
Seahorse
CANADA | 1h 24m
A sous chef’s pursuit of stability is tested by the return of her estranged father, now living on the streets of Toronto.
Director: Aisha Evelyna | Writers: Aisha Evelyna | Producers: Natalie Remplakowski | Cast: Aisha Evelyna, Joseph Marcell, Ruth Goodwin, Brett Donahue, Alden Adair
Small Gods
UK | 1h 36m | US PREMIERE
A landless single mother meets a charismatic street performer, discovering newfound hope for the future of her young son…
Director: Asher Rosen | Writer: Asher Rosen, Luke Reilly, Cimpaye Florence Mariserena, Bizimana Hussain | Producers: Andreas Raold (Norway) , Jack Pollington (UK) , Shema Faustin (Rwandan) | Cast: Cimpaye Florence Mariserena, Bizimana Hussain, Turinayo Jotham
Southside Kev
USA | 2h 4m | WORLD PREMIERE
A misguided teenager in South Jamaica, Queens, struggles to earn respect in the streets without losing the innocence that still defines him.
Director: Jamel Furlow | Writers: Jamel Furlow | Producers: Jamel Furlow, Samuel C. Morrison, James Furlow, Charlene Coleman, KK Rosemond, Shatek King | Cast: Nathan Lewis, Alpachino Howard, Naomi Taylor, Brandon Chastang
Sr.
USA | 1h 28m
After a struggling father takes his two kids on the run from social services, he tries to shield them from their harsh reality with a promise of the beach, but as his son Junior patiently waits for him to keep that promise, he’s forced to grow up early and challenge his father’s demons to get his family to their happy place.
Director: Toroes Thomas Jr. | Writer: Toroes Thomas Jr., Blayre Pichon | Producers: Blayre Pichon, Sean Banks | Cast: Micaiah Jones, Donnell Jones, Jade Telesford, Melan Perez
A Story About You
USA | 1h 30m
A man is forced to come to terms with his past as he navigates his week with various love interests.
Director: Joseph E. Austin II | Writer: Denise Yolén | Producers: Denise Yolén, Joseph E. Austin II, Jeremy Harris | Cast: Shannon Wallace, Pernell Walker, Denise Yolén, Shiree Nicholas Christopher, Adwoa Duncan-Williams, Monique Lindsey
THAT’S HER
USA | 1h 35m | WORLD PREMIERE
When a corporate-climbing playboy falls in love with a girl-next-door office temp and with a high-powered executive, he must choose between love and leveling up.
Director: Nina Lee | Writer: Dewayne Colley, Tiffany Yancey, Nina Lee | Producers: Stephen “Dr.” Love, Dewayne Colley | Cast: Kountry Wayne, Coco Jones, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Loretta Devine, Charity Jordan, J. Alphonse Nicholson, Tabitha Brown
Three Colors: Pan-African
USA | 2h 3m
A triptych of Black stories that correlate with the colors of the Pan-African flag: RED (Liberation), A collegiate football star scrambles to save his career after a devastating injury fractures his sense of self-worth; BLACK (Unity), a Ghanaian single mother loses her job and faces deportation as an unlikely group of heroes rally around her; GREEN (Prosperity), the lead of a struggling Black sitcom questions the cost of success as the network forces the show into racist caricature to boost ratings.
Directors: Elijah Davis, Allison A. Waite, Tyler Ocasio Holmes | Writers: Madou Elijah Diarrassouba, Gillian Allou, JaQuay Collins, Elijah Davis, Dami Olatunji | Producers: Elijah Davis, Jack McMann, Dami Olatunji, Joseph B. Agboola, Chirsten Vanderbilt Ellis, Ben Ephraim, Asar Saint Lamont, Jaala Alston, Amy Roach | Cast: Loretta Devine, Bashir Salahuddin, Peyton Alex Smith, Sibongile Mlambo, Stephen Bishop, Kimrie Lewis
Voices: The Musical
USA | 1h 33m | WORLD PREMIERE
When a rising soul duo overdose just hours before their big break, a desperate bellhop and his closest friends seize the chance of a lifetime, only to discover that the price of fame is blood.
Director: Deantè Gray | Writer: Sam Buckner III & Charlie T. Savage | Producers: Sam Buckner III, Ski-ter Jones, Charlie T. Savage, Brandon Lee Ward, Aya Washington | Cast: Francis C. Edemobi, Ezekiel Ajeigbe, Raèl Ba, Pedro Louis, Joe Maye, Jamal R. Averett, Victorian Keaton, Charlz Williams, Antione Gardner, Lex Bethea
Waking Up Horny
USA | 1h 47m | WORLD PREMIERE
When a successful but emotionally guarded psychologist spirals through a chaotic string of sexual misadventures, she must confront the battle between desire, self-worth, and the version of love she keeps avoiding.
Director: Michael Arcell | Writer: Michael Arcell | Producers: Barry Brewer, Wendy Wang, Annalea Fiachi | Cast: Brandi Denise, Angell Conwell, Brandon Joseph