The 2025 Twin Cities Black Film Festival!
My annual sequestered weekend of non-stop Black films viewing begins this weekend. The 2025 Twin Cities Black Film Festival (TCBFF) is Friday and Saturday, Oct. 10-11 at the Capri Theatre. It then wraps up at the Indigo Hotel in downtown Minneapolis on Sunday, Oct. 12.
“We are thrilled to announce the upcoming 23rd year of the Twin Cities Black Film Festival,” said founder-director Natalie Morrow. I look forward each fall to watching all kinds of films and shorts of all genres, all by local and nationally based Black filmmakers. It’s a weekend worth spending away from sports.
At NABJ Cleveland in August, we saw a couple of sports-related films. “Eight on Eight,” a one-hour documentary by Andscape senior writer Jerry Bembry, features the quiet benevolence of the late basketball star Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash in January 2020. Eight stories are told by eight individuals who, after meeting the Hall of Famer and NBA star, all said their lives were forever impacted as a result.
“Andscape just allows us to do any stuff like [his film]. said Bembry, a veteran sportswriter, on working with the Black content studio for Disney and ESPN. “That’s why it’s a great place to work. The great thing about this project is that people really didn’t expect the connection that they were going to have” with Bryant, he pointed out.
“Eight on Eight” is available on ESPN+.
“She Runs the World” is the story of Allyson Felix, the most decorated Olympic track and field athlete in history, who at the peak of her career fought with the shoe company that sponsored her after she and her husband learned she was pregnant.
The almost two-hour film, in addition to Felix, features her brother and agent Wes Felix, their parents, and others.
“You’re going to watch two kids from South LA go and try to chase their dreams, and realize that as they start accomplishing some of these dreams, that there’s still a whole lot more work to do out there,” said Wes before the screening for Black journalists, including the MSR.
“Allyson and I wanted to make a documentary — it was probably 13 years ago. It was a fight to get this film made,” Wes added.
The film, which features never-before-seen archival footage of Allyson, premiered earlier this year at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. But Wes also stressed how hard it was to get the film picked up by a streaming service.
“Some of the feedback we started to hear from the big streamers was that stories about activism don’t do well for [them],” he reported. “We do think there’s a reason why we’re having trouble finding distribution.”
After the screening, Wes told the MSR, “I think the biggest thing as a brother that kind of hurts me is that they have not communicated through me. Allyson never heard from anyone there,” he said of Nike, the worldwide shoe and apparel company that initially refused to financially support his sister during her recovery period after her baby was born.
She went public with her fight, and eventually left the company and started her own shoe. “She doesn’t hate the brand, doesn’t hate the company,” said Wes on his sister. “I know that something that would mean a lot to her would just be able to hear someone say, ‘Thank you for challenging us. We’ve made changes, and now we’re getting better.”
Whether a sports film or two will be shown or not at the TCBFF this weekend, I will be there nonetheless. “This year will serve as a crucial fundraiser, allowing us to explore new heights, tackle challenges, and transition to a dynamic platform for the festival,” said Morrow.
“We invite everyone to show their support and contribute to our vision of creating a vibrant new home for the Twin Cities Black Film Festival this year.”
Charles Hallman welcomes reader comments to challman@spokesman-recorder.com.