WILLIAMSBURG — The Virginia Black Film Festival will make its Williamsburg debut this week with a four-day celebration of film, culture and community.
The festival, scheduled Thursday through Sunday at the Kimball Theatre, will bring industry panels, fireside chats and cultural programming that highlights Black voices from across Virginia and beyond.
The festival also boasts a robust lineup of screenings, including features, shorts, narratives and documentaries — as well as masterclasses and a Black history tour, presented by Williamsburg-based The Village Initiative. Panels and classes will cover topics such as filming in Virginia, film distribution, entertainment law and film acting. This year’s theme is “Black Excellence: Past, Present, & Future.”
Bryan Thompson founded the Virginia Black Film Festival in 2024. (Bryan Thompson)
Guests include martial arts champion and author Willie “The Bam” Johnson, actor and Surry County native Antonio Charity and actor Marcus Scribner of “black-ish.” Sesha Joi Moon, Virginia’s chief diversity officer and director of diversity, equity and inclusion, will be the keynote speaker.
Actress Daphne Maxwell Reid, known for her role as Aunt Viv on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” is this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.
While Reid joked that receiving the award makes her feel like she’s “lived a lifetime,” she also expressed gratitude for the honor and spoke of the importance of the festival itself, especially in light of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
“Hopefully, the 250th (anniversary) will recognize the contributions of Black people in America, in the building of America,” Reid said in an interview. “The film festival is just one other way to show what we do, how we do it, and to tell our stories so that they get told.”
Festival founder Bryan Thompson, a William & Mary Law School graduate, created the Virginia Black Film Festival in 2024 after leading the Miami Web Series Festival, which he also created, for a decade.
In previous years, the festival was held around Juneteenth in Hampton. The decision to move it to Williamsburg came after scheduling conflicts with the original Juneteenth date in Hampton and an outreach effort from Williamsburg leaders.
“They said, ‘Hey, you know, we would really like to have the Virginia Black Film Festival in Williamsburg,’ and they gave me the reasons why,” Thompson said. “It aligns with VA250 celebration, it aligns with Williamsburg’s ongoing efforts to make sure that they recognize Black History Month in a very robust way, and frankly, they like how I do business.”
The Virginia Black Film Festival takes place over four days next week in Williamsburg. (Virginia Black Film Festival)
Although shifting the festival to Black History Month created a shorter planning timeline, Thompson said everyone has come together and “held hands around” him to ensure the festival’s success. Now, having the festival in Williamsburg — not only during Black History Month, but also in such a momentous year for the country — “feels perfect,” he said.
“Sometimes I feel as though the ancestors are speaking through me, and that they pulled me to Williamsburg specifically so that these messages can come across,” he said. “It’s not just the message of the films themselves, but it’s the presence of the festival. It’s the fact that the festival exists in a time where diversity, equity and inclusion are bad words … and it exists in a time where Virginia is sort of leading the country in some ways and going against that narrative, which is so ironic because this is the place where the Africans were brought.”
Thompson returned to the university as an executive MBA candidate at William & Mary’s Raymond A. Business School this January.
“For me, doing this is like a homecoming,” he said. “It feels very good seeing some familiar faces, (as well as) a lot of new faces. At the same time, we all have, you know, Tribe in common.”
An important feature of the festival is the spotlight placed on Hampton Roads creators, especially those emerging on the scene.
“We really wanted to bring everyone into the fold,” Thompson explained. “We don’t want to exclude you just because you’re in the process of becoming perfect in every way.”
While the Hampton Roads selection will be screened next Sunday, the region makes its mark across the other three days, as well. On Thursday, the award-winning documentary about the historic First Baptist Church in Williamsburg, “History Half Told is Untold,” created by the Let Freedom Ring Foundation, will screen at 7 p.m.; “Rise of the Legion,” a documentary about Norfolk State University’s Spartan Legion Marching band, will screen at 7 p.m. on Friday; “Displaced from the Birthplace of America,” a documentary, music and sculpture project, will screen at noon on Saturday. All three screenings will have a Q&A portion.
The award-winning documentary about the historic First Baptist Church in Williamsburg, “History Half Told is Untold,” will screen at 7 p.m. Feb. 19. (Let Freedom Ring Foundation)
Connie Matthews Harshaw, president of the Let Freedom Ring Foundation, said being part of the Virginia Black Film Festival “means a lot.” She said the project was launched to raise awareness locally and nationally about gaps in historical education, which led to the idea that “history half told is untold.” The documentary itself was filmed by William & Mary students.
“To have the film festival come here and to complete not just the history from the early centuries, but also the contemporary history means an awful lot,” Harshaw said. “The fact that we got a chance to have a part in that (completion) means that we’re getting some reward for the work that we put in.”
Thompson expressed hope and excitement for festival attendees, especially his fellow students.
“My hope, in general, with art, is that it brings people closer together of all backgrounds because there are certain things that everyone can understand,” Thompson said. “Everyone understands human emotions, you know, fear, pain, happiness, love.
“I believe that if people walk through those doors and they approach this art with an openness and with an intent to see how they connect with the stories, then I think that they’re going to see some beautiful things, and it’s going to change everyone for the better.”
Haidyn Brockelman, haidynbrockelman@gmail.com
If you go
What: Virginia Black Film Festival
When: Feb. 19-22
Where: Kimball Theatre, Duke of Gloucester Street, Williamsburg
Tickets and Info: virginiablackfilmfestival.com
“Displaced from the Birthplace of America,” a documentary, music and sculpture project about Williamsburg’s Historic Triangle Block, will screen at noon on Feb. 21. (James W. Robinson/The Virginia Gazette)
