A New, Year-Long Black Film Series Just Launched in Oakland

"Early short films by Barry Jenkins and Ryan Coogler will be screening in Oakland in September, thanks to a new, year-long film series presented by the Sarah Webster Fabio Center for Social Justice. Black Film: Unscreened & Unstreamed is co-curated by Oakland filmmakers Cheryl Fabio and Rae Shaw, along with Cornelius Moore, the co-director of California Newsreel. Screenings through the end of 2025 will take place on Thursdays in the first floor gallery of Oakstop,"

"Full-length features on the 2025 schedule include documentaries like the much-lauded Daughters, about father-daughter relationships under the constraints of incarceration, and Uzikee, a profile of Washington, D.C. sculptor Uzikee Nelson. (The latter was directed by Nelson's nephew Doug Harris, who is from Berkeley.) A December event dedicated to Oakland's musical legacy will screen Fantastic Negrito: Have Your Lost Your Mind Yet?, a documentary about the Grammy-winning blues visionary."

"In addition to the upcoming movie screenings, workshops will be held to encourage and inspire new Bay Area filmmakers. Rae Shaw is hosting a screenwriting workshop on Aug. 28; on Sept. 25, Sareeta Young and CB Smith-Dahl will be hitting Lake Merritt to teach participants the best ways to make movies on their cell phones. Black Film: Unscreened & Unstreamed kicked off Aug. 14 with screenings of two of Nijla Mu'min's films, broadcasting the series' focus on Black culture and local filmmaking."

Early short films by Barry Jenkins and Ryan Coogler will screen in Oakland in September as part of Black Film: Unscreened & Unstreamed, a year-long series organized by the Sarah Webster Fabio Center for Social Justice. The series is co-curated by Cheryl Fabio, Rae Shaw and Cornelius Moore and presents screenings on Thursdays through the end of 2025 at Oakstop's first-floor gallery, each accompanied by hosted discussion and analysis. The 2025 lineup includes documentaries such as Daughters and Uzikee, plus a December screening of Fantastic Negrito: Have Your Lost Your Mind Yet?. Programming emphasizes Oakland-specific filmmakers and Black community-focused selection, and workshops and hands-on sessions will support new Bay Area filmmakers.

Read at Kqed