Official Selections: 12th LA Black Film Festival
Congratulations to our accepted filmmakers!
Films are listed in alphabetical order, index to the left.
Scroll Down to learn more about each film.
Pick Up
Short
A fun night out turns into a fight for survival when two college girlfriends realise the man driving them home isn't their Uber but someone far more dangerous.
Director: Idil Hermansen
Producer: Corban Bruce & Aleia Johnston
Writer: Idil Hermansen
Cast: Racheal Odwogo, Julia Fallon, Nathan Bate
Cinematographer: Jasmin Naish
Editor: Lloyd Carver
My films aim to be both entertaining and deeply rooted in reality. This project is for all the women who never got the chance to tell their stories about getting home safe, the unspoken vigilance, the constant calculations, and the anxiety that lingers, especially at night. Through intimate storytelling, I seek to validate these shared experiences and bring them into the light. As a biracial director, I’m passionate about expanding representation by portraying people of color not as passive figures, but as nuanced, empowered protagonists whose stories reflect agency, complexity, and strength.
Instagram: @IdilMedia
Sugar Water
Narrative Short
Sugar Water is a tender, atmospheric portrait of a young family in New Orleans navigating the fragile balance of love, poverty, and survival.
When the electricity is shut off one hot summer morning, a mother scrambles to find money to pay the bill while her two daughters—Kya, the eldest, and her asthmatic little sister—face the heat with courage and creativity. Left to care for her sister, Kya’s day becomes a quiet journey of determination and imagination as she searches for a way to ease her mother’s burden.
With a little bit of ingenuity and small acts of care she discovers the power of resourcefulness, and love in the face of hardship. Grounded in the rhythms of everyday life in New Orleans, Sugar Water is a story about resilience, childhood, and the sweetness that can still be found amid struggle.
Director: Jordan Joseph
Producer: Jordan Joseph, Logan Jackson, J. Alejandro Moreno
Writer: Jordan Joseph
Cast: Dawn Cornin, Riley Jenkins, Zoe Jenkins
Cinematographer: J. Alejandro Moreno
Editor: Jordan Joseph
Shot on 16mm Film
Website: https://sugarwatershort.com/
Instagram: @sugarwatershort
Teaching America
Short Film - Documentary
Los Angeles Premiere
Teaching America honors the high school students and teachers who stood united—embracing joy, dignity, brilliance, and love—when the state of Arkansas threatened to shut down their Advanced Placement African-American Studies classes. The film captures a powerful moment in America: a testament to wisdom, boundless curiosity, and an unshakable desire to learn that crosses boundaries and generations—in a time of forced erasure of our history, culture, and humanity.
Director: Anurima Bhargava
Producer: Anurima Bhargava, Alisa Payne, Geeta Gandbhir, Sam Pollard
Cinematographer: Jerry Henry, Joshua Makela
Editor: Niq Lewis
Winner: The John Michaels Social Justice Award, Big Muddy Film Festival 2026
Winner: The Grand Prize at the March on Washington Film Festival
Winner: The Audience Award at the Chicago South Asian Film Festival.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anurima1/?hl=en
The Sea
Short Film
Los Angeles Premier - West Coast Premiere
This experimental short film is a "Jazz Monologue" presented by an elusive oracle. Through rage and reflection, incendiary prose and inspirational poetry, he reminds us of the legacy of lies that define our human journey. And he insists that we embrace the redemptive power of truth, from generation to generation.
Director: Son Roberts
Producers: Son Roberts and Frank Francis
Writer: Frank Francis
Cast: Luther Hansraj
Cinematographer: Jackie Maloney
Editor: Son Roberts
Music: Kahil El’Zabar
Awards: Best Soundscape and Music - Toronto Short Film Festival 2026
Website: https://thejazzmonologues.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sonroberts
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesonroberts/