As part of a special international project called No Direct Flight, BlackStar will be live linking with filmmakers and audience at the British Film Institute (BFI) Southbank in London to discuss the possibility of a global black aesthetic. No Direct Flight is an international project partnering BlackStar, BFI and the British Film Council to look at the effects of 30 years of the internet on African diaspora filmmaking practices. The internet has become an alternative archive and created the possibility for a lineage of aesthetics to be shared between filmmakers globally. Selected filmmakers in London and Philadelphia will discuss the way the internet has allowed them to virally trade motifs across the world giving rise to a bold, black, globally influential aesthetic. We’ll investigate how the internet allows new languages to develop across a global filmmaking community, and seek to find out if there’s a lineage of diaspora aesthetics. This session will also explore how the internet has aided or hindered working practices and where filmmakers find themselves located in a hyper-connected world. Next year a special No Direct Flight program will land at BlackStar.

Speakers include: Nuotama Bodomo, Ja’Tovia Gary, Jenn Nkiru, & Cauleen Smith.