MVAAFF is a day away and I wish I could do the full lineup but unfortunately I will only be able to catch the last leg of the festival. The Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival takes place annually in Oak Bluffs, MA, and is a nine day event featuring films, shorts and documentaries by people of color. MVAAFF has been at the top of my list of film festivals I have always wanted to attend and I already have a list of films, documentaries, shorts, panels and events I am hoping to catch. Here are the ten I have my eyes on.

1. About Face

A 12 minute short directed by Robin Cloud about a young Black lesbian who finds herself in the small town ball culture of Hartford, Connecticut after getting kicked out of an elite boarding school. Sounds like an interesting one.

2. One Woman One Bra

A woman in a rural Kenyan village with no knowledge of her own parentage fights to claim her land and her identity at the same time. Director Vincho Nchogu makes her feature debut by confronting the real limitations of nonprofit organizations within rural communities. I missed this at Tribeca so I am glad to have another chance to catch it.

3. Children of Blood and Bone Panel

A conversation with director and co-screenwriter Gina Prince-Bythewood and Thuso Mbedu, featuring clips from the upcoming film. There is a lot of controversy surrounding this film’s release so it would be interesting to hear directly from the director. Either way I plan to support this film.

4. My Name is Joy

A 13 minute short directed by Alexandra Strunin about a 20 year old Mozambican woman who was sold by her father and trafficked across continents. After being rescued in Poland, Joy fights to reclaim her identity. This one is at the top of my list.

5. Jean-Michel Basquiat Documentary

A more intimate look at one of history’s most celebrated artists, led by Basquiat’s sisters Lisane and Jeanine, who offer a personal and comprehensive portrait of their brother through private stories and never before seen works. A real look at who Basquiat was from the people who actually knew him. I really wish I was in town for the full run of this one.

6. Until Further Notice

A short directed by Thato R. Mwosa about a trans African woman living in Boston who must make an impossible choice after her asylum is denied. With everything happening politically right now this is a very necessary story.

7. The Heir

A short directed by Tia A. Smith about a grieving granddaughter who inherits her grandmother’s home in a gentrifying DC neighborhood. As family tensions and generational wounds surface she is forced to choose between preserving tradition and redefining what legacy means for herself. Curious to see which direction this one takes.

8. Girl Dad

Directed by Solvan Slick Naim, this film follows a guarded Brooklyn teenager spending her first summer away from home with her estranged father, a struggling composer in Los Angeles. A used refrigerator becomes the unlikely catalyst for confronting old wounds between them. I have been enjoying Marsai Martin’s growth as an actress so I am looking forward to this one.

9. Homebirth

A short directed by Carra R. Patterson and Korey Jackson about a first time mother who plans the perfect home birth only to face a painful reality that far too many Black women in America already know. Doing everything right is still not always enough. We need more stories like this. Let me say it louder for the seats in the back. WE NEED MORE STORIES LIKE THIS.

10. The Color of Cola

Directed by Jacqueline Olive and Stanley Nelson, this documentary tells the story of how a pioneering company in the late 1940s broke corporate color barriers and changed how Black life was represented in American advertising. It centers on Ed Boyd and the first all Black sales team he built within a white corporate structure, tasked with reaching an African American consumer market that had been completely ignored. As they traveled through the Jim Crow South they faced bigotry at every turn and still achieved remarkable success, a success that would ultimately be used against them. This is at the top of my list.

That is my MVAAFF list. Let me know in the comments if anything caught your eye and I will be back with more after the festival wraps.