Inspired by L.A. Rebellion – the film movement that started at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and brought together Black film students from the late 1960s to the late ’80s in adopting cinema as a poetic expression for the African-American experience – a group of Loyola Marymount University (LMU) Black film students felt compelled to revive the link between the art form and their reality.
The Black Filmmaker Rebellion Film Festival was born in 2023 at the LMU campus as a way to “give Black students a place to land,” explained the chief organizer McCristol Harris. “It’s not about what we are doing now, it’s about what comes afterwards. There’s a small population of Black students here at LMU, and within the film school it’s even a smaller population. So, we have come together as a way for us to network, to build stories, and hopefully to leave something behind so that the students that come after us have something to build on … and [so that] we can come back as professionals and contribute to the students, to the school, and the Black community here.”
Following a successful second year of the festival, Black Filmmaker Rebellion expressed their gratitude in a letter to supporters:
Sponsors, Judges, Filmmakers, and Friends,
On behalf of Black Filmmaker Rebellion, we extend deep gratitude for such a successful night!
Together we cultivated a space that celebrates the creative efforts of so many young black filmmakers, FOR TWO YEARS IN A ROW; we sincerely hope you enjoyed yourselves as much as we did!
We want to thank the Golden Globe Foundation, New Filmmakers LA, Film Independent, LMU faculty/staff, our judges, donors, and each of you for making such a beautiful event possible. Without each of you showing up for us and this community we’ve created, moments like this would not be possible, so again, thank you all so much for showing up and showing out!
Last night we screened student work from film programs across greater Los Angeles. Everyone’s hard work and effort illustrated unique perspectives and clear creative intent! Our annual award winners are as follows:
Black Filmmaker Rebellion ’24 Judge’s Choice Award:
Filmmaker: India Bey (left)
Film: Blown Chances
School: Loyola Marymount University
Black Filmmaker Rebellion ’24 Audience Award:
Filmmaker: Guinevere Thomas (right)
Film: The Garden of Edette
School: American Film Institute
A massive congratulations to our winners and selectees who screened last night! We also want to thank all of the filmmakers who submitted this year, we hope you resubmit in the future!
We hope to see you all next year!
Warm and well wishes,
Black Filmmaker Rebellion
