The 9th Annual Baltimore International Black Film Festival

The Baltimore International Black Film Festival (BIBFF) promotes and celebrates culturally significant films directed, produced, and staring African American and members of the African Diaspora. We also prominently feature and celebrate films with content of interest to the Same Gender Loving – Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (SGL-LGBT) community. Our mission is to couple the film festival with education, health and exhibition programs that enrich the life of Baltimore City and the greater Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia communities.

Start Date

October 6, 2022, 7:00 pm

End Date

October 16, 2022, 11:00 pm

Social Pages

Venue

Parkway Theatre

Address

5 West North Avenue

Baltimore, Maryland

Baltimore, MD 21201

Main Website Tickets Support Submit Your Film

Films At The Festival

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Opening Films: PUSHA PRESSA PHANDA / Digging For Life / Embarrassed

Viewing Times October 6, 2022, 7:09 pm EST

Culture(s): African , African American , Christian , Latinx , LBGTQ , Muslim

Genre(s): Action , Animation , Comedy , Documentaries , Drama , Faith , Fantasy , Historical , Horror , Musical , Mystery , Romance , Science Fiction , Social Justice , Thriller

Online Live Screenings

Pusha Pressa Phanda is a dissection of freedom. Taking place in one day the film follows street youth Mandisa as she struggles to obtain medication and sanitary pads for her sister who is under her care. Faced with numerous obstacles along the way, Mandisa represents the struggle inherently facing women in their relentless pursuit for survival. Traversing one of the main business centres of Johannesburg's streets in order to find materials to recycle in exchange for money, Mandisa faces the brutality of the city’s underworld all for a basic need.

Topical and thought provoking the film aims to explore the narrative of endurance in an unforgiving landscape, challenging perceptions of societal norms and interrogating what has become dysfunctionally permissible in the existence of a woman’s narrative viewed in the microcosm of a day in her life.

Duration: 01:21:23 mins

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MUSIC AND MYTHICAL SHORTS: Black Fire, No Sugar No Cream, High Power, Assaman, Hommage to Mama / BREATHING BLACK

Viewing Times October 7, 2022, 6:09 pm EST

Culture(s): African , African American , Latinx , LBGTQ

Genre(s): Comedy , Documentaries , Drama , Fantasy , Historical , Musical , Science Fiction , Social Justice , Westerns

SNF Parkway Theatre - 5 West North Avenue Baltimore, MD 21201

Breathing Black follows nine Black Baltimoreans as they find joy amidst the global COVID-19 Pandemic and a summer of reckoning with the continued genocide of the Black body after the murder of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

Duration: 01:46:43 mins

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HORROR / THRILLER SHORTS: Together, What The Future? Normalized, The Graveyard Shift / This is [Not] Who We Are

Viewing Times October 7, 2022, 8:39 pm EST

Culture(s): African American

Genre(s): Comedy , Documentaries , Drama , Historical , Horror , Science Fiction , Social Justice , Thriller

SNF Parkway Theatre - 5 West North Avenue Baltimore, MD 21201

"The happiest place in America is Boulder, Colorado" -- said no Black person ever. This is [Not] Who We Are is a documentary film exploring the gap between Boulder, Colorado’s progressive self-image and the lived experiences of its small but resilient Black community. Its through-line is the story of Zayd Atkinson, a university student who was performing his work study job cleaning up the grounds of his dorm when he was threatened by a police officer and, soon, by eight officers with guns drawn. He lived to tell the story many Black men don't survive to tell.

While it has a unique history, Boulder is emblematic of liberal, white, university-based communities that profess an inclusive ethic but live a segregated reality. The film explores the interconnected issues of land use, affordability, racial and class-based segregation, educational equity, and policing.

Duration: 02:31:48 mins

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BLACK LIVES MATTER SHORTS: Black Saviors, prolyfck, blactor, For Tigray, Ancestors, Ring Ring / The Sun Rises in the East

Viewing Times October 8, 2022, 4:09 pm EST

Culture(s): African , African American

Genre(s): Animation , Documentaries , Drama , Historical , Social Justice , War

SNF Parkway Theatre - 5 West North Avenue Baltimore, MD 21201

The Sun Rises in The East chronicles the birth, rise and legacy of The East, a pan-African cultural organization founded in 1969 by teens and young adults in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Led by educator and activist Jitu Weusi, The East embodied Black self-determination, building more than a dozen institutions, including its own African-centered school, food co-op, newsmagazine, publisher, record label, restaurant, clothing shop and bookstore.

