The 5th annual Detroit Black Film Festival returns to the city Sept. 25-29, featuring an array of independent films at venues across the city. This year’s festival is themed “Cinema & Culture over Cocktails” and will be held in tandem with the Taste of Black Spirits National Conference, a tasting and educational event focusing on Black-owned spirits and beverages. 

The film festival includes 57 short and feature-length films from both emerging and veteran Black filmmakers. The Taste of Spirits event also includes financial education workshops and access to spirit and beverage distributors. Together, they’re focused on celebrating Black culture and creativity. 

RELATED: Detroit Institute of Arts ‘Regeneration’ exhibit spotlights trailblazing filmmakers, actors from early Black cinema

The two events are supported by the Ford Foundation and will be hosted at venues across metro Detroit including the Marlene Boll YMCA Theater, The Carr Center, the Michigan State University Detroit Center and more. Full festival passes and single-day tickets are available for purchase.

Host Stephen Henderson talks with the festival’s co-directors Marshalle and Lazar Favors about the various film genres represented at the festival, how the films were selected, and the festival’s impact on the independent film industry locally and around the world. They also talk about the activities taking place during the Taste of Black Spirits Conference.

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