Oakland’s AfroComicCon to feature fashion, film and cosplay at iconic Grand Lake Theatre

OAKLAND, Calif. – In its seventh year, Oakland‘s AfroComicCon is showing signs of growth. And that’s not a bad thing. The organizers are energized by the thrill of this year’s event being held at the iconic Grand Lake Theatre, complete with a fashion show. 

Twenty-three films, with afrofuturism as the overarching theme, will be projected in the historic movie palace in the Grand/Lakeshore District. The festival is Nov. 6, perhaps auspiciously scheduled one day after the election. 

This year, Vice President Kamala Harris, a woman of Black and South Asian descent, is making a historic run for the position of commander-in-chief. Today’s real-life political scenario may seem like a retro-afrofuturistic prediction; something that has already been explored. But in the past, some of the content creators within this genre took things in a different direction. 

Sci-fi author Octavia Butler often took on darker themes in her dystopian novels. In 1998’s Parable of the Talents, a populist candidate from Texas runs for president on a platform of intolerance and pseudo-Christianity. One review states that this fictitious candidate’s “bigot” supporters “consider the mere existence of a Black female leader a threat.” 

In the post-election haze, many of us may still be pondering what the future will look like and how we fit into the grand scheme of things. 

AfroComicCon attendees can expect imagination, creativity, and possibility. 

Michael James, the founder of the festival, says this is, “a reflection of yourself as a person of color.”

“My definition of afrofuturism is kinda what we see as the future of the community of afro-descent people,” says James. “It’s a term to describe what we think our future looks like through our lens.” 

Afrofuturism has flourished in works of art like Butler’s novels, jazz bandleader Sun-Ra and his Arkestra, the cosmic ’70s funk stylings of George Clinton’s Parliament Funkadelic and the pioneers of the Detroit techno genre.  

AfroComicCon offers a glimpse of this vision through comics, graphic novels, film, and fashion. 

“We are a cosplaying, superhero, afrofuturistic event,” says Hally Bellah-Guther, the event’s co-founder and one of its directors.  

Last year’s fashion show overtook the steps of Oakland City Hall and Frank Ogawa Plaza. Men and women wore what looked like updated versions of Star Wars Stormtrooper armor. The outfits were like a space-age mashup, combining the aesthetic of George Clinton’s Mothership with Burning Man, steampunk themes, but unmistakably Black. 

James Head has been designing clothes for 35 years. He’s an Oakland native who designed and created Oakland hip-hop artist MC Hammer’s costumes at the height of his popularity. He’s headlining this year’s fashion show at the comic con. 

Head describes his work as high-fashion, hip-hop streetwear. In the days of super-oversized ‘Hammer pants’, his ‘Sagwear’ line became accessible in stores like JCPenney and Dillard’s in malls across America. He even made outfits for Ayesha Curry and the Curry kids at one of the Golden State Warriors’ victory parades. 

“I design unique creative fashions and innovative looks,” says Head. “I want to wow the crowd. I don’t do plain things. I design because I love being creative, I love community and sitting at home and creating things.” 

Fashion designer James Head made outfits for the Curry’s for a Warriors victory parade. 

When he looks at his creations walking down the runway, he says he gets a sense of accomplishment. Sometimes when he sees his work in motion, he thinks to himself, “I can’t believe I made that.” 

With an afrofuturistic theme, Head is allowed to express himself in a more conceptual fashion. With an art animation background, the use of non-conventional materials like metal wires, lights and foam for his designs might seem like a necessity, but he does whatever it takes to make his designs look “out of this world.” 

“I love to present my work on the runway,” Head says. 

AfroComicCon provides an atmosphere where innovation is celebrated. 

“The fest is meant to inspire,” says James. He wants people sitting in the audience to think, “I can do that. I have a story. I have an imagination.” 

The films to be featured at AfroComicCon are from genres like Sci-fi, horror, and deal with social justice. The festival gives Black and brown filmmakers a voice and showcases their work. 

Bellah-Guther says this is an opportunity for the underserved and diverse filmmakers, who may not get into film fests as much as their white counterparts, to “flower and grow.” 

“It’s an event that is for and about them,” she says. These are independent filmmakers who aren’t reliant on, nor do they have the resources of, big-budget studios. 

One of the films, written and directed by Benjamin Mulholland, called The Lake Merritt Monster, is sort of like a horror, mystery, suspense film, says Bella-Guther. “There’s a monster in the lake,” she says. The film draws upon Oakland’s own dark underbelly and examines feelings of insecurity, loss, self-discovery and vengeance. 

Another, Sweet Santa Barbara Brown, is inspired by actual events involving the Harlem Globetrotters. This social-justice themed film deals with the “violent consequences of being Black in America.” 

Bellah-Guther says this year’s fest will be a “hugely different experience” from years’ past. They had to go virtual during the pandemic and they’ve never been at Grand Lake Theatre before. 

“This year is groundbreaking,” says Bellah-Guther. “Grand Lake Theatre is an iconic symbol of Oakland and evokes a lot for the people of Oakland. It’s beautiful. Finally, we’re where we should be. Where we belong.”

Andre Torrez is a digital content producer for KTVU. Email Andre at andre.torrez@fox.com or call him at 510-874-0579.