Four Walls
Since its inception in 2006, Nashville’s International Black Film Festival has distinguished itself from other similar events. First, it’s the state’s only African American-established and African American-inspired film festival. Second, it has presented and debuted domestic and international works from filmmakers that spotlight often underexposed or overlooked aspects of the Black experience. And third, through its various panels and seminars, it has helped expose the Nashville community and indeed the Mid-South at large to cutting-edge cinematic developments from both a business and technical standpoint.
For its 18th year, IBFF will run from Sept. 27 to Oct. 1 with an intriguing and attractive group of selections. It continues to reflect the broad artistic vision and direction of its CEO and founder Hazel Joyner Smith, as well as chief operations officer Ingrid Brown and chief creative officer Ivy Brown. The lineup continues IBFF’s mission as a nonprofit organization to “encourage culturally accurate depictions of all people in film with special emphasis on providing a forum of access for underserved and unheard voices as well as to showcase the artistically rich creativity and diversity found around the globe.”
This year’s roster is divided between Marquee & Special Features, Narrative Features, Narrative Documentaries, Long Documentaries and Short Documentaries. There are four primary venues: the Looby Center Theater (2301 Rosa Parks Blvd.) will be the site for competition films; Belmont University’s R. Milton and Denice Johnson Center (1909 15th Ave. S.) will host both competition films and Marquee & Special Features as well as some panels; some other panels and special industry conversations are being held at Fisk University’s Appleton Hall (1000 17th Ave. N.); and a fourth site, The Loading Dock (2028A Lindell Ave.), will host additional panels as well as event parties and mixers. All four sites will have open box offices.
Leadbelly: The Man Who Invented Rock and Roll
Among numerous festival highlights are Curt Hahn’s Leadbelly: The Man Who Invented Rock and Roll, a documentary whose interview subjects include B.B. King, Joan Baez and Harry Belafonte, and South African thriller Four Walls from the creative team of Kgosana Monchusi, Menzi Mzimela and Juvaiś Dunn. Another promising title is Knock, Robert Louis Dean III’s contribution to the ever-growing field of Black horror.
Key panels include one celebrating 50 years of hip-hop, another on social justice in entertainment, and a third on a hot topic at the heart of the current WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes — “The Emergence of Artificial Intelligence in Creative Spaces.”
This edition will rank among the most varied, timely and informative in the festival’s history. A complete list of IBFF films, panels and special events, as well as information on obtaining tickets and passes, can be found at ibffevents.com.
