The ‘Black Sundance' honoring film-makers of color and focusing on community building
So begins The Toni Cade Bambara School of Organizing, the biographical film about the Black author, documentarian and social activist whose work on Black liberation and feminism helped inspire 20th-century social justice movements. The documentary by the film-maker Louis Massiah is a composite of her words and stories from her friends including Toni Morrison.
A screening of the Toni Cade Bambara School of Organizing will kick off the 14th annual BlackStar Film Festival, running from 31 July to 3 August in various locations around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and online. Ranging from shorts to features, the more than 90 films in this year's program are 'leaning into the moment', said the festival director, Nehad Khader, by highlighting films about legacy and the power of community building, as well as labor and economics.
The festival, produced by the non-profit BlackStar Projects, showcases the work of film-makers of color, earning it the nickname, the 'Black Sundance' by Ebony Magazine. Last year, more than 15,000 viewers attended the BlackStar film festival in person and online. Its emphasis on genre-defying films, said Khader, and solidarity among Black, brown and Indigenous people sets it apart from similar festivals. Festival staff strive to make it inclusive by offering childcare to the film-makers throughout the showings, providing American sign language interpreters for public events, and including audio descriptions in some of the screenings.
Along with the films, the festival also features a session for eight independent film-makers to pitch their ideas to a judge of executives, funders and producers, with the chance to win $75,000 to go toward production costs, as well as mentorship from the production company Multitude Films. The team behind the StoryCorps program Brightness in Black, which highlights stories about Black life across the US, will also host a live event about using storytelling to inspire change. A licensed clinical social worker will guide festivalgoers to reflect on ancestral wisdom during wellness sessions throughout the four days, and yoga classes will be offered in the mornings. Panel discussions will highlight ways to preserve archives in the face of censorship, honor the legacy of Black film-makers and storytellers, and Black music as a tool for resistance. Mixers for film-makers and viewers will be held throughout the weekend, and the festival will begin and end with evening parties.
In our current socio-political climate, the Black Star Film Festival 'is a place to build community more than anything else', said Khader. 'In community you can grieve and you can celebrate and that's what human connection and society and evolution has been about for hundreds of thousands of years,' she said.
Massiah, who was a friend and colleague of Bambara's before her death in 1995, sees the BlackStar Film Festival attenders as the intended audience for his film. 'Bambara was clear,' Massiah said over email. 'She prophesizes in the film that a festival gathering like BlackStar is crucial for the kind of society that we're trying to build.'
Khader hopes that the message around the power of community in the opening film about Bambara will set the tone throughout the festival's four days. 'We want people to come away feeling like they're cared for, their wellness was thought of,' Khader said, 'like they had a moment in these difficult times to celebrate, and also to reflect on everything that's happening.'
In summer 2012, the film festival began as a screening of 40 films from four continents over four days. Maori Karmael Holmes, the founder, chief executive and artistic officer of BlackStar Projects, created the festival with her friends and colleagues out of what she saw as a dearth of showcases featuring Black film-makers. Full-time staff for the festival has grown from none in its first eight years to 20 this year.
BlackStar Projects has also expanded programming to include Seen, a twice-yearly journal featuring art and writings by Black, brown and Indigenous people. The group also hosted a seminar for cinematic artists of color in Palo Alto, California, in March. Four film-makers of color were selected for BlackStar's 2025 yearlong fellowship, in which they each received $50,000 in production funding, mentorship and their films will premiere at this year's festival. BlackStar Projects has also helped organize and curate multimedia exhibitions throughout Philadelphia for nearly a decade.
For Holmes, the annual festival goes beyond representation by not only ensuring that the films feature Black and brown actors, but also that they explore themes often overlooked by mainstream showcases, such as global solidarity and social justice.
'I think it's important for people whose stories often end up on the margins, to have a space where they are centered so that they can, in ways, find respite, joy and comfort,' Holmes said. 'A lot of film-makers talk about the audiences of the festival looking like their friends and family, where in a lot of the mainstream festival circuit, it's often people who are not like the film-maker.'
