Chicago’s Black Harvest Film Festival Celebrates 31 Years

Love stories, horror movies, documentaries and more will be a part of Chicago’s Black Harvest Film Festival. Photo courtesy Black Harvest Film Festival

Even though it is late in the season, the Chicago Black Harvest Film Festival is still a worthwhile venture for those seeking to view strong independent film work. Now in its 31st year, the week-long celebration of Black film works has brought well-known celebrities to the Gene Siskel Film Center on the campus of the School of the Art Institue. This year’s festival will feature the announcement of the winners of The Richard and Ellen Sandor Family Black Harvest Film Festival Prize, followed by a lively reception on opening night. Films showcased on the opening weekend include “Seeds,” a lyrical portrait of Black farmers in the American South, tracing land, lineage, and loss. Shyne captures quiet acts of care and resistance as families fight to preserve the soil and their story. Also” Paw Paw  & Dayja,” a family comedy where a Bigfoot-obsessed 10-year-old and her grandfather rediscover wonder through loss and laughter.

Serving as the curator for this year’s festival is Jada-Amina. Her professional pedagogy puts an emphasis on multidisciplinary cultural work and community building at the intersection of the arts and anti-oppression work. In the wake of funding cuts from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), it will be interesting to see how Amina and her talented crew can push this year’s event forward. When asked about what the process is like to put this year’s lineup together, she responded:

“It’s grueling… just kidding, it’s amazing. But it’s also so much more than just watching films — there’s math involved! We’re always thinking about resonance: how the work sits together, how it lands with audiences, and yes, about showtimes. The guiding question for me is always: how do we keep this festival viable — energetically and economically — for our community? What’s never surprising is how Black filmmakers continue to show up with brilliance. Black Harvest is a sanctuary for Black cinema, and I try to curate from that place.”

She added that there are a few films she thinks could surprise audience members this year. Two films of interest are “Invisible Giants,” which celebrates the cultural and organizing spirit of Black women who shaped Chicago’s legacy by featuring griots. The other is “Sapphire & Crystals,” which takes a look at pioneering Black women artists whose work continues to shape Chicago’s cultural landscape.

The third day of the festival, Nov. 9, could be the film many people in Chicago are looking forward to the most. “Move Ya Body: The Birth of House,” a soulful chronicle of Chicago’s house music—its powerful roots and its echoes, and its power to move the world through rhythm, memory, and joy.

To view the full festival lineup and purchase tickets, you can visit the Black Harvest Film Festival website.