NEWARK, NJ — The Newark Museum of Art invites filmmakers to submit their films for the 2022 Newark Black Film Festival and Paul Robeson Awards.
The festival has historically featured the Paul Robeson Awards, a biennial competition that allowed filmmakers to submit and screen their films as part of the festival. The Paul Robeson Awards have now merged with the main festival to create a competition where all films are eligible for awards each year. The Newark Black Film Festival once again commemorates the life and cinematic achievements of Paul Robeson through the presentation of these awards. The 48th anniversary of the program is marked in 2022.
“We are very proud to once again be presenting a film festival that heightens the historic importance of the black experience in the United States,” museum CEO and Director Linda C. Harrison said. “This renowned festival has screened 943 films since its inception. As we reimagine our programming in 2022, we are taking a new look at this signature event. With Paul Robeson as our muse, we will be focusing our celebration on independent and emerging filmmakers. I think our audiences will be excited about the fresh look of the Newark Black Film Festival.”
The festival will take place over four days, from Thursday, July 14, to Sunday, July 17. It kicks off with an opening event and concludes with the award ceremony, followed by a closing party.
Entry fees vary and films submitted by March 1 will be accepted with an early-bird entry fee. Entries submitted after that date are due no later than April 1. Films must be submitted digitally through filmfreeway.com/NBFF2022.
The winner of each category receives a $500 prize. Categories include: long narrative, short narrative, long documentary, short documentary, animation, experimental and web series. A grand prize of $1,000 will be presented to the festival’s best film. Review panelists include Dale E. Colston, Patricia Faison, Jeff Friday, LeRoy Henderson, LeRon Lee, Millicent Matthews, Lisa Payne, Yvonne Michelle Shirley, Ayana Stafford-Morris and Chairperson Richard Wesley.
Original films released since January 2019 will be considered. Films must be directed by a person who identifies as black or the film must tell a story of the black experience. Non-commercial or independent films, over which the filmmaker has had control of the finished piece, are preferred. Films produced for or shown on television or online are eligible if they meet the above criteria. If the length of selected works dictates, the screenings may be abbreviated. Films produced in other languages or countries may be entered if they have an English-language soundtrack or subtitles and meet the above criteria.
“As the Newark Museum of Art’s Black Film Festival moves toward its 50th year of summer presentations to an ever-widening audience, we plan to focus more on new films throughout the African diaspora and the emerging filmmakers who are telling those stories. America has changed, the world has changed, and so have the lives and experiences of millions of African and African-descended people striving daily. How we see these changes, define them and interact with them is undergoing change,” Wesley said. “The Newark Black Film Festival Committee audiences have, over the years, been involved in precisely that kind of dialogue with young filmmakers of past generations, from Spike Lee to the Hudlin brothers, from Ayoka Chenzira to Ava DuVernay — all have either premiered new films at the Newark Black Film Festival or have scheduled early screenings, learning from or being inspired by the reactions of our audience members during our lively post-screening discussions. The Newark Black Film Festival looks forward to our next 50 years, as new generations of filmmakers continue to chronicle the history of what Dr. (Martin Luther) King (Jr.) hailed as our stride toward freedom.”
The Newark Museum of Art’s Newark Black Film Festival is made possible by Bank of America. For more information, visit filmfreeway.com/NBFF2022.
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