The 14th Honolulu African American Film Festival presents films that celebrate Black excellence in art and justice. See 11 features from the US—and one from France—that highlight issues relevant to our past and present.

The program is presented in collaboration with the Honolulu African American Film Festival committee: Daphne Barbee-Wooten, Ethan Caldwell, Akiemi Glenn, Tadia Rice, and Sandra Simms.

Schedule of Events

February 6, 2025

6:00PM - 9:00PM: Opening Reception + Film: Luther: Never Too Much
The festival kicks off with a reception and the Hawai'i premiere of the Luther Vandross documentary Luther: Never Too Much.
Cost: Adult: $50, 18 and Under: $40

7:30pm-9:00pm: Luther: Never Too Much
Celebrating the life and work of iconic musical performer Luther Vandross, from childhood talent to worldwide fame.

February 7, 2025

2:00PM-4:00PM: Dahomey

Acclaimed French-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop's new film is a poetic documentary about the 2021 repatriation of 26 objects that France had looted from the kingdom of Dahomey (now Benin) in 1892.

7:00PM-9:00PM: Following Harry
Experience the powerful story of Harry Belafonte, the 96-year-old civil rights pioneer, in this intimate documentary about an inspiring agent of change.

February 8, 2025

2:00PM - 4:00PM: Kemba
Based on the true story of criminal justice reform advocate Kemba Smith, who fell in love with a drug kingpin as a college student and faced life-changing consequences.

7:00PM-9:00PM: Color Book
This intimate portrait of a father navigating the experiences of raising a child with Down syndrome is a moving testament to resilience and love.

February 9, 2025

2PM-4PM: Family Tree
In the American South, Black landowners fight to maintain their family legacy and create sustainable forests for generations to come.

February 13, 2025

2PM-4PM: How to Sue the Klan
This documentary tells the story of how five Black women from Chattanooga used legal ingenuity to take on the Ku Klux Klan in a historic 1982 civil case.

February 14, 2025

2PM-4PM: Color Book
This intimate portrait of a father navigating the experiences of raising a child with Down syndrome is a moving testament to resilience and love.

7PM-9PM: How to Sue the Klan
This documentary tells the story of how five Black women from Chattanooga used legal ingenuity to take on the Ku Klux Klan in a historic 1982 civil case.

February 15, 2025

2:00PM - 4:00PM: Oscar Micheaux: The Superhero of Black Filmmaking

A look at the life and work of Oscar Micheaux, a pioneer of the African-American film industry.

7:00PM - 9:00PM: Murder in Harlem
Oscar Micheaux's powerful detective story is a still-relevant indictment of institutional racism in its depiction of a Black man wrongly accused of murder.

February 20, 2025

2:00PM-4:00PM: Following Harry
Experience the powerful story of Harry Belafonte, the 96-year-old civil rights pioneer, in this intimate documentary about an inspiring agent of change.

February 21, 2025

2:00PM-4:00PM: Dahomey

Acclaimed French-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop's new film is a poetic documentary about the 2021 repatriation of 26 objects that France had looted from the kingdom of Dahomey (now Benin) in 1892.

February 22, 2025

2PM-4PM: Songs from the Hole
A documentary visual album, Songs from the Hole follows James "JJ '88" Jacobs through a musical opus of hip hop and soul.

7PM-9PM: Family Tree
In the American South, Black landowners fight to maintain their family legacy and create sustainable forests for generations to come.

February 23, 2025

2PM-4PM: A Time to Yell: More than a Statue
This searing documentary details the events leading to the Charlottesville "Unite the Right" rally of 2017, offering the untold story from those who lived through it.

February 27, 2025

2PM-4PM: A Time to Yell: More than a Statue
This searing documentary details the events leading to the Charlottesville "Unite the Right" rally of 2017, offering the untold story from those who lived through it.

February 28, 2025

7:00PM-9:00PM: Dahomey

Acclaimed French-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop's new film is a poetic documentary about the 2021 repatriation of 26 objects that France had looted from the kingdom of Dahomey (now Benin) in 1892.

2PM-4PM: Songs from the Hole
A documentary visual album, Songs from the Hole follows James "JJ '88" Jacobs through a musical opus of hip hop and soul.

March 2, 2025

7:30pm-9:00pm: Luther: Never Too Much
Celebrating the life and work of iconic musical performer Luther Vandross, from childhood talent to worldwide fame.

Date: February 6–March 2, 2025

Cost:
Adult: $15
18 and Under: Free

Location:
Honolulu Museum of Art - Doris Duke Theatre
900 South Beretania Street,
Honolulu, HI 96814

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