Ten award-winning films by students and recent graduates of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) will premiere on Jan. 27 as part of the inaugural HBCU Week NOW Student Film Festival.
The winning shorts will stream on the HBCU Week NOW YouTube channel. They were selected from a pool of 36 submissions from across the nation.
Each winning project receives a $5,000 award and inclusion in the festival produced by HBCU Week NOW, a public media partnership spearheaded by Maryland Public Television (MPT) and Black Public Media (BPM), the Harlem-based national media arts nonprofit.
The winning films run the gamut of genres, from documentary and experimental to animation and sci-fi. They were directed by students and recent graduates of Hampton University, Howard University, and Spelman College.
The shorts are: For Me, By Me by Hannah Koonce (Spelman College ’28); From Rodeo to Polo: The First HBCU Polo Team by Kendi King (Spelman College ’25); The Hale Academy by Audra Davison (Spelman College ’22); Lady T by Nia Lambert (Spelman College ’25); One and Only by Zachary Ramseur (Hampton University ’28); Paralysis by Analysis by Jolene Carter (Howard University ’25); Shotgun by Quaran Ahmad (Howard University ’25); StarChild by Miya Scaggs (Spelman College ’25); What Is The Black Body? by Amira Barrett (Spelman College ‘25); and Whispers of White by Kennedy Rome (Spelman College ’26).
The festival slate includes true stories of the first HBCU polo and lacrosse teams, fictional stories about environmental justice and the dangers of AI, explorations of femininity and the Black body, and more.
Black Public Media issued an open call for submissions in spring 2025. Eligible applicants were current HBCU students and recent graduates (within the last three years). Enrollment in a film or media program was not required.
“HBCU Week NOW honors the enduring history, legacy, and cultural heritage of HBCUs,” said Travis E. Mitchell, MPT senior vice president and chief content officer. “Our new film festival gives emerging filmmakers from these institutions a national stage, and the momentum to turn student work into the next wave of public media.”
Leslie Fields-Cruz, BPM executive director, said: “These films prove the pipeline is strong for Black stories of our past, present, and future.
“From intimate docs to audacious sci-fi projects, these artists are prepared to lead the next wave of storytelling,” she added.
HBCU Week NOW is a public media partnership comprising Maryland Public Television, PBS North Carolina, South Carolina Educational Television, WXXI Rochester, Louisiana Public Broadcasting, WABE Atlanta, Howard University Television, and WORLD, a leading public media digital channel.
Beyond launching the student film festival — a cornerstone initiative celebrating HBCU culture through authentic storytelling — HBCU Week NOW is amplifying its reach during Black History Month in February.
The acclaimed MPT documentary ‘Becoming Thurgood: America’s Social Architect’ returns to PBS stations nationwide (check local listings), while two new compelling short films, Bayou Magic: The Alvin Jazz Institute from Louisiana Public Broadcasting and Wall of Sound by Alabama Public Broadcasting, will premiere on the HBCU Week NOW YouTube channel, extending HBCU Week NOW’s mission to honor Black excellence across multiple platforms and audiences.
