DEBUT Films: Docs Schedule


Sponsored by

Debut Films


Details

Date

Wed, Oct 8

Time

5:00PM – 9:00PM

RSVP & PREMIER OR EXECUTIVE TICKET REQUIRED.

To RSVP:
1) Download the Blackweek Conference app from the App store or Google Play store.
2) Tap the RSVP tile on the app home screen.
3) Tap on the event.
4) Tap the RSVP button at the top of the event page.

5:00PM

Welcome Speeches

5:05PM

Where I Became

Director

Executive Producer

Executive Producer

South African Scholar

South African Scholar

Under apartheid in South Africa, education and opportunity were scarce, especially for women. When Smith College boldly offered full scholarships to South African women, two accepted. Twelve more would follow, leaving behind everything they knew to pursue education and a better life.

Through interviews with the women, their families, and mentors, Where I Became tells how they escaped a violently divided system and built new lives. Produced by alumnae Jane Dawson Shang, and Tandiwe Njobe, who is one of the fourteen, and directed by Kate Geis, this entirely women-led film is a testament to the power of women’s voices, especially when united.

7:00PM

Invisible Beauty

The essential memoir of fashion pioneer Bethann Hardison, INVISIBLE BEAUTY shines a spotlight on one of the fashion industry’s most influential icons who, as a pioneering Black model, modeling agent and entrepreneur, has pushed the boundaries of fashion culture and has been at the forefront of progress throughout her career. In her lifetime, the singular and unapologetic Hardison has seen the pendulum swing toward and away from the Black model. At every setback, she spoke up and rallied her colleagues and clients in the industry to advance change. Now in her 70s, the Brooklyn native is writing her memoir, taking stock of her own legacy at a moment when the fashion industry is shaken by a racial reckoning. INVISIBLE BEAUTY, co-directed by Hardison and Frédéric Tcheng (Dior and I, Halston), traces her impact on fashion from runway shows in the 1970s to roundtables about the lack of racial diversity in the early 2000s. Featuring intimate interviews with luminaries including Iman, Tyson Beckford, Tracee Ellis Ross, Zendaya, Fran Lebowitz, Pat Cleveland, Naomi Campbell, and Stephen Burrows, INVISIBLE BEAUTY is an absorbing record of the racial evolution of fashion and an original contemplation on the life of an unparalleled trailblazer.


DEBUT Films: Shorts Schedule


Sponsored by

Debut Films


Details

Date

Tue, Oct 7

Time

5:00PM – 9:00PM

RSVP & PREMIER OR EXECUTIVE TICKET REQUIRED.

To RSVP:
1) Download the Blackweek Conference app from the App store or Google Play store.
2) Tap the RSVP tile on the app home screen.
3) Tap on the event.
4) Tap the RSVP button at the top of the event page.

5:00PM

Welcome Speeches

5:13PM

Blue

Dayna Lynn North

Director

BLUE — is a layered romantic dramedy about possibly finding love, maybe losing love, and definitely finding yourself, in an era ruled by devices and emojis. When a heart-on-her-sleeve woman (Imani Cheadle) has a surprise reunion with an old friend, the ensuing roller-coaster culminates in a chance encounter with the love of her life.

5:41PM

The Making of a Matriarch

Vanessa Cruz

Director

This “love letter to grandma” is voiced by a third-generation Dominican-American filmmaker as she uncovers her family heritage by examining the life of her grandmother who immigrated to the U.S in the 1960s.

6:09PM

Ariel Danziger

Director

Despierto

In Mexico City, Juan Daniel García Treviño and Sasha Gonzalez explore their connection as a passage to different dimensions.

Opening up the infinite possibilities of dream states through the lens of real couples, director Ariel Danziger captures Mexican actors Juan Daniel García Treviño and Sasha Gonzalez in a parallel world for short film Despierto. An intimate portrait, told from a different dimension, Despierto journeys deep into Dani and Sasha’s relationship as they marvel at the dreams accessed through their connection, contemplating the profound forces that bring them together in the present.

Letter to Rosie

LETTER TO ROSIE captures an intimate portrait about survival, self worth, self love, and overcoming all of life’s obstacles. Matt’s tormented past sexual and physical abusive life finds its way into this visually depiction. Matt’s last letter he wrote to his deceased mother. Narrated by MATT SANCHEZ. Who at the young age now of 21 has lived through more pain and suffering than most young men. But this story isn’t about MATT The VICTIM it’s about MATT the survivor. Our story is told to help heal others. To inspire, to trigger something within.

