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Showing posts from 2026

Beyond the Festival: From Fiji to Cameroon, Alma and Signify TV Bring Independent Films to New Audiences

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A dramatic moment from A Cry from the Forest , directed by Lynno Lovert and starring Laura Onyama. Building on its debut festival in the Dominican Republic and its Ent-Tech (Innovation and Discovery Expo), Alma is putting its 42-country network to work, giving independent films and music videos a life beyond the festival circuit. ATLANTA — Here is the quiet problem with most independent films: they premiere, they win applause, maybe an award or two, and then they go dormant, many of them left sitting on a hard drive for years. Too often, these filmmakers never reach the audiences most eager to see their work. The Alma Film Festival and Signify TV are taking steps to change that. It’s a big problem, and no single partnership can solve it. But together, the two organizations are doing their part to connect more filmmakers with more audiences, one country, one creative community and one story at a time. The partnership arrives during a breakout year for Alma. In March, the festival made ...

Celia’s Cabin Selected for BBR Films’ November 18 Screening Event in Marietta

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Historical film examines race, gender, and justice through the story of an enslaved woman’s resistance to sexual violence. MARIETTA, Georgia — Celia’s Cabin has been officially selected for BBR Films’ upcoming screening event on November 18, from 6–10 p.m., at Studio Movie Grill in Marietta, Georgia. Directed by Shay Franklin and written by Leslie Black , Khalimah Gaston , and Anthony R. Page , the film stars Leslie Black , Anna Broadway , and Jarrett Michael Collins . Cinematographer Chris Anthony Hamilton brings the story to the screen through beautifully composed imagery. The film centers on Celia, an enslaved woman who killed her enslaver after enduring years of sexual violence. Her 1855 trial exposed a devastating injustice: a legal system that held her accountable for resisting violence while denying her protection from it. She was ultimately convicted and executed. Celia’s story brings questions of race, gender, power, and bodily autonomy into focus. It challenges audiences t...

First Frame Film Academy Expands from the Dominican Republic to Chattanooga

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New two-day youth filmmaking camp connects visual storytelling, creative collaboration, and community health awareness. CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee — First Frame Film Academy is expanding its youth filmmaking initiative to Chattanooga with a two-day camp sponsored by the Chattanooga STEAM and Health Career Academy , C ommon Spirit Memorial Hospital , and the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga . Open to students in grades 8–10 , the camp will take place November 14–15, 2026, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. each day . Space is limited. The Chattanooga launch builds on the academy’s inaugural five-day intensive held July 13–17, 2026 , in Las Terrenas, Samaná, Dominican Republic . That program introduced young creatives to the complete filmmaking process through hands-on workshops, collaborative learning, and guided creative development. The July intensive explored five filmmaking stages: development, pre-production, production, post-production, and marketing and distribution. Students explored ...

Black. Brown. Beyond Borders. Ethnic Identity Across Countries, Continents, and Cultures.

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Ent-Tech (Innovation & Discovery Expo) brought Je Suis Noires to Georgia State University, continuing an Alma Film Festival conversation across cultures, countries, and generations. Georgia State University hosted a special screening of Je Suis Noires , directed by Rachel M’Bon and Juliana Fanjul , followed by a global cultural conversation as part of the Alma Film Festival’s Ent-Tech (Innovation & Discovery Expo). Special guest Tallulah Patricia , founder of AfroSwissters , joined us from Zurich, Switzerland. The conversation was intimate, marked by a level of transparency and honesty we don’t often experience in public spaces. Presented and sponsored by Georgia State University’s Honors College , the event received support from the Department of Africana Studies , the Institute for Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies , and the Center for Studies on Africa and Its Diaspora . Special thanks go to Dean Sarah Cook of the Honors College and Dr. Jonathan Gayles for brin...

An Emerging Partnership with Samala Cronin of Australia’s First Nations Community

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ALMA FILM FESTIVAL - PARTNERSHIP LOADING We’re excited to be developing a new partnership with Samala Cronin and her fashion design house, Mumred , whose work celebrates her First Nations culture in Australia. Spending time with Samala and her community has been a wonderful opportunity to listen, learn, and appreciate the beauty and individuality of their cultural traditions. Her fashion has a signature all its own, offering a window into stories and creative expressions that deserve greater visibility around the world. Our engagement with Samala affirms once again what we’ve recognized across the Global South, particularly, and in other parts of the world as well: there is a Renaissance of Reclamation . People are taking control of their narratives and building systems that embrace a more authentic, more accurate, and more complete representation of their humanity. Together, we’re developing activities and programming that will connect our communities—expanding our presence within he...

“My Father’s Dream” Featured at the Alma Film Festival’s Ent-Tech Atlanta Opening Night

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The Alma Experience brings theatre, wine, fashion, music, and technology-infused improv to Castleberry Hill on September 30 ATLANTA, GA — The Alma Film Festival will present My Father’s Dream , a short play by Anthony R. Page and S. Denise Couba, during The Alma Experience: Opening Night on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. The evening takes place at Palate Atlanta Tasting Room, 339 Nelson St SW , in Atlanta’s historic Castleberry Hill neighborhood, as part of the Ent-Tech Atlanta Innovation & Discovery Expo . Set in the summer of 1967, My Father’s Dream unfolds in the kitchen of a widowed Atlanta mother. As one daughter fights to reopen her late father’s restaurant and her brother is drawn toward a more radical response to the changing world around him, the family confronts grief, generational responsibility, and competing visions of the future. At its heart, the play asks what it costs—and what it takes—to keep a dream alive. Presented by Blue Bistro Theatre , the p...

