Black Media Legacy: Honoring the Past, Shaping the Future | Beyond Resilience x BlackStar Film Festival
.png)
Black Media Legacy: Honoring the Past, Shaping the Future
BlackStar Film Festival 2025
Friday, August 1, 2025, 5:30pm ET
Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Daily Jawn Stage
300 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19102
Co-presented by Firelight Media’s Beyond Resilience Series
With Louis Massiah and Marcia Smith; moderated by Maori Karmael Holmes
RSVP TO ATTEND
Legacy is more than just remembrance — it’s a living, evolving force that continues to shape the future. This panel explores the lasting impact of pioneering Black filmmakers, storytellers and cultural workers, including William Greaves and Toni Cade Bambara, whose works and ideas continue to inspire new generations. Firelight’s cofounder Marcia Smith reflects on 25 years of championing BIPOC filmmakers and the role institutions play in shaping artistic legacies. Meanwhile, filmmaker Louis Massiah, founder of Scribe Video Center, discusses his latest work on Toni Cade Bambara and how her powerful storytelling remains vital today. Together, these changemakers will examine what it means to build, protect and carry forward a Black artistic legacy.
%20(1).png)
Beyond Resilience Masterclass: Making Music Docs that Sing
Firelight Media hosted a Beyond Resilience Masterclass with filmmakers behind some of the most lauded Black music documentaries of the decade.
Filming with Family | Beyond Resilience x CAAMFest Filmmaker Summit 2024
Firelight Media's Beyond Resilience series co-presented a panel at CAAMFest Filmmaker Summit in San Francisco.
%20(1).png)
Interrogating the Festival to Awards Pipeline | Beyond Resilience
Firelight Media and Distribution Advocates hosted a conversation about navigating the festival to awards pipeline for documentary filmmakers.
The Optics of Islam | Beyond Resilience
A conversation with filmmakers and scholars about Muslim and MENASA representation.
The Documentary System is Broken. Now What? | Beyond Resilience
How can we band together to (re)build a system that will ensure independent filmmakers can thrive?
Palestinian Voices | Beyond Resilience
Beyond Resilience, with support from Field of Vision, is proud to be a community partner for the Arab Film & Media Institute's 'Palestinian Voices' program.
Navigating the Ethical and Business Landscape of Artificial Intelligence | Beyond Resilience
A conversation about the evolution of artificial intelligence and its impact on documentary filmmaking, presented with DOC NYC PRO.
Let's Talk Money | Beyond Resilience
Join Firelight Media for a conversation about creating work, profiting from that work, and creating a sustainable career in nonfiction film.
STAY CONNECTED
