AADL Welcomes: Ann Arbor Black Film Festival

Date(s): Sunday, June 7, 2026
Time: 1:00pm-5:30pm
Venue: Downtown Branch of AADL
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The Ann Arbor Black Film Festival is here to promote the vibrant culture of filmmaking in Ann Arbor, Michigan and showcase artists and media creators of color.

For teens & adults. Held in Lower Level Program Room.

This afternoon’s program includes the following films and workshops:

The Nights Were Velvet
Bloemfontein, South Africa
Director: Sara CF Gouveia
As actress Jane Mpholo prepares for an intensely personal solo performance, the boundaries between rehearsal and reality begin to blur. Confronted by echoes of her past, Jane is forced to reckon with buried memories and the unresolved grief surrounding her family. Every line she speaks feels like a confession as Jane discovers that art can be both a mirror and a wound. A meditation on memory, performance, and healing, this intimate short film explores how grief lingers and how art can become a form of release.

Stolen School
Evanston, IL
Director: Raphael Nash
STOLEN SCHOOL confronts the reality that desegregation wasn’t good for everyone. In 1967, the local school district in Evanston, IL, closed Foster School—the all-Black neighborhood school in the historically Black 5th Ward—in the name of integration. Rather than ensuring equal access to resources, this decision displaced generations of Black students, forcing them to be bussed across town while their community was left without a local school.

Are You A Librarian? Black Librarians and Freedom Through Literacy
Charlotte, NC
Director: Rodney Freeman
Are You a Librarian? is a personal mission to bring untouched important Black stories stories forward. It’s not just about honoring the past; it’s about inspiring a new generation to take up the mantle of literacy, freedom, and truth in an age where those very principles are under attack.

A2BFF Workshop: Using AI to Take Your Screenplay from Promise to Production
AI is reshaping Hollywood — not replacing storytellers, but empowering them to do more with less. Join us and learn to bridge the gap between promise and production using accessible, ethical, and creative technology.
Presented by native Detroiter Marc Harris.

Free Joan Little
Winston-Salem, NC
Director: Yoruba Richen
FREE JOAN LITTLE tells the story of the 1975 groundbreaking case of Joan Little who was the first woman in U.S history to be acquitted for using deadly force to resist sexual assault. Joan was a Black incarcerated woman in North Carolina who killed her white prison guard who was trying to rape her. Little’s murder trial became a cause celebre bringing together prominent advocates, black power activists , white feminists and anti-death penalty activists while catalyzing a nationwide discussion on sexual assault. With rare archival footage, contemporary interviews and the folk anthem that carried her cause, FREE JOAN LITTLE captures the spirit of resistance that made history.

Where’s My Coffee Cup?
Merced, CA
Director: Yehuda Sharim
At 64 and still in prison, John must navigate trauma and aging in a space that is not designed for a geriatric population. Like others, he faces the challenges of stairs, top bunks, food that is not made for human consumption, timely and adequate health care, and the everyday risks of violence and exploitation. John’s story is a call and a demand for compassion and justice.

Carceral Genocide and Cinema as a Space of Healing
A multi-media eve, making connections between carceral genocide, occupation, and immigration hosted by the director of “Where’s My Cup?”, Yehuda Sharim.

Other Days of Ann Arbor Black Film Festival

• Arbor Annie's Highlights
• BIPOC
• Free
• High Schoolers
• Indoor Activities
• Movies
• Parents

Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be cancelled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, or we can make mistakes.