Curated News
By: NewsRamp Editorial Staff
October 20, 2025
Reel Sisters Film Festival Celebrates Women Filmmakers with 28th Season
TLDR
- Reel Sisters Film Festival offers networking opportunities with industry professionals and showcases Oscar-qualifying films that could advance careers for women filmmakers.
- The four-week festival includes in-person screenings at multiple Brooklyn venues from October 8-29, 2025, plus a virtual showcase streaming October 25 through November 10.
- This festival amplifies women of color filmmakers and brings communities together through stories focused on healing, activism, and underrepresented perspectives.
- Discover diverse films exploring everything from African Diasporic dance to time-travel adventures and maternal health advocacy across multiple genres and formats.
Impact - Why it Matters
This festival matters because it addresses the critical underrepresentation of women of color in the film industry while providing essential platforms for diverse storytelling. As the first Oscar Qualifying festival dedicated to women filmmakers, Reel Sisters creates tangible career opportunities and industry recognition for marginalized voices. The festival's focus on themes like healing, community activism, and maternal health disparities directly engages with pressing social issues affecting communities of color. By showcasing films that explore African Diasporic culture, domestic worker rights, and health equity, the festival not only entertains but educates audiences about systemic challenges while celebrating cultural resilience. In an industry where women of color remain significantly underrepresented both in front of and behind the camera, Reel Sisters provides crucial visibility and networking opportunities that can launch careers and shift industry narratives. The affordable ticket structure ensures accessibility, allowing broader community engagement with these important stories that might otherwise go untold in mainstream cinema.
Summary
The Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival & Lecture Series, the first Oscar Qualifying festival devoted to women filmmakers, is celebrating its 28th anniversary with a powerful lineup focused on themes of healing, love, and community activism. This four-week cinematic celebration features trailblazing documentary filmmaker Samantha Knowles, director of Harlem Ice (Disney+), who will receive a special trailblazer award at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on October 22, 2025. The festival showcases films across all genres including comedy, science fiction, drama, and documentary, with notable partnerships including 651 Arts, BRIC Media, and Center For Fiction bringing world-class films by women of color to Brooklyn audiences.
Festival highlights include a full day of cinematic excellence at 651 Arts on October 25th, featuring compelling films like "Camille A. Brown: Giant Steps" exploring African Diasporic dance, "Boil the Cabbage" uncovering the complex history of the banjo, and "Nannies of New York" providing first-hand accounts of Afro-Caribbean domestic workers. Other significant screenings include "You Are Not Alone," which addresses the maternal mortality crisis affecting Black women in the Bronx, and "Men of Courage" exploring conversations about ending violence against women. The festival also features a special Staged Reading event with BRIC Media on October 29th, showcasing emerging screenwriting talent from their Summer Screenwriting Lab.
The virtual showcase streams online from October 25 through November 10, 2025, featuring films like "117 Years of Movie Bullsh*t," "Dark Skin Bruises Differently," and "Barrel Children: The Families Windrush Left Behind." Founded in 1997 by African Voices magazine and LIU Brooklyn Campus, Reel Sisters has established itself as a vital platform for women of color filmmakers, honoring industry veterans from Radio One founder Cathy Hughes to HBO's Issa Rae. Festival founder Carolyn A. Butts emphasizes the importance of bringing families together to honor stories during a time when communities need to unite in power and faith. Tickets and All Access Passes are available at www.reelsisters.org, with affordable pricing including $12 individual tickets and $75 All Access Passes that include the awards ceremony.
Source Statement
This curated news summary relied on content disributed by 24-7 Press Release. Read the original source here, Reel Sisters Film Festival Celebrates Women Filmmakers with 28th Season