6:39PM

Ruby Rose Collins

Director

All the Love I Can Handle

all the love i could handle is a re-imagining of the filmmaker’s mother’s young diary, unraveling the raw complexities of motherhood, artistic ambition, and the enduring sacrifices women have to make as mothers and artists. Based on the true family story of pioneer filmmaker Kathleen Collins (Losing Ground, 1982).

7:11PM

Gaps

Jenn Shaw

Director

GAPS follows the story of Sydney Bailey, a 12-year-old struggling with her self-esteem and obsessing over her two gapped front teeth.

Showing the highs and lows of a Black adolescent navigating loving herself – which is no easy challenge in a world of beauty standards stacked against her. Sydney views her unique smile as a barrier to beauty and seeks out a dangerous method to change her grin. Only through turning to the Black women in her life, does she begin to shift her perspective to accept her gap as a gorgeous trait that’s been passed down through family generations. Through self-acceptance, Sydney begins to love her gap, for it makes her smile real.

7:21PM

Keur Simbara

Sea Armstrong

Director

Keur Simbara is a portrait of women leaders in a small village in the Thies region of Senegal. It explores the way that they have supported one another and their village through generations of care practices and organizing as they confront water scarcity while highlighting dreams for the future of their village.

7:53PM

Bygones

Angel McCoughtry

Director

Bygones is a powerful short film that explores the evolving relationship between a young basketball player, Charissa, and her unexpected mentor, JJ, a former coach with a complicated past. As JJ helps Charissa regain her confidence on and off the court, their bond deepensuntil a painful secret from JJ’s history surfaces, one that’s tied directly to Charissa’s own family.


DEBUT Films: Docs Presented by P&G’s Widen The Screen


Sponsored by

Debut Films


Details

Date

Wed, Oct 8

Time

5:00PM – 9:00PM

GUEST LIST IS CLOSED. RSVP & PREMIER OR EXECUTIVE TICKET REQUIRED.

RSVP & PREMIER OR EXECUTIVE TICKET REQUIRED.

To RSVP:
1) Download the Blackweek Conference app from the App store or Google Play store.
2) Tap the RSVP tile on the app home screen.
3) Tap on the event.
4) Tap the RSVP button at the top of the event page.

DEBUT is Blackweek’s culture festival and showcase, dedicated to spotlighting what’s new and next in film. In 2025, BLACKWEEK will feature several film screenings of independent filmmakers, featuring shorts, documentaries and feature-length films.

DEBUT Films is proudly presented by P&G’s Widen The Screen — a content creation, talent development, and partnership platform that celebrates creativity and enables Black creators to share the full richness of the Black experience. Through sustained action and investment, P&G is working to broaden the spectrum of the images we see, the voices we hear, and the stories we tell.


DEBUT Films: Shorts Presented by P&G’s Widen The Screen


Sponsored by

Debut Films


Details

Date

Tue, Oct 7

Time

5:00PM – 9:00PM

GUEST LIST IS CLOSED. RSVP & PREMIER OR EXECUTIVE TICKET REQUIRED.

RSVP & PREMIER OR EXECUTIVE TICKET REQUIRED.

To RSVP:
1) Download the Blackweek Conference app from the App store or Google Play store.
2) Tap the RSVP tile on the app home screen.
3) Tap on the event.
4) Tap the RSVP button at the top of the event page.

DEBUT is Blackweek’s culture festival and showcase, dedicated to spotlighting what’s new and next in film. In 2025, BLACKWEEK will feature several film screenings of independent filmmakers, featuring shorts, documentaries and feature-length films.

DEBUT Films is proudly presented by P&G’s Widen The Screen — a content creation, talent development, and partnership platform that celebrates creativity and enables Black creators to share the full richness of the Black experience. Through sustained action and investment, P&G is working to broaden the spectrum of the images we see, the voices we hear, and the stories we tell.


Despierto


Sponsored by

Debut Films


Details

Date

Tue, Oct 7

Time

6:00PM – 6:30PM

Director & Host

Ariel Danziger

Director

EVP, ECD – Razorfish (Publicis)

Q&A Host

Entrepreneur, Founder & CEO of aWLCo

Speaker

Bethann Hardison

Fashion Industry Icon

In Mexico City, Juan Daniel García Treviño and Sasha Gonzalez explore their connection as a passage to different dimensions.

