Madison Public Libraries are joining forces with Nehemiah’s Justified Anger to host the 2025 Black Film Festival Nov. 13-15, featuring numerous movie and documentary viewings and discussions hosted at various Madison Public Library branches in Madison.
Justified Anger is an initiative of the Nehemiah Center for Urban Leadership Development that “cultivates innovative Black and non-Black leaders through culturally grounded programs, dynamic educational experiences and collaborative partnerships that lead to transformational relationships, equitable systems and just solutions,” according to its mission. This will be the first year the non-profit organization hosts its annual Black Film Festival in collaboration with the Madison Public Library, with generous support from the Madison Public Library Foundation.
From Nov. 13-15, Madison residents can visit select library locations around town to enjoy film screenings and discussions that explore the impact and art of Black filmmaking.
“This will be the first year that Justified Anger is partnering with the Madison Public Library. We’re excited about the partnership and we’re happy to bring some more culture to the town,” Rob “Rob Dz” Franklin, a Media Projects Bubblerarian for the Madison Public Library and a curator for the Black Film Festival, tells Madison365.
The festival has been curated by staff at Nehemiah and the Madison Public Library to include a selection of films, documentaries, video essays, and more from national and regional voices, as well as those closer to home.
“This year’s fest is the most collaborative event I have ever coordinated. We are working with a co-curator, live local performing artists, a Madison filmmaker, and a notable online Black creator who is showing his new documentary at our events,” said Siobhan Jackson, director of adult education at the Nehemiah Center for Urban Leadership Development and the lead curator for the Black Film Festival, in a press release announcing the festival.
Each day of the Black Film Festival takes place at a different library location that will be loosely centered around a theme. Pinney Library on Madison’s East Side will host a “Arts & Culture Day” on Thursday, Nov. 13. Sequoya Library on Madison’s West Side will host “Family Day” on Friday, Nov. 14. Madison Central Library in downtown Madison will host “Filmmaker Day” on Saturday, Nov. 15.
“On Thursday at Pinney, we will be showing two films, ‘Fresh Dressed’ and ‘American Rapstar,”” Franklin says. “Fresh Dressed” chronicles the history of Hip-Hop Urban fashion. In “American Rapstar,” a new breed of young rappers use the SoundCloud streaming platform to engage with a rabid fan base. “And then Friday night is our family night. We start at one afternoon with ‘Miss Junettneth’, then ‘Death to Black Love,’ which is an essay documentary. And then we’ll finish out with the process with ‘Mufasa.’
“Saturday will be our filmmaker day, where we will have two films by Madison filmmaker Rafael Ragland,” Franklin adds. “He will be showing ‘The Comforter’ and ‘Echoes of Freedom’ at Central Library and he will host a brief talkback discussion following each screening.”
A native of Chicago, Ragland moved to Madison in the ‘90s and studied film at the Madison Institute of Media in 2008, where he earned an associate’s degree. He’s worked in the industry since 2010, doing everything from writing and editing to directing and acting. Ragland has written and directed three stage plays, five web series, and more than 20 movies, working with individuals such as Tyler Perry, Spike Lee, Steven Spielberg, Ice Cube, and Cynda Williams.
“I think it’s great that we are recognizing Rafael at this event. He’s been doing his thing for so long and has really been able to travel because of his film work. So to us, it’s kind of important to recognize him and give him his flowers for his films,” Franklin says.
The “Great American Game,” a documentary directed by DonnellWrites, featuring interviews with special guests including activist and author Kimberly Jones, author and performer Joél Leon, law professor Ra’Shya Ghee, and Deante Kyle of the ”Grits and Eggs Podcast,” will wrap up the Saturday screenings.
In addition to the films shown at area libraries, there will be a special opening event of the Black Film Festival held on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 5:30 p.m. at Fountain of Life Church on Madison’s South Side, featuring the film “Decade of Discontent,” which documents the civil rights struggles of the 1960s in Milwaukee. A panel discussion will follow the screening, featuring retired civil rights lawyer Tom Jacobson, Prof. Alexander Shashko, UW-Madison lecturer of African American Studies, and Dr. Christy Clark-Pujara, UW-Madison department chair of African American Studies.
The wrap-up party for the Black Film Festival will be held Saturday, Nov. 15, 7 p.m., featuring a musical performance by the artists of the New Gen Collective, a group led by Madison’s 2024-2025 Youth Poet Laureate Justin Festge Russell, a.k.a. Jexizis. This event is an opportunity for all featured filmmakers, festival organizers, and attendees to come together for a casual evening of food and fun post-event.
“I’m just looking forward to the event. We think there are a lot of great movies for people to see. It’s relatively important for a place like Madison to have a Black Film Festival,” Franklin says. “It’s important to show that we are here and we have creativity, and there are so many great films.”
All events at the Black Film Festival are free and open to the public, but registration for individual screenings is requested.
“This is definitely for everybody,” Franklin says. “One of the films that I’m excited for is ‘Miss Juneteenth,’ and it’s a coming-of-age story, and I think that it’s important to make sure people see the other viewpoints, outside of just the normal thing that people come to expect for the African American experience.”
