Black Films Matter plans AfroFuturism Film Festival for 2024

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Highlighting black stories has always been the goal of Black Films Matter.

The group has hosted several movie screenings over the years and now its founders want to help black filmmakers get their ideas from script to the silver screen. Action News Jax Anchor Tenikka Hughes learned how they are drawing inspiration from Jacksonville’s past as they look to the future.

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From screening major motion pictures like The Woman King to Kuongoza, the visual album of local artist Ebony Payne-English, Black Films Matter has been on a mission to bring black film experiences to our community.

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Trey Ford is a cofounder of Black Films Matter. Ford said, “The first time we did one in Jacksonville, it was for Queen and Slim and we actually had one of the actors come up and be a part of that screening as well. We’ve done Coming to America 2 as a big pop-up drive-in by Regency Mall. We even did the King Richard film and we did it here in the Jesse Ball DuPont Center.”

Now Black Films Matter is looking to expand its efforts by helping more independent black filmmakers and screenwriters bring their art to the big screen -- through Jacksonville’s first Afrofuturism Film Festival.

What is Afrofuturism? Think Marvel’s Black Panther or HBO’s The Watchmen.

Ford said, “It gives us the opportunity to imagine our future, how it is today, especially with what’s going on with our history as far as it being censored and you know, take matters into our own hands as far as learning and projecting what we want to see for Black culture in the future.”

Ford says the desire to share Black films of the future is inspired by visionaries of the past. Jacksonville’s own Norman Studios was one of the country’s first silent film studios to produce films featuring African-American characters in positive, non-stereotypical roles.

Related Story: ‘They don’t understand what happened here’: Non-profit pushes to restore Norman Studios

Ford said, “So just to share like our creativity and our origin in this space is important for me and Norman Studios is the catalyst for that and the seed for that.”

Ford says the Afrofuturism Film Festival will happen during Black History Month in 2024. But in the coming months, Black Films Matter will host a short film contest. It will be open to people across the country and Ford said he can’t wait to see how Duval creatives represent.

Ford said, “One of the reasons we want to do it here in Jacksonville but open it up to the world is because we want people to put some respect on Jacksonville’s name as the original Hollywood.”

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To learn more about Black Films Matter click here.

To get more information on the Afrofuturism Film Festival click here.