Film: San Francisco Black Film Festival

San Francisco Black Film Festival will be screening a selection of films uplifting and celebrating the Black Diaspora. These films will showcase the African American culture, as well shed light on the injustices African Americans have faced over the past. 

Sunday's Schedule:

12:30 – 2:00 p.m. - From Nassua to Altadena: A Story told from Altadena

This deeply personal documentary traces the generational legacy of the Duncan family—one of Altadena’s most foundational Black families. Beginning in the Bahamas and extending to the foothills of Southern California, the film captures a migration journey marked by resilience, memory, and community. The documentary preserves the voices and contributions of those who helped shape Altadena’s Black cultural identity through archival photographs, intimate interviews, and rare family footage. Though completed before the 2025 Eaton Canyon Fire, the film is now a living artifact—a visual archive of people, place, and purpose. This is not just a family story but a record of Altadena’s soul. Directed by: Larry Morris. Produced by: James Farr. A Tunnel Vision and Morris Media Production.

NR, 88 mins., 2025. Closed captions (CC) in English.

2:00 – 2:10 p.m. - Intermission

2:10 – 3:12 p.m. - Jones Community: A Vision of Good Hope

A powerful story of a Black community in Maryland founded by formerly enslaved families. Centered around a historic fellowship hall, the film explores resilience, faith, and resistance in the face of segregation, racism, and gentrification—honoring a legacy that refuses to be forgotten. Film by James Farr. A Tunnel Vision Production.

NR, 61:42 mins. Closed captions (CC) in English.

3:15 – 3:45 p.m. - Q & A with Filmmaker James Farr  

3:45 – 4:00 p.m. - Intermission  

4:00 – 4:20 p.m. - Twice as Fast  

Tekle, a low-income Black teen, makes it into an elite high school where he feels more tokenized than recognized. As his sports team pushes him towards the big event, he searches for a way to speak his truth. A film by Yoel Iskindir.

NR, 19:29 mins., 2025. Closed captions (CC) in English.

4:25 – 5:20 p.m. - The (Almost) Lost Story of Tuxedo Junction

In the 1920s and 30s in thriving, industrial Ensley, Alabama, there was an area known as Tuxedo Junction, where the trolley lines interchanged. It was there that the black community gathered, coming in from all over the region, dressed to the nines in gowns and tuxedos, to dance, eat, shop, and listen to the all-black jazz band there, that included local legend, Erskine Hawkins. He would make his claim to fame for a song he wrote to fill space between sets, also named Tuxedo Junction, that would become the most well-known jazz tune of the time, partially due to the famous Glenn Miller Band covering it. Directed and produced by Katie Rogers, Periwinkle Productions and All the Way Entertainment.

NR, 53 mins., 2025. Closed captions (CC) in English. 

Founded in 1998 by Ave Montague (1945-2009), arts impresario, fashion industry executive and publicist, the San Francisco Black Film Festival provides a platform for Black filmmakers, screenwriters and actors to present their art. As a competitive film festival, SFBFF identifies filmmakers, screenwriters, and actors that are emerging as talents and established artists who are contributing to the cinematic legacy of African Americans. The San Francisco Black Film Festival has screened more than 10,000 films from around the world.