Opening up the infinite possibilities of dream states through the lens of real couples, director Ariel Danziger captures Mexican actors Juan Daniel García Treviño and Sasha Gonzalez in a parallel world for short film Despierto. An intimate portrait, told from a different dimension, Despierto journeys deep into Dani and Sasha’s relationship as they marvel at the dreams accessed through their connection, contemplating the profound forces that bring them together in the present.

“Despierto explores the existence of different dimensions and delves into Dani and Sasha’s bond. The process was one for the books. We gathered all our friends, bought some 16mm film, practically borrowed a home, and flew to Mexico City. Two weeks later, we had it shot.”

Shooting on 16mm film at a borrowed home in Mexico City, Danziger developed an intricate visual narrative around Dani and Sasha’s private realm – casting a dreamlike filter over the world they share. Continuing the themes explored in 2020’s Somewhere, Despierto imagines the impenetrable bubble of romance as a passage to new realities, and how these imagined worlds materialize around us.

This Blackweek discussion is proudly sponsored by Shipt. We’re grateful for their generous support and commitment to right-sizing industries to help create more opportunity for equity and ownership.


Invisible Beauty


Sponsored by

Debut Films


Details

Date

Wed, Oct 8

Time

7:00PM – 9:00PM

Director & Host

Fashion Industry Icon
Director

Entrepreneur, Founder & CEO of aWLCo

Speaker

Bethann Hardison

Fashion Industry Icon

Coming soon.

This Blackweek discussion is proudly sponsored by Shipt. We’re grateful for their generous support and commitment to right-sizing industries to help create more opportunity for equity and ownership.


Where I Became


Sponsored by

Debut Films


Details

Date

Tue, Oct 8

Time

5:00PM – 7:00PM

Director & Host

TBD

Director

Entrepreneur, Founder & CEO of aWLCo

Speaker

Bethann Hardison

Fashion Industry Icon

Coming soon.

This Blackweek discussion is proudly sponsored by Shipt. We’re grateful for their generous support and commitment to right-sizing industries to help create more opportunity for equity and ownership.


Gaps


Sponsored by

Debut Films


Details

Date

Tue, Oct 7

Time

7:00PM – 7:30PM

Director & Host

Jenn Shaw

Director

Entrepreneur, Founder & CEO of aWLCo

Speaker

Bethann Hardison

Fashion Industry Icon

Coming soon.

This Blackweek discussion is proudly sponsored by Shipt. We’re grateful for their generous support and commitment to right-sizing industries to help create more opportunity for equity and ownership.


Letter to Rosie


Sponsored by

Debut Films


Details

Date

Tue, Oct 7

Time

6:00PM – 6:30PM

Director & Host

Ariel Danziger

Director

EVP, ECD – Razorfish (Publicis)

Q&A Host

Entrepreneur, Founder & CEO of aWLCo

Speaker

Bethann Hardison

Fashion Industry Icon

LETTER TO ROSIE captures an intimate portrait about survival, self worth, self love, and overcoming all of life’s obstacles. Matt’s tormented past sexual and physical abusive life finds its way into this visually depiction. Matt’s last letter he wrote to his deceased mother. Narrated by MATT SANCHEZ. Who at the young age now of 21 has lived through more pain and suffering than most young men. But this story isn’t about MATT The VICTIM it’s about MATT the survivor. Our story is told to help heal others. To inspire, to trigger something within.

This Blackweek discussion is proudly sponsored by Shipt. We’re grateful for their generous support and commitment to right-sizing industries to help create more opportunity for equity and ownership.


The Making of a Matriarch


Sponsored by

Debut Films


Details

Date

Tue, Oct 7

Time

5:30PM – 6:00PM

Director & Host

Vanessa Cruz

Director

CCO, HAVAS LYNX

Q&A Host

Entrepreneur, Founder & CEO of aWLCo

Speaker

Bethann Hardison

Fashion Industry Icon

This “love letter to grandma” is voiced by a third-generation Dominican-American filmmaker as she uncovers her family heritage by examining the life of her grandmother who immigrated to the U.S in the 1960s.

This Blackweek discussion is proudly sponsored by Shipt. We’re grateful for their generous support and commitment to right-sizing industries to help create more opportunity for equity and ownership.