When Khader selects films for the festival, she said that she looks for ones that 'have their finger on the pulse of the moment, socially, politically, economically, environmentally'. Since viewers are based around the world, she chooses films that reflect global themes. For instance, the feature narrative All That's Left of You by Cherien Dabis navigates intergenerational trauma as a Palestinian mother recounts the 70 years of events that led her teenage son to be confronted by an Israeli soldier at a West Bank protest. Under the theme of legacy and grief, the documentary Third Act by Tadashi Nakamura is about his film-maker father, Robert Nakamura, a seminal figure in Asian American media who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
Black motherhood is explored in Listen to Me by the first-time film-makers Stephanie Etienne, a midwife and herbalist, and Kanika Harris, an executive director at the non-profit the National Association to Advance Black Birth, where she focuses on reproductive health; Holmes said that their 'urgent justice-oriented work' reflects an ethos that BlackStar looks for in films. The feature documentary follows three Black women facing institutional racism on their journey to motherhood.
Amid the exploration of joy and pain in the films, the festival's culture is akin to a family reunion, said Holmes. In its 14th year, some viewers attended as babies and have grown up along with the festival. 'It's a homecoming for the film-makers,' Holmes said, 'but it now also feels like a homecoming for the attendees.'
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In their filings, the judge was asked to issue a pre-trial order to "allow Westcott's repair expert Steve Norris to do a short three-hour house re-inspection of the property... so he can see what repairs were done and opine as to their reasonable value." His attorneys also asked the judge to "allow Westcott to take several re-depositions limited to 3 hours each of the following persons: Perry and Gudvi... Chris Pratt (the tenant at the property, concerning its condition or problems and the terms of his lease agreement with Perry), and Orlando Bloom, Perry's boyfriend and father of her child, whose deposition testimony showed would personally be in charge of repairs." They alleged, "Now that we know Perry just rented out the house to a famous actor, conducting a trial on the real merits... means that this court's discretion should be exercised to allow the few and very short depositions requested and to allow Mr. Norris to spend 3 hours re-inspecting the property. "Another reason for allowing the short and few depositions is to allow Westcott and this court to know who owns the house after the recent split between Perry and her boyfriend Orlando Bloom." Their filings also alleged, "The current issues were caused by Perry/Gudvi waiting until after the September 2024 discovery cutoff to perform repairs, unless they did no repairs yet were still able to rent out the house as-is to Chris Pratt, which would tend to show the alleged repairs were exaggerated to drum up damages. "Either way, Perry's conduct is unfair and without the requested house inspection and short depositions requested by Westcott deprives him of a trial on the real merits." PERRY TO TESTIFY The source told The U.S. Sun today, "Judge Lipner confirmed that Katy will have to testify for at least an hour or more to the damages claim." Timeline of Katy Perry's mansion battle against veteran Carl Westcott July 2020: Entrepreneur Carl Westcott, US Army veteran and founder of 1-800 Flowers - sold his Montecito mansion to Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom for $15 million. Westcott had bought it only two months earlier for about $11.25 million. August 2020: Westcott filed a lawsuit against Perry and Bloom's business manager, Bernie Gudvi, alleging he was heavily medicated and not of sound mind when he contracted with Perry for the sale. The pop star's legal team countered and alleged that Westcott, who has Huntington's disease, had changed his mind on the sale, and the contract should be upheld. December 2023: A judge ruled in favor of Perry, and upheld the original sales contract. A Los Angeles judge ruled that Westcott failed to prove incapacity, finding him of sound mind during the sale negotiations. March 2024: The keys were exchanged. On May 17, 2024, Perry officially took legal ownership after the deed was recorded. 2024-2025: Phase two of the legal action - after the successful verdict, Perry lodged a damages claim for $6 million against Westcott, who is bedridden and currently receiving 24/7 care. This claim has yet to go before court. August 2025: Damage claims and ongoing litigation - Perry has paid $9 million so far for the luxury property and is now seeking $6 million in damages, citing structural defects, deferred maintenance, and lost rental income. TRIAL IN AUGUST The latest legal request follows filings submitted by Westcott's legal team, lodged in the Superior Court early July, and which outlined a further motion in the case. The July documents show that Westcott asked the court to "exclude any and all evidence, references to evidence, exhibits, testimony or argument relating to claims for alleged damages concerning repairs allegedly needed at Mr. Westcott's former home located at... Santa Barbara, California, as of May 17, 2024." Westcott's legal team explained in these