Celebrating Black art: Film festival returns to Wilmington for 21st year

WILMINGTON, N.C. — Folks from all across the state are heading to the Port City for the 21st annual North Carolina Black Film Festival which kicked off Thursday evening in Wilmington. It’s a festival that gives an underrepresented community a chance to share their stories.

A study by global consulting agency McKinsey and Co. shows only 6% of film industry writers, producers and directors in America are Black — which is why festival organizers say this event is so important.

Increasing representation for Black voices is a big driver for Charlon Everett, the director of the N.C. Black Film Festival. 

Charlon Everett is director of the N.C. Black Film Fest. (Spectrum News 1/Natalie Mooney)

“I don’t think we often get the platform to share our voices and share our stories,” Everett said. “We have been a huge vehicle in being able to allow our filmmakers to have that opportunity that they may not get elsewhere.”

The festival started 21 years ago in Wilmington — a city that’s home to America’s only successful coup d’etat, when white supremacists overthrew a primarily Black government in 1898.

“I know a lot of us are familiar with 1898 and the history that happened here,” Everett said. “That’s another reason why our voices are so important. You know that history was hidden for so many years because the Black voice wasn’t told.”

Not only is this festival giving filmmakers a chance to share their voices, but it also provides a chance to reach a broader audience and open some minds.

The N.C. Black Film Fest runs through Sunday. (Spectrum News 1/Natalie Mooney)

“I think there’s some films that are gonna make you think,” Everett said. “You know it’s gonna challenge you, bring up some very interesting conversations that you can have with your friends, your colleagues, your family, your work buddies, just things that you can talk about and just kind of broaden your horizon.”

Everett says it’s those conversations that give art power.

“Art changes lives,” Everett said. “It changes who we are, it changes how we think. It’s the pulse. It changes the culture, and film is a big part of that.”

The festival runs through Sunday, May 19.

Plenty of shorts, documentaries, features and animated films across all genres will be showing all weekend. For a full festival lineup or to buy tickets click here.