The fourth annual Indianapolis Black Documentary Film Festival returns this August.
IBDFF, the only film festival in the country dedicated to documentaries showcasing Black stories, returns Aug. 4-6 at the Indianapolis Arts Center, Kan-Kan Cinema and Brasserie. The festival will feature approximately 31 films from directors across the world, said Eric Winston, executive director of IBDFF.
“What’s unique about this particular film festival is that, as we know, it is the only film festival in the country that is dedicated to Black documentaries,” Winston said. “Documentaries are different because documentaries as a rule are factual accounts of things that have happened in life — in African American life for sure — and Black people, and so we think that’s unique.”
The first of its kind, IBDFF got its start in 2019 and aims to uplift stories of African American life from around the world, Winston said. Although the festival is still in its infancy, Winston said they will continue to host it every year in hopes of attracting the attention of more documentarians and viewers invested in interesting and factual accounts of African Americans and Black people.
Winston said 31 of the 41 film submissions will be screened over the three-day festival. These will include a handful of films from local documentarians and several from foreign directors. Many of the films were produced within the last year; however, Winston said he aims to include older films whenever possible, including Deborah Riley Draper’s “Versailles ‘73: American Runway Revolution.”
One of the foreign films, “JAZZ MY HOME,” comes from a French documentarian and tells the story of Black jazz musicians who make their music and their living in France. Winston said the film is about an hour and 40 minutes and will screen on day two of the festival in the second block of films, beginning at 12:30 p.m.
“It is important for people to know that our festival is open to anyone, regardless of color, race, creed — whatever the case might be — open to anyone that can produce and to send us a film that is about the African American experience,” Winston said. “We will look at it and evaluate it with our team of reviewers, and if we like it, we’ll put it in the festival.”
Winston said the festival opens Aug. 4 with the screening of “Olympic Pride, American Prejudice.” This documentary, also by Draper, details the story of the 1936 Olympics and the 17 African American athletes who won medals alongside Jesse Owens. After the film, there will be a guided discussion.
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During the festival, Winston said they will award a filmmaker with the IBDFF Spotlight Award, which recognizes a filmmaker who highlights positive African American stories. This year, he said the award will go to Draper.
Because the festival will feature so many films, Winston said it had to be broken down into several days, blocks and locations.
“We have nine blocks, but you gotta remember these films are all different,” Winston said. “We have a six-minute film, we have an hour and fifty-five-minute film, so what we do is we package those films together and have a three-hour block.”
Opening night will take place at the Indianapolis Arts Center, screening “Olympic Pride, American Prejudice” at 6 p.m., followed by a Q & A. Day two and three, which will take place at both the Indianapolis Arts Center and Kan-Kan Cinema and Brasserie, will each include around 10 blocks, with two to three films and blocks from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The Indianapolis Black Documentary Film Festival takes place Aug. 4-6. Screenings begin Aug. 4 at 10 a.m. at the Indianapolis Arts Center and continue at Kan-Kan Cinema and Brasserie Aug. 5-6 beginning at 10 a.m. Ticketing information and a full film schedule can be found at ibdff.com. For questions, contact info@ibdff.com.
Contact staff writer Chloe McGowan at 317-762-7848 or chloegm@indyrecorder. Follow her on Twitter @chloe_mcgowanxx.