Afro Mosaic Cinema Summit to Begin a Conversation Toward a Global Cinematic Agenda

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  Afro Mosaic Cinema Summit to Begin a Conversation Toward a Global Cinematic Agenda Join the conversation in Atlanta or virtually from around the world on October 4. ATLANTA — The Afro Mosaic Cinema Circle will present the Afro Mosaic Cinema Summit on Sunday, October 4, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time , bringing participants together in person and online to explore a simple question: What can we agree on as a starting point for a global cinematic agenda? Facilitated by Anthony Page, festival director of the Alma Film Festival , the summit will take place in the symposium room at the Russell Innovation Center in Atlanta . A virtual link will allow participants around the world to join the discussion. “We know that creative economies around the world have distinct needs, and there may be many things we don’t agree on,” said Page. “But what are the one, two, or three things we can agree on? That’s where a global cinematic agenda can begin. We want to start small and grow organicall...

The Alma Experience Returns October 3 with “Adira De La Croix 6.0,” Channel Seven, and an Impact Atlanta International Magazine Cover Reveal

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The Alma Film Festival brings theatre, fashion, music, and conversation to Castleberry Hill during the Ent-Tech Atlanta Innovation & Discovery Expo ATLANTA, GA — What makes us human—and how do art, culture, and technology shape the answer? The Alma Film Festival will bring that question to the stage during The Alma Experience: Culture, Cocktails & Conversation , taking place Saturday, October 3, 2026, beginning at 6:30 p.m. , at Palate Atlanta Tasting Room, 339 Nelson St SW , in Atlanta’s historic Castleberry Hill neighborhood. Part of the Ent-Tech Atlanta Innovation & Discovery Expo , the evening combines live theatre, musical performances, fashion, improv, and a magazine cover reveal in a setting designed for conversation and connection. At its center is a return engagement of Adira De La Croix 6.0 , an Afrofuturistic drama by Anthony R. Page, presented by Blue Bistro Theatre with support from Panta Rhei , a Greek voice and movement theatre company, and the Georgia Stat...

From Switzerland to Atlanta: Je Suis Noires Explores Black Identity and Belonging.

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Featured in Je Suis Noires, Zurich-based cultural advocate Tallulah Patricia brings her perspective on Black womanhood in Switzerland to a public screening and conversation at Georgia State University. ATLANTA — Georgia State University’s Honors College will host a free public screening and discussion of Je Suis Noires (Becoming a Black Woman) on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, at noon in the university’s Speaker’s Auditorium. Traveling from Zurich, Switzerland, Tallulah Patricia , a cultural advocate featured in the documentary, will join Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Alahna Lark and Georgia State scholar Dr. Rashana Vikara Lydner for a conversation with the audience about womanhood, representation, and belonging in Switzerland and the United States. Directed by Rachel M’Bon and Juliana Fanjul , the documentary follows M’Bon’s exploration of Black womanhood in Switzerland alongside the experiences of other Black women. Their accounts confront structural racism, challenge stereotype...

CineBlock Brings Live Demonstration and Two Featured Productions to Ent-Tech Atlanta

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The Emancipation of Limits and Sundays After Church anchor a closer look at independent entertainment financing. ATLANTA — CineBlock Films  will present a live demonstration featuring two productions it currently represents— The Emancipation of Limits and Sundays After Church —during Alma Film Festival’s Ent-Tech Innovation & Discovery Expo on Saturday, October 3, 2026. The expo takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Hilton Atlanta, 255 Courtland Street NE, with Sharif Bennett representing CineBlock. The program brings audiences into direct contact with innovators working across entertainment, technology, and storytelling. CineBlock Films helps filmmakers navigate the business behind their stories with tools for campaign setup, investor onboarding, payment processing, and tracking—connecting financing with audience participation. Their marketplace connects creators seeking financing with audiences interested in investing in entertainment projects. Its live demonstration will ...

Ron Daise to Deliver Crown Forum Keynote at Morehouse for Centering 1526 Symposium & Imbongi

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Acclaimed author, educator, Emmy-nominated performer and Gullah Geechee cultural interpreter will open a day examining 1526, cultural memory and the deeper foundations of African American history. ATLANTA — Acclaimed author, educator, performer and Gullah Geechee cultural interpreter Ron Daise will deliver the Crown Forum keynote for Centering 1526: Symposium & Imbongi , Thursday, October 1, 2026, at the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College . Daise will speak from 11:00–11:50 AM , helping establish the cultural and historical foundation for a day of scholarship, student research, panels, roundtables, and public dialogue shaped by the work of Dr. Samuel T. Livingston of Morehouse College’s Department of Africana Studies and History . Few voices are better positioned to help open that conversation. A native of St. Helena Island, South Carolina , Daise has spent nearly four decades carrying Gullah Geechee history beyond the boundaries of archives and acad...

Alma Film Festival Expands Atlanta Screenings and Conversations Around Award-Winning Je Suis Noires

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Directed by Rachel M’Bon and Juliana Fanjul, the documentary received Alma’s Best Documentary award, while M’Bon received the inaugural Dr. Cornel West Award for Global Truth & Cultural Conscience. ATLANTA —   The Alma Film Festival will present a series of screenings and public conversations around Je Suis Noires (Becoming a Black Woman) , directed by Rachel M’Bon and Juliana Fanjul , during Ent-Tech (Innovation and Discovery Expo), September 30–October 4, 2026 . Since first presenting the film, Alma has continued a conversation about identity, race, womanhood, belonging, and the experiences of Black women across national and cultural boundaries. On May 30, 2026, Alma presented a private screening of Je Suis Noires at Palate Atlanta Tasting Room for a gathering of executive and professional women. The screening was followed by a community conversation in which attendees reflected on the film and their own experiences of race, gender, professional life, and cultural identity...