The organization hosted world-famous jazz musicians and poets at its highly sought-after performance venue, and it served as an epicenter for political contemporaries such as the Black Panther Party, the Young Lords and the Congress of Afrikan People, as well as comrades across Africa and the Caribbean.

Duration: 02:05:02 mins

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BMORE SHORTS: Boston Photograph, Scrunchies, Always in Bloom, Mask, Missing Figure, All I Have Left Is Memories / This is My Black

Viewing Times October 8, 2022, 6:39 pm EST

Culture(s): African American

Genre(s): Comedy , Documentaries , Drama , Historical , Musical , Romance , Social Justice

SNF Parkway Theatre - 5 West North Avenue Baltimore, MD 21201

Things have drastically changed for the choir students at Pine Forge Academy, a historically Black boarding school nestled in the hills of Pennsylvania. The students return to a school in a time when anti-blackness is rising and a deadly virus is sweeping the world. Through raw dialogue, inspirational music, dance, poetry, and percussion these students endeavor to make sense of their identity, their faith and the fractured world around them.

Duration: 01:54:39 mins

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SAME GENDER LOVING SHORTS: Code Switch, Taking the Long Road Home, (Un)claimed, Body Language, Her, Unsaid / MotherHOOD

Viewing Times October 8, 2022, 9:09 pm EST

Culture(s): African , African American , LBGTQ

Genre(s): Comedy , Crime , Documentaries , Drama , Faith , Fantasy , Romance , Social Justice

SNF Parkway Theatre - 5 West North Avenue Baltimore, MD 21201

A Mother endures hardships and becomes a community activist while raising her children in the poverty and drug stricken "640” neighborhood of Washington D.C.

Duration: 02:23:33 mins

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Reel Unity Pair: Nana's Boys / SLOW BURN

Viewing Times October 9, 2022, 4:09 pm EST

Culture(s): African American , LBGTQ

Genre(s): Drama , Romance

SNF Parkway Theatre - 5 West North Avenue Baltimore, MD 21201

Nana's Boys is a bittersweet love story about two Black men, who despite their history, current circumstances and sometimes callousness attitude have a deep care for each other. Amari wants to understand his place in the world while Q needs to be open that plans change.

When an explosion rattles NYC into a lockdown - without power or cell phone signals, Amari and Q are forced to confront the fragility of their partnership. The explosion only accelerates the cracks in their once picture-perfect connection. The conflicts over secrets, faith and purpose are layered to showcase a pair afraid to confront the fragility of their partnership.

Duration: 01:30:25 mins

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HOSANNA SHORTS: Stoopin, A Beautiful Wedding, Daddy's Eyes, Mechanic's Rose, Maternity, Round Boxes, Young Phoenix, Sons of Toledo

Viewing Times October 9, 2022, 5:49 pm EST

Culture(s): African , African American

Genre(s): Documentaries , Drama , Horror , Musical , Social Justice

SNF Parkway Theatre - 5 West North Avenue Baltimore, MD 21201

After receiving the early morning news of his younger brother’s murder, a mourning barber pushes through the muddy waters of grief to find the courage to do the impossible - give his brother one last cut.

Duration: 01:42:46 mins

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REEL UNITY PAIR: Paper Line / Bermuda

Viewing Times October 9, 2022, 8:29 pm EST

Culture(s): African , African American

Genre(s): Action , Comedy , Drama , Social Justice

SNF Parkway Theatre - 5 West North Avenue Baltimore, MD 21201

Seven pledges get the shock of a lifetime when they unknowingly sign up to join secret fraternity of black martial artists at an HBCU in Florida. Most of the pledges go in expecting a severe form of physical and mental hazing that is in line with the stereotypical Greek hazing. Unbeknownst to the pledges, they are attempting to join a fraternity of martial artist who live by a strict code of silence and discipline.

Duration: 01:10:38 mins

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BOKEH SHORTS: #MoreLife, 420, An Army Rising Up, Bigger Matters, But Tomorrow, Wet Grass / Raised Up West Side

Viewing Times October 13, 2022, 7:09 pm EST

Culture(s): African , African American , Christian , Latinx , LBGTQ , Muslim

Genre(s): Action , Animation , Comedy , Documentaries , Drama , Faith , Fantasy , Historical , Horror , Musical , Mystery , Romance , Science Fiction , Social Justice , Thriller

Online Live Screenings

Chicago’s West Side epitomizes the violent, struggling city we see daily in the media. RAISED UP WEST SIDE peels back the layers, exposing the deep-seated segregation, food insecurity, and mass incarceration that continue to shape these predominantly Black neighborhoods. Following the harrowing, yet frequently inspiring plight of ex-offenders, social activists, and entrepreneurs working on the West Side, we witness the fierce tenacity required to change the narrative — and change lives.

Duration: 03:14:44 mins

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REEL UNITY PAIR: The Shadow Between Us / East River Story

Viewing Times October 14, 2022, 7:09 pm EST

Culture(s): African , African American , Christian , Latinx , LBGTQ , Muslim

Genre(s): Action , Animation , Comedy , Documentaries , Drama , Faith , Fantasy , Historical , Horror , Musical , Mystery , Romance , Science Fiction , Social Justice , Thriller

Online Live Screenings

To address ongoing civil unrest following the death of George Floyd, a Black dancer and a White choreographer embark on a journey to heal the divide.

Duration: 01:56:28 mins

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DIASPORA SHORTS: The Critics, A Better Place, Superheroes Wear Hoodies / STEM Roots

Viewing Times October 15, 2022, 7:09 pm EST

Culture(s): African , African American , Asian , Christian , Latinx , LBGTQ , Muslim

Genre(s): Action , Animation , Comedy , Documentaries , Drama , Faith , Fantasy , Historical , Horror , Musical , Mystery , Romance , Science Fiction , Social Justice , Thriller

Online Live Screenings

Many families are turning to genetic engineering to better connect with the family roots from where they originate. Through DNA analysis, some are finding that stories passed down from generation to generation are either validated through test results or proven to be way off base. Knowing more about your family of origin, also leads to a renewed sense of purpose, belonging, pride, community and self-esteem.

When applied to hands-on projects in genetic engineering, this knowledge can be used to help students build confidence in the STEM capabilities, while learning more about their ancestral history. ESTe2M Builders is a company that aims to further Science, Technology, Engineering, Entrepreneurship, and Math (STe2M) education by providing engaging experiences and thrilling hands-on activities for secondary and post-secondary students.

Duration: 02:08:59 mins

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BEST OF THE FEST: The Blactor, What The Future?, Round Boxes, Prolyfyck, Embarrassed, Her, SCRUNCHIES / This is [Not] Who We Are

Viewing Times October 16, 2022, 4:09 pm EST

Culture(s): African , African American , Christian , Latinx , LBGTQ , Muslim

Genre(s): Action , Animation , Comedy , Documentaries , Drama , Faith , Fantasy , Historical , Horror , Musical , Mystery , Romance , Science Fiction , Social Justice , Thriller

Online Live Screenings

Aspiring actress, Kadidja Watson is tired of auditioning for stereotypical Black roles. You know the ones: “The Best Friend,” “Angry Baby-Mama,” “Slave” "Voodoo Priestess" etc. One day, on route to a "Gangsta" audition, an undercover cop stops her suspecting she’s involved in a break and entry.

Now she must audition for her life proving she can play the role. But has the role played her?

Duration: 02:33:05 mins

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BEST OF THE FEST: Young Phoenix, Ancestors, For Tigray, Black Fire, The Boston Photograph, What A Beautiful Wedding, Digging For Life, Maternity / Paper Line

Viewing Times October 16, 2022, 7:09 pm EST

Culture(s): African , African American , Christian , Latinx , LBGTQ , Muslim

Genre(s): Action , Animation , Comedy , Documentaries , Drama , Faith , Fantasy , Historical , Horror , Musical , Mystery , Romance , Science Fiction , Social Justice , Thriller , War

Online Live Screenings

When a second-time mother gets an unexpected complication postpartum, she must fight to save her life in the fractured American health care system.

Duration: 02:20:17 mins

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