The annual cultural event offered an impressive 136 films, 30+ workshops, musical performances, art, dance, yoga, and great conversations.
Denton, TX — With more films and workshops than ever, the Denton Black Film Festival wrapped up its seventh annual event, offering 136 films, 30+ workshops, musical performances, spoken word, visual art exhibits, dance, and interactive chat forums.
“When the pandemic hit, we had to do some soul searching,” said Harry Eaddy, the festival’s director. “In the end, our team of volunteers didn’t back off. They embraced the challenge to identify the digital platforms to produce one of the most ambitious, most technologically-advanced festivals we’ve ever had.”
Linda Eaddy added, “I can truly say we offered enough of a variety this year to appeal to anyone’s interest. I know we were ambitious, but I’m thrilled that we’re able to share the works of so many talented filmmakers.”
This year’s featured musical performer was Tatiana “LadyMay” Mayfield, an award-winning jazz vocalist, musician, and composer from Fort Worth, Texas. The festival also featured a daily morning show highlighting the day’s events hosted by NBC5’s Laura Harris; veteran broadcaster and attorney Dawn Neufeld; and journalist and professor Neil Foote. Events included Social Justice screenings with live-streamed panel discussions; spoken word; poetry; screen dance; virtual yoga classes; and, lounges for festival-goers to engage with each other and special guests.
The DBFF Institute offered one of the most wide-ranging selections of workshops, including kicking off a year-long partnership with Panavision who will collaborate with the Institute to curate a series of workshops that aim to educate, train, and inspire the next generation of Black storytellers. The four-part educational series for 2021 kicked off during the festival, with subsequent workshops to follow quarterly, covering a range of technical and creative topics confronting filmmakers from pre-production through post. Additionally, to continue amplifying the voices of Black artists, DBFFI and Panavision have created Voice x Vision, a social video series that provides a platform to filmmakers who are telling powerful stories related to the Black experience.
This year’s presenting sponsors were NBC5, Panavision, and the City of Denton.
For our Competitive awards, we added several new categories, including the “Best Episodic/Web Series,” and the winners of both the “People’s Choice Original Music Video” and “Collaborative Film Challenge” being voted on by festival-goers. The Institute collaborative project challenged filmmakers to create a short 3–5-minute film, inspired by the theme “We Tell Our Stories.” They could create the film in any genre, format, or style, and with only two weeks, we had four teams come together to create some really dynamic short films.
Here’s a list of the winners, runners ups and honorable mentions.
BEST NARRATIVE FEATURES:
WINNER
The Subject
Director Lanie Zipoy
RUNNER – UP
Vagrant
Director Caleb Ryan
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURES:
WINNER
Black Seeds: The History of Africans in America
Director Bayer Mack
RUNNER – UP
On the Front Line: The Rangers of Gorongosa
Directors James Byrne & Carla Rebai
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Cool Black North
Director Alison Duke
“I’m Just a Layman in Pursuit of Justice” Black Farmers Fight Against USDA
Directors Shoun Hill & Waymon Hinson
BEST NARRATIVE SHORTS:
WINNER
Augustus
Director Jon Alston
RUNNER – UP
Brother
Director Ya’Ke
HONORABLE MENTION
the rage
Directors Aurelien Mathieu & Samir Mokeddem
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORTS:
WINNER
Sawubona
Directors Tyler Dunham & Brendan Calder
RUNNER – UP
death.everything.nothing
Director LeRhonda Manigault-Bryant
HONORABLE MENTION
Finding Elijah
Director Yolanda Johnson-Young
BEST EPISODIC/WEB SERIES:
WINNER
The Pandemic Chronicles
Director Ya’Ke
RUNNER – UP
Therapy
Director Gregg DaCosta
HONORABLE MENTION
The Other Side of Normal
Director Brandon Miree
BEST COLLEGE SHORTS:
WINNER
Misfits
Director Ciani Rey Walker
RUNNER-UP
Run Little Boy
Director Dominick A. D. Bedasse
HONORABLE MENTION
The Walk Home
Director Kendra Brown
BEST TEXAS SHORT:
WINNER
The First Time After
Director Calvin J Walker
RUNNER-UP
Brother
Director Ya’Ke
HONORABLE MENTION
She Had to Ask
Director Tailiah Breon
TEXAS COLLEGE SHORT:
WINNER
The Fregoli Project
Director Samuel Broadous
RUNNER-UP
Ike & Judy
Director Sarah Christine
TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL SHORT:
WINNER
The Perfect Ask
Director Stanley Turner
RUNNER-UP
The Pamphlet
Director Vincent Holloway
HONORABLE MENTION
New Boss
Director Daviah Harrison
People’s Choice Original Music Video (new category)
Monica: An Afro Fantasy
Directors: Keirra Ewah and Ore Aweda
The winner in each category won equipment or money, a trophy, and a certificate:
– Panavision provided a $20,000 camera package to the winners in the Best Narrative Feature and Best Documentary Feature categories.
– The Denton Black Film Festival awarded $500 for the Best Narrative Short, Best Documentary Short, Best Episodic/Web Series; $300 for People’s Choice Original Music Video; $250 for Best College Short, Best Texas Short, $200 for Best Texas College Short; and $100 for Best Texas High School Short.
– All runners up received a trophy and certificate, and all honorable mentions received a certificate.
The People Choice Film Awards: Voted on by Festival Goers (new category)
Narrative Feature
Indifferent Enchantment
Director: Samina Najmah
People’s Choice Documentary Feature
“I’m Just a Layman in Pursuit of Justice” Black Farmers Fight Against USDA
Directors: Shoun Hill & Waymon Hinson
People’s Choice Narrative Short
Mr. & Mrs. Ellis
Director: Alan M. Brooks
People’s Choice Documentary Short
Free to Be
Director: Ugenia Stokes
People’s Choice Episodic/Web Series
The Black Experience in America: Past/Present/Future
Directors: Ivory Leonard IV & Diante Thomas
People’s Choice College Student Short
Leave Us Here
Director: Tari Wariebi
People’s Choice Texas Short
The First Time After
Director: Calvin J. Walker
People’s Choice Texas College Short
Ike & Judy
Director: Sarah Christine
People’s Choice Texas High School Short
The Perfect Ask
Director: Stanley Turner
Each People’s Choice Film winner receives a DBFF Award Certificate and Bragging rights.
The DBFF Institute – The Collaborative Short Film Challenge Winners (new category) are:
First Place Winner
District 00
Directors: Oreoluwa Adebo, Ifeoluwa Adebo, Aaron Middlebrooks, & Michael Nguyen
Winners of a $400 dollar cash prize and complimentary VIP passes for each team member to the 2022 Denton Black Film Festival
2nd place
Knights of Elm Street
Directors: Kimani Oletu & Jasmine Doltie
Winners of a $300 dollar cash prize and an All-Access Film passes for each team member to the 2022 Denton Black Film Festival
3rd place
#LoveBlack
Directors: Corrigan Revels and Ivy K. Arnold
Winners of a $200 dollars cash prize and 1 film block voucher to the 2022 Denton Black Film Festival
For more information, contact Neil Foote, Foote Communications, neil@neilfoote.com, 214-448-3765
