BlackStar Projects celebrated its 15th annual film festival and is proud to announce the jury and audience award winners.
The 2026 edition of the festival continued to break ground and push boundaries by spotlighting genre-defying films and hosting critically incisive conversations with an expansive community of filmmakers, artists, panelists and festival goers, all of whom met the moment with enthusiasm as this year's festival welcomed thousands of attendees and record-breaking sales, including sold out screenings of Meriem Bennani and Orian Barki's Bouchra, Maya Annik Bedward's Black Zombie, as well as the shorts programs Scene Not Heard & Shorts and Chile, Please!
From the 91 films screened, juried awards for Best Feature Documentary were given to Zenón and the Rebel Boats, directed by Juan C. Dávila Santiago; for Best Feature Narrative to Variations on a Theme directed by Jason Jacobs and Devon Delmar; for Best Experimental film to An Impossible Address directed by Suneil Sanzgiri; for Best Short Documentary to Authors of the Estate, directed by Abdou Cissé and for Best Short Narrative to Treasure Island, directed by Miryam Charles. The Philadelphia Filmmaker Award was given to The Seeds We Carry, directed by Gabrielle Patterson.
BlackStar also invited its audience to select awards in Favorite Feature Narrative (Call of My Life), Favorite Feature Documentary (Scene Not Heard: Women in Philadelphia Hip Hop), Favorite Short Narrative (When They're Gone), Favorite Short Documentary (The Seeds We Carry), and Favorite Experimental (Tenants of Lenapehocking in the Age of Magnets) categories. The Shine Member Award for First Time Filmmakers was given to One More Show. More information on the award-winning films from all categories is below.
The BlackStar panel series saw audiences overflow from The Daily Jawn Stage, co-sponsored by NEON and Eventive, with panelists and moderators engaging in lively conversation, inviting global perspectives and challenging dialogues on various topics, including a spotlight conversation previewing the upcoming A Different World reboot with showrunner Felicia Pride, actor Jordan Aaron Hall and director of photography Shawn Peters.
Notable guests and speakers at this year's festival included Cybille St.Aude-Tate, Dyana Williams, Fahamu Pecou, Haile Gerima, Julie Dash, Michèle Stephenson, Noura Erakat, Rodney Evans, Sarah J. Jackson, Set Hernandez, Suneil Sanzgiri, Tananarive Due, Tshay Meade, Yoruba Richen and Yvonne Michelle Shirley.
Beyond film, the festival's activation of the city provided opportunities for artists, filmmakers and film enthusiasts to engage at sold-out parties and events throughout the weekend. BlackStar is committed to furthering this international communal experience as it looks ahead to next year's film festival, which will take place from August 5-8, 2027.
