Short
USA Premiere 

Delvonte Clarke, a quiet yet driven 19-year-old ballet dancer, is striving for success not only to prove himself but to honour the sacrifices of his loving mother. Beneath his disciplined exterior lies an unspoken pain tied to the absence of his father, a wound he refuses to acknowledge as he pushes himself relentlessly toward his goals.

Director: Theodore K. Emile Rodney & Chaa Ustaoglu
Producer: Dominic Ko
Writer:  Theodore K. Emile Rodney            
Cast: Theodore K. Emile Rodney, Layo-Christina Akinlude
Cinematographer: Chaa Ustaoglu
Editor: Chaa Ustaoglu

Shot on 16mm film

Website: https://www.atthismomentfilm.com/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atthismoment_film/

Short

ATTACHED is a psychological thriller where the only thing scarier in your 20s than ghosts is not achieving your dreams. Draya's past comes back to haunt her as she struggles to pursue an acting career. With the help of her brash but sympathetic best friend Nya, she confronts her sense of control and fights her fears - for good. From intense dinner conversations to late-night makeovers, ATTACHED explores ambition, identity and how healing often means letting go.

Director: Kendra Monet & Demetrius Sadler
Producer: Kendra Monet & Demetrius Sadler
Writer: Kendra Monet & Demetrius Sadler  
Cast: Genyne Deal, Essence Sommers, Isaiah Joseph, Milani Jade, Jeremis Rodriguez, Mickalia Forrester-Ewen, Kylie Lavrenchik, Sarah Hogewood
Cinematographer: David A. Mejia
Editor: Celine Clarke

Outstanding Achievement Award: Best Thriller Short (Indie Short Fest)

Instagram: @attachedfilm_

Short
West Coast Premiere

18th Century composer Salieri feels challenged by Mozart’s success, and modern-day rapper Sal finds himself at odds with Moz, a genius upstart rapper. Salieri and Sal, fueled by jealousy, make a decision that changes the course of music forever. Their worlds collide as this tragedy unfolds.

Director: Kevin Kittle, Petey McGee
Producer: First Fight Films
Writers: Robert Patricio, Petey McGee        
Cast: Petey McGee, Robert Patricio, Maxim Jean, Walker Clermont, Lazarus Simmons
Cinematographer: Lucas Falco Cohen
Editor: Jean-Louis Droulers

Official Selection ABFF 2025

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firstfightfilms/?hl=en  (@firstfightfilms)

WORLD PREMIERE
Short Documentary (Student)

A short documentary about Black Indigenous Governance through Gule Wamkulu, or “the great dance of life,” a unifying practice for Chewa communities. 

Director: Kl. Peruzzo de Andrade
Producer: Dr. Devi Mucina 
Writer:  Kl. Peruzzo de Andrade         
Cast: Community Documentary 
Cinematographer: Kl. Peruzzo de Andrade     
Editor: Kl. Peruzzo de Andrade     

Website: https://www.uvic.ca/legacygalleries/home/news/current/legacy-hosts-first-ever-gule-wamkulu-masked-dance-ceremony.php

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peruzzo.prz/

Short
World Premiere

On the night he’s supposed to integrate with his Hive-mind alien girlfriend, James, a man with deep commitment issues, discovers his ex is also dating the same Hive.

Director: Nathan Bouie
Producer: Quinn Murphy, Jayla Hodge, Ami Coulibaly
Writer: Nathan  Bouie
Cast: Jai’Reeh Demond, Akira Jackson, Mckayla Fontanez
Cinematographer: Paul Carrabba Jr.
Editor: Noah Radant

Instagram: @Bouie_

The story revolves around a city notorious for its crime and home to some of the most infamous gangs in the country. Despite the pressures of his environment, a teenager feels trapped within it. He realizes that his city urgently needs change. But as a mere teen, he wonders what he can do to combat the evil he witnesses daily. Then, a lightning strike changes everything. He develops superpowers and decides to use his newfound abilities to clean up the community. He takes on supervillains, drug dealers, gangs and crooked cops.

Director: Marcus D. Newsome
Producer: Ryan Buchanan
Music by:  Ralphion Buchanan/ Malcom Rogers & Malique Davis/ Antionette Tatum 
Writer: Marcus D. Newsome/ James Davis
Cast: (irving.f.suero)
Consulting Director:  Ron myrick
Cinematographer: Marcus D. Newsome
Editor: Lonnie L. Newsome 

Twitter: @lscomicx

Facebook: Marcus D Newsome / Lightning Strike

Documentary
West Coast Premiere

The film, Making Their Pointe, tells the story of pioneering African-American ballet teachers who made it possible for children in underserved communities in Washington, D.C., to enter and thrive in the traditionally exclusive world of ballet during segregation. Their determination challenged barriers in the arts and created a lasting cultural legacy that continues to shape the District’s dance community and beyond.

