2025 North Carolina Black Film Festival reveals lineup

The 22nd annual North Carolina Black Film Festival (NCBFF), showcasing the best in Black cinema, has announced the festival’s lineup.

The event will take place from April 10th – 13th, 2025 in Wilmington, North Carolina.

North Carolina Black Film Festival lineup

CineMixer – April 10

The festival will kick off with its opening reception, known as the CineMixer on April 10th at 6:00 PM at the Wilson Center at Cape Fear Community College, sponsored by Ken Weeden & Associates.

The evening will include live music from Village Minded, hor d’ouvres, and will end with two music documentary short films, APR – AFRICAN RHYTHMS POWER (directed by Nelson Shongo Leoni) and THE JAZZ PHOTOGRAPHER (directed by Cedric D Ingram).

Jengo’s Playhouse – April 11

The NCBFF festivities will continue at 5:00 PM on Friday, April 11th at Jengo’s Playhouse, with several blocks of shorts, documentaries, narratives, and feature films.

GHETTO CHILDREN

One of the feature films will be GHETTO CHILDREN (directed by Zac Manuel), a coming-of-age documentary about three childhood friends navigating adulthood while each living in the shadows of their famous fathers’ legacies (Cash Money Records’ Juvenile, B.G., and Soulja Slim).

COTTON CANDY BUBBLE GUM

The other feature will be COTTON CANDY BUBBLE GUM (directed by J Pinder), a vibrant coming-of-age comedy following 21-year-old Carter as he navigates the complexities of adulthood. The film recently had its World Premiere at SXSW.

LIFE IN MY EYES

There will also be a special community screening of LIFE IN MY EYES at Boseman’s Shoes at 6:30 PM.

Black Girls Film Camp and Jengo’s Playhouse – April 12

On Saturday, April 12th, film screenings will take place at Jengo’s Playhouse beginning at 10:00 AM and Black Girls Film Camp returns with a block of films from 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM.

About Black Girls Film Camp

Black Girls Film Camp seeks to close the representation gap with Black girls in media by cultivating the next generation of storytellers and amplifying their stories.

Cinematography 101 workshop

There will be a Cinematography 101 workshop at 11:00 AM at Vue21North with Isiah Donté Lee, the 2025 Visionary Award in Cinematography Honoree.

Family Cinema

Starting at 12:00 PM, the focus will shift to a variety of shorts and feature films. Family Cinema will be in the afternoon this year from 1:20 PM – 3:05 PM, featuring age-appropriate films for families.

Honor film producer and animator Bruce W. Smith

Bruce W. Smith (Submitted by North Carolina Black Film Festival)

Later that evening, the festival will honor film producer and animator Bruce W. Smith with the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award in Animation at 6:10 PM.

Smith will share some highlights of his work including the Oscar®-winning animated short HAIR LOVE. There will also be a Fireside Chat with Smith moderated by NCBFF Operations Administrator, Sandra McClammy, The Midday Miss from Coast 97.3FM.

HAIR LOVE

After the Fireside Chat, there will be a screening of OUR MOVEMENT STARTS HERE (directed by John Rash & Melanie Ho), a documentary about a rural community that inspired an environmental justice movement by fighting the state of North Carolina’s toxic landfill in 1982.

NBFF Award ceremony – April 13

The festival will close on Sunday, April 13th at the Cameron Art Museum with an Award Ceremony, honoring cinematographer Isiah Donté Lee with the 2025 Visionary Award in Cinematography.

Isiah Donté Lee (Submitted by North Carolina Black Film Festival)

The festival will also present awards for Best Documentary, Best Short, and Best Feature and the closing film will be MINNIE EVANS: DRAW OR DIE (directed by Linda Royal), a documentary exploring the inspirational life and artistic mastery of one of the most important African American artists of the 20th century.

North Carolina Black Film Festival tickets

Tickets and passes are available for purchase on Eventbrite – Festival Passes & Tickets.

The Red Carpet Premiere Pass is a VIP All-Access pass for $150, other festival passes and tickets are available for each day.

A complete festival schedule and details can be found online at www.BlackArtsAlliance.org.