On Saturday, August 28, 2021, Firelight Media partnered with POV to host a private screening of Ashley O’Shay’s acclaimed documentary Unapologetic to celebrate its theatrical premiere in NYC. The event took place at Maysles Documentary Center in Harlem, and featured a red carpet and a DJ at the pre-screening reception. Following the screening was a surprise performance by Bella Bahhs, who performed the song “O.G.” featured in the film’s end credits. The night culminated with a post-screening Q&A with the filmmaker, her team, and protagonists from the film.

Unapologetic follows a group of Black millennial organizers who, after two police killings, challenge a Chicago administration complicit in state violence against its Black residents. Told through the lens of Janaé and Bella, two fierce abolitionist leaders, it is a deep look into the Movement for Black Lives, from the police murder of Rekia Boyd to the election of mayor Lori Lightfoot.

Ashley O’Shay is an alum of Firelight Media’s Documentary Lab, as well as a recipient of our inaugural Impact Campaign Fund. Through the Fund, O’Shay and her team received a grant to support audience and engagement-related campaigns for Unapologetic.

Visit our Medium page for a gallery of images from the evening.