Martin University to host Indianapolis Black Documentary Film Festival

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — In celebration of Black History Month, Martin University will host the 2023 Indianapolis Black Documentary Film Festival this Friday and Saturday.

The festival will be held in the Father Boniface Hardin Gatheretorium, located at 2186 N. Sherman Drive.

Event organizers say the goal of the event is to create a venue where Black filmmakers, storytellers, producers, and film community members can meet and appreciate the showcased films.

Three films will be screened and each screening will include a question-and-answer session after the movie is complete.

The festival kicks off at 6:30 p.m. Friday with “100 Years From Mississippi,” directed by Tarabu Betserai Kirkland.

The documentary tells the story of Mamie Lang Kirkland’s departure from Mississippi at age seven and her return to the state 100 years later.

“Mamie Kirkland left Aliceville, Mississippi, in 1915. She and her family left because her father was about to be lynched. And so she left Mississippi and vowed never to return to Mississippi. Her son, who is the director of the film, found out about this through her conversations and family conversations and he decided that he was going to make a film about it. She was 107 when she returned to Mississippi,” Eric Winston, executive director of the film, said Friday on Daybreak.

Two films will be screened Saturday afternoon: “Taking Israel” at 1 p.m. and “This Is [Not] Who We Are” at 3 p.m.

“Taking Israel” is the story of Wilberforce University students who traveled to Israel for nearly two decades to observe the country’s political, social, and educational conditions. “This Is [Not] Who We Are” explores the gap between Boulder, Colorado’s progressive self-image, and the lived experiences of its small Black community.

Tickets are still available and can be purchased on the festival’s Eventbrite page.