2024 AWARD WINNERS
BEST LONG DOCUMENTARY
I AM HOPE
DIRECTED BY SHAKA JAMAL
An insightful documentary about a resilient community coming together to create the first yoga and mindfulness class in Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) Middle Schools. Working collaboratively with staff and administration, yoga instructor ShakaJamal develops strong relationships with youth who are receiving their first in-school instruction of yoga and mindfulness. Through a challenging school year, students are engaged in a range of mindfulness activities that transform them from mindful learners to mindful leaders.
BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY
IVORY COAST INITIATIVE
DIRECTED BY CHIQUITA LOCKLEY
A short documentary film about a family’s struggle to create a path to education for their children, against the backdrop of difficult living conditions as cocoa farmers in a remote village in Cote d’Ivoire. A US entrepreneur, Tanya James, and her family partner with an Ivorian-American businessman to create educational access that far exceeds the initial strategy of building brick and mortar schools.
BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE
REUNION
DIRECTED BY GREGORY ALAN WILLIAMS
When a charming old stranger turns up in Vanessa James backyard, she quickly realizes that he may hold the key to her husband’s secretive past. But as night falls and the truth unfolds, young Mrs. James will come face to face with pure evil and a most unimaginable terror.
BEST NARRATIVE SHORT
THE CANDY LADY
DIRECTED BY MONIQUE MORTON DEROUSELLE
A neighborhood candy lady's normal day goes awry when she awakens an antique magical typewriter that brings her short stories to life.
BEST SOCIAL JUSTICE FILM
EVERYBODY'S WORK: Healing What Hurts Us All
DIRECTED BY CHAD TINGLE
"Everybody’s Work" delves into the hidden disease plaguing healthcare in the United States: systemic racism. Through the lens of fearless nurses, this documentary exposes the biases that dictate disparate healthcare outcomes based on skin color and the negative impact it has on both patients and the nurses who provide care. Through the stories of nurses and patients of color, a stark reality emerges: the experiences within healthcare, nursing school, and at the bedside drastically differ for people of color compared to their white counterparts.
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
COACHING WHILE BLACK
DIRECTED BY ALEX ESKANDARKHAH
As cocktails lead to revealing conversation, chemistry builds between Annabelle, an awkward in her own skin, forty-two-year-old woman and Tessie, an extroverted, eighteen-year-old sex worker. A surprising moment soon introduces the possibility of deeper connection.
BEST OF TENNESSEE
5TH STEP
DIRECTED BY DARIUS WALLACE
On the day a recovering alcoholic, halfway through his twelve-step program turns to his fraternal twin brother for help, he is forced to deal with his 5th step and face the complex family dynamics that challenge his recovery.
AUDIENCE CHOICE
TBA
Winner will be announced once votes are tallied.
BEST OF FESTIVAL
NANY
DIRECTED BY BERVICK DECULUS
It is the story of a young woman who struggles to free herself from a home filled with mankind's most legendary evil force.
FOUNDERS AWARD
KURTA PANTS
DIRECTED BY CHHAYA SHIRISH NENE
They were high school classmates in 1965. Jimmie transferred his senior year to an affluent high school in Charlotte—he was their first Black football star. That decision swept him into one of North Carolina’s most volatile civil rights cases, played out at the explosive intersection of football and race. De watched that case unfold and wrote about it in his college essay application. Decades later, a shocking discovery reveals secrets buried in church records that would change their lives. Their story, rooted in the South, is also America’s story—one of slavery’s legacy and our current racial divide. It’s a story of healing as Jimmie and De explore their binding truth.
BEST ANIMATION
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BEST STUDENT FILM
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