Denton Black Film Festival Wraps Up Ninth Year, Eclipsing 10,000

DENTON, TEXAS, February 15, 2023 – The Denton Black Film Festival wrapped up its ninth year, topping 10,000 attendees and recognizing some of the nation’s top filmmakers.

The festival also featured its first-ever youth-centered event with the DFW Metro NAACP Youth Hackathon hosting nearly 75 students in collaboration with the NAACP DFW Branch. Students learned about the diverse career opportunities in technology, and provide an engaging experience immersed in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics, including learning how to fly drones.

Attendees from around the nation attended 98 films, three art exhibits, a technology expo, live music, spoken word poetry slam, and master classes, workshops, and panels to help creatives hone their craft.

“We’re really thrilled at our attendance this year, particularly after two years of a virtual festival,” said Harry Eaddy, the festival director. “We’ve got a passionate team of volunteers who make this one of the best-run events year-after-year, and we’re continuing to attract outstanding filmmakers who want to share their work with us.”

The festival today took place, in person – January 25^th – 29^th, in several Denton locations, and virtually January 29-February 6, 2023. This year’s sponsors included The Village Giving Circle at Texas Women’s. Panavision provided more than $20,000 camera packages each for the Best Narrative and Documentary films. Additional support came from the City of Denton, Denton County Transportation Authority and our media partner, NBC5.

Sy Smith, a widely acclaimed and long renowned as the “Queen of Underground Soul” for her edgy, progressive mix of funk, neo-soul and R&B, had an enthusiastic crowd clapping, finger-snapping and singing along at TWU’s Margo Jones Performing Arts Theater. Comedienne Angelia Walker, and a host of several other local comedians, including Mary Boyce, one of the festival’s longtime partners, packed the Patterson-Appleton Arts Center.

The TEC Expo highlighted the next generation of technology & innovation in Film, AI, VR, XR, immersive technologies along with a keynote presentation by David C. Williams, assistant vice president, automation at AT&T. Participating exhibitors include companies Peterbilt, UNT, TWU, NCTC, AMP Creative, Orant Charities, EarthX, Texas Film Commission and the City of Denton.

Here’s a list of this year’s film winners who were recognized at a special ceremony at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Denton:

Best Narrative Feature: Butterscotch Chocolate, Director DuJuan Paxton

RUNNER UP: The Long Way Up, Director Delante Sealey

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

WINNER: BLACK MOTHERS LOVE & RESIST, Director De’bora Souza Silva

TIE – RUNNER – UP

Blurring the Color Line, Director Crystal Lee Kwok

This is My Black, Director Stephen Adetumbi, Jarrett Roseborough

BEST NARRATIVE SHORTS

WINNER: Don’t You Go Nowhere, Director Bryan Poyser

RUNNER UP: Shoebox, Director David Fortune


Shoebox 
Director David Fortune

HONORABLE MENTION
: Jac on the Come Up, Director Gene Graham

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORTS

WINNER
: Camp Yoishi, 
Director Faith E Briggs

RUNNER UP: Prolyfyck, Director Faith Briggs, Tim Kemple

BEST EPISODIC/WEB SERIES

WINNER: 
FOUR WALLS – EPISODE 1
, Director Kgosana Monchusi, Menzi Mzimela, Juvais’ Dunn

RUNNER UP: Regular Negroes – Overnight Dishes, Director Reggie Williams

BEST COLLEGE SHORTS

WINNER: 
Leave A Message, 
Director Justin Carmichael Hollis

RUNNER-UP: Rules Are Rules, 
Director Claude J Hills III

BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC VIDEOS

WINNER
: Dollar 2 The Rich
, Director Lewis T Powell

RUNNERS-UP: SunShine On Yo Face Feat. Anne Harris, Director BIGLLOU Johnson

BEST SCREENDANCE FILM

WINNER
: Sheila
, Director Gabri Christa

RUNNER-UP: Promise Me You’ll Sing My Song, Director Jirard, Adam W. McKinney

BEST TEXAS NARRATIVE SHORTS

WINNER
: Don’t You Go Nowhere
, Director Bryan Poyser

RUNNER UP
: Meta Care
Director Jerold B. Couch

BEST TEXAS DOCUMENTARY SHORTS

WINNER: 
The Artful Dream Fulfilled: The African American Museum of Dallas, Director Shane Reitzammer

RUNNER-UP
: 150 Years of Resiliency; A Joppa Documentary, 
Director Curshion Royal Jones, Joslyn Madu

BEST TEXAS COLLEGE SHORTS

WINNER
: Revenge of the Relaxer
, Director Ashley “Tweety” Mason

RUNNER-UP: In My Artform, Director Lakeisha Nicole Hayes

2023 DENTON BLACK FILM FESTIVAL VIRTUAL PEOPLE’S CHOICE AUDIENCE AWARDS

BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE – BEAUTY’S KEEPER, Director Eric Rice

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE – 3 Way Statistical Tie,

Blurring the Color Line, Director Crystal Lee Kwok

Invented Before You Were Born, Director Jonathan Knight

Kumina Queen, Director Nyasha Laing

BEST NARRATIVE SHORT – Dick Control, Director Shequeta L. Smith

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT – Black in Hollywood: Carlton Jordan -‘Trials of Tokenism’, Director Brandon Miree

BEST EPISODIC/WEB SERIES – FOUR WALLS EPISODE 1, Directors  Kgosana Monchusi, Menzi Mzimela, and Juvais’ Dunn

BEST COLLEGE SHORT-TIE

Restless, Director Emmanuel Wilson

Pandemic Proposal, Director Michael E. Melvin

BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC VIDEO – Spotlight, Director  Vivian D. Payton

BEST SCREENDANCE FILM – No Votes Recorded

BEST TEXAS SHORT – 150 Years of Resiliency: A Joppa Documentary, Directors  Curshion Royal Jones and Joslyn Madu

BEST TEXAS COLLEGE SHORT – Restless,Director  Emmanuel Wilson

BEST TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL SHORT – Life Support, Director Stanley Turner

For more information about the festival and films, contact us at [email protected] or call (469) 573-0799 with your questions. To learn more, go to DentonBFF.com and follow the festival on social: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. 

About the Denton Black Film Festival
The Denton Black Film Festival is an annual cultural event, featuring the works of emerging filmmakers, creatives from around the country and talented college students, musicians, artists and spoken word poets. Held each January, thousands attend the celebration of storytelling in various art forms, which takes place in venues in Denton, Texas.