earlier filings that escrow closed on May 17, 2024, and that Perry "must testify" in the penalty phase. "Since Gudvi had signed the contract in his capacity as the agent of the singer Katy Perry, the court ruled that Perry is the real-party-in-interest as to the damages being sought in the Phase 2 trial and that she must testify during the trial." Who is Carl Westcott? Katy Perry is suing the bedridden and ailing veteran, 85, who has a neurological disorder Carl Westcott was born in 1939 at the charity hospital in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Westcott and his five sisters lived in a house without indoor plumbing. When Westcott was six, his father - who drove a logging truck - left and never returned. His mother became a nurse's aide, earning just $5 per eight-hour shift. When he was five, Westcott sold papers in front of the Vicksburg Hotel, as well as chewing gum - he also shined shoes. "By the time I was eight, I was making more money than my mother." The judge ruled that the boy should go to Columbia Training School, a state institution, until the situation improved at home. When Westcott was 16, he asked his mother to change his birth date in the family Bible to prove he was old enough to join the U.S. Army. He became a paratrooper and was honorably discharged as a corporal After becoming a successful car salesman, he joined Sopp Chevrolet as the dealership's general manager. In 1983, Westcott bought the NBC television affiliate in Tyler, Texas. His firm, Westcott Communications, became a pioneer in producing training programs in 18 fields such as automobile dealership management, certified public accountants, and law enforcement personnel. The company went public in 1989, and Westcott sold it in 1996. He said that, throughout his lengthy life, he has treated others with respect and dignity. Source: Horatio Algar Association of Distinguished Americans - Westcott was an award recipient in 2003 The documents also said that the property title, "was vested in the name of an entity supposedly owned by Perry called DDoveB LLC, a California limited liability company, formed on April 9, 2024. "The name of the LLC closely resembles the name Perry's daughter, Daisy Dove Bloom, the child of Perry and her long-time actor boyfriend, Mr. Orlando Bloom. "Westcott's counsel has repeatedly asked Perry's counsel who owns the LLC that owns the house? "This court has always been told that Gudvi is Perry's manager and agent, and at her deposition before Phase 1 Perry testified the house was to be owned by her and she was buying it to live in, and not to rent." QUESTIONS OVER REPAIRS Westcott's legal team claimed in the July court document that under the terms of the house sale contract, it stated the home was being sold "in its present physical condition" and that the singer "had the right to perform inspections" prior to escrow being closed. They alleged that "Perry's lawyers did not even produce a written schedule showing each alleged item of repair and the cost Perry is seeking for each allegedly defective condition." His lawyers also claimed in the documents that "newspapers reported that Perry had just rented the house to the actor Chris Pratt, whose wife is the daughter of Maria Shriver, whom the court will recall from the Phase 1 testimony was bidding against Perry to buy the property in 2020." This revelation prompted Westcott's team to "immediately contact Perry's counsel" and ask for further details about her current rental agreement with Pratt, per the document. His lawyers also requested an "expert" to visit the property to "visualize any repairs." 8 8 The document added, "Given that many of her prior 'estimates' totaling $2.29 million pertained to habitability items, it defies logic and common sense that she was able to rent the house to a famous actor. "Perry's counsel flatly refused in a series of approximately half a dozen meet and confer emails to even disclose if repairs had been done." FAMILY HOME The Daily Mail reported in June that the singer had rented out the property to Pratt. A source told the paper, "The arrangement suits Chris, but it's a bit of a surprise given how Katy fought tooth and nail to get her hands on the house. "She previously suggested it was the ideal place for her and Orlando to raise a family. "After all that time, energy, and money, it seems unthinkable that they are not going to live in it." The U.S. Sun has contacted representatives for Pratt, Perry and Bloom for comment on the latest developments in the bitter case. STRUGGLE Westcott had intended to live in his home for the remainder of his life, according to his angry family. His son, Chart, ranted on X last November, 'My family has been in a struggle against… Katy Perry and now Orlando Bloom to defend the honor of my father, Carl Westcott, who is dying from Huntington's Disease. 'He is a US Army Veteran and winner of the Horatio Alger US award (an honor he shares with Clarence Thomas, Buzz Aldrin, and Donald Trump's father Fred Trump). 'Celebrity privilege, much like political lawfare, must end. We cannot afford any two tier justice in America.' The Horatio Alger Award is given to exceptional leaders who 'personify the American Dream' and have triumphed over adversity to achieve greatness. The latest revelations come as photos showed Justin Trudeau and Perry enjoying a night out in Canada after the singer split with Bloom earlier this year. 8 8