Director: Kamilah Thurmon
Producer:  Beatrice Davis-Williams         
Cast: Virginia Johnson, Sandra Fortune-Green, Beatrice Davis-Williams, Lynn B. Welters, Kahina Haynes
Cinematographer: Jorge Sarmiento
Editor: Nora Rappaport

Website: www.gen2genmedia.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gen2genmedia/

Documentary Short

For over a decade, Coach Mike Jenkins has taught Olympic weightlifting for free in the heart of Oakland. With zero city support, he has built national and international champions, college‑bound scholars, and confident young leaders. But strength alone can’t keep the lights on.

Oakland Strong follows his fight to save the program as he brings his kids to City Hall to lift — for recognition, and for the city to finally take notice. Shot guerrilla‑style in just a few hours on a single day, the film captures a raw, honest snapshot of a community asking to be seen, asking for their program to survive, and showing exactly what Oakland is capable of.

This short documentary is a rally cry for generational health, community investment, and the power of one man to rewrite the narrative. Will Oakland finally recognize its own strength?

Director: David Godinez
Producer: Michael Jenkins
Writer: David Godinez
Cast: Michael Jenkins, Noah Junsay, Robert Whitlock, Reina Whitlock, Rucker Johnson, Legend Gabourel
Cinematographer: David Godinez
Editor: David Godinez

Awards / Accolades:
Winner of multiple festival awards, including Best Very Short Documentary

Documentary 
West Coast Premiere

Overburden is set in the mist-shrouded Nimba Mountains on the Liberia-Guinea border, where rare wildlife and local communities reclaim a landscape scarred by mining. Today, this fragile recovery faces a new threat: a global steel company using conservation promises to brand a new mining venture as green. 

With exclusive, on-the-ground access, Overburden follows rangers, scientists, and forest defenders - like Moses Darpey, a hunter turned ranger - as they navigate the tangled frontier where mining meets conservation, and where memory, science, and power collide. The film captures intimate encounters with the mountain’s extraordinary inhabitants, from a viviparous toad found nowhere else on earth to resilient cave-dwelling bats and combative chimpanzees. 

Overburden tells a powerful story of resilience and transformation. Through vivid cinematography and deeply rooted storytelling, the film celebrates the power of people and ecosystems to persist, rebuild, and thrive against overwhelming odds. 

Director: Sarita West
Producer: Gregg Mitman
Writer: Sarita West, Evelyn Franks, Gregg Mitman
Cast/Featuring: Moses Darpey, Shadrach Parwon Kerwillain, Catherine Kuku Dolo, Grace Kotee Zansi, Saye Thompson, Dada Konkah, Mnqobi Mamba, Johnny Gbah, Harrison Geh, Bennie Paye, Coleson Zuah, Moses Nyan
Cinematographer: Alexander Wiaplah, Ester De Roij
Editor: Evelyn Franks

Website: https://overburdenfilm.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fragmentsoftheforest/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61587263501644

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

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

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

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/

Feature,  Documentary
Los Angeles Premiere

Where's My Coffee Cup? tells the story of John, who, at 64 and still in prison, must navigate trauma and aging in a space that is not designed for a geriatric population. Like others, he faces the challenges of stairs, top bunks, food that is not made for human consumption, and the everyday risks of violence and exploitation. John’s story is a call and demand for compassion and justice.

Director: Yehuda Sharim
Producer: Margaret Beslau and Sharim Studio
Writer: John       
Cast: (comma separated, i.e. John Leguizamo, Viola Davis, Bowen Yang
Cinematographer: Yehuda Sharim 
Editor: Yeuhda Sharim
Sound: Y(E)S

30 film festival invitations worldwide and several awards and nominations for the BEST DOC 

Website: https://www.vatrilogy.com/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/SHARIMSTUDIO/?_rdc=2&_rdr
IG: https://www.instagram.com/sharimstudio/?igshid=tyk2ospkzgh2

Short
World Premiere

CRU is a short film about crisis response, mental illness, and the humanity too often lost in the telling of these moments.

 On a tense midnight call, a weary sister, a compassionate social worker, and two police officers with opposing philosophies respond to a man with schizophrenia in the grip of paranoia. As the situation escalates, each is forced to confront fear, bias, and the fragile line between control and compassion.

 At its core, CRU explores dignity, fear, and the human cost of crisis response, and how quickly people can be reduced to a single moment without the context of their full humanity.

 Director:  Jose M Verdejo
Producer:  Alexander Harris, Jose M Verdejo
Writer:  Alexander Harris, Jose M Verdejo
Cast:  Mashari Laila Bain – Yvonne, Carly Roland – Teri, Alexander Harris – Russell, Jeremy M. Miller – Officer Winn, Juliette Hourani – Officer Grayson, Jim Nieb – Captain Miller
Cinematographer:  Sonny Wong
Editor:  Jose M Verdejo