OUR RIGHT TO GAZE: Black Film Identities

extended to March 8th!

- 100% virtual -

The Luminal is proud to bring you a brand new collection of six short films by Black filmmakers that are playing at virtual cinemas of arthouse cinemas spanning from Seattle to New York City.   Emotional, freeing, and even absurd, Our Right to Gaze: Black Film Identities these filmmakers hope to subvert audience expectations as they offer an intimate glimpse into their world. 

The title of this collection is inspired by bell hooks’ writing on the oppositional gaze as resistance:”Not only will I stare, I want my look to change reality, and the theme, the “Paradox of Expectation”…the idea that wanting to rid yourself of expectations is a paradox – literally the expectation of no expectation, encapsulates the worlds all six of our filmmakers have built. Are they lying to themselves about who they are, or is the truth just not what they expect, but what they deserve?

 Featured short films include:

Love in Submission
by Antu Yacob & Lande Yoosuf 

A Hollywood Party
By Toryn Seabrooks

Nowhere
by Lin Que Ayoung

The Black Banshee
by Kyla Sylvers

Auntie Zariyah
by Zora Bikangaga

Pandemic Chronicles
By Ya’ke Smith 

This collection is fully curated by the team at The Luminal Theater, and organized in partnership with Full Spectrum Features, the Northwest Film Forum, and Circle Collective to empower and emphasize the voice and work of Black filmmakers.

70% of proceeds go directly to filmmakers.

Content Advisory:

• Pandemic Chronicles includes full nudity/mature content

• The Black Banshee features police violence

WHY THIS SERIES: To combat the systemic inequities still widely embedded in the independent film industry, Full Spectrum Features has partnered with the Northwest Film Forum, The Luminal Theater, and Circle Collective to empower and emphasize the voice and work of Black filmmakers through the Our Right to Gaze (ORTG) shorts collection. In an effort to support BIPOC and LGBTQ+ filmmakers, ORTG serves as a stepping stone to elevate traditionally unheard Black voices and Black stories that go beyond trauma. ORTG invites audiences into situations that both challenge and expand their worldviews, ultimately bringing viewers together through the common human experience.

For more information, see below the program descriptions or go to the FSF program page.