ESSENCE 2025 Film Festival
New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
900 Convention Center Boulevard, New Orleans, LA, USA
The ESSENCE Film Festival, in collaboration with ESSENCE Studios, showcases exceptional original projects in film, television, music and new media created by Black storytellers across the African diaspora.
Friday, 07/04/25:
Title: Narrative Feature | "The Sixth Sense":
Time: 10:35am - 11:50amCDT
Theater: Film Festival Screening Room C | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short Description: Film Description: A newly married couple has their marital bliss and bubble bursted by the arrival of a sinister new housekeeper whose presence changes the once loving and happy atmosphere in their home.
Title:Social Impact Film | "Discovering Bessie Coleman"
Time: 11:35am-12:00pm CDT
Theater: Film Festival Screening Room B | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: Discovering Bessie Coleman is an inspiring documentary that celebrates the impact of Bessie Coleman’s legacy through the eyes of those she continues to inspire. Rather than a biographical account, the film shares personal stories from Coleman’s family, aviation professionals, and celebrities like author and actress Karyn Parsons, recounting how they first learned about Coleman’s groundbreaking achievements as the first African-American and Native American woman to earn an international pilot’s license. Despite her accomplishments, Coleman’s story remains unfamiliar to many. This documentary highlights the transformative power of her journey, showcasing how her determination to overcome barriers continues to motivate and empower new generations in aviation and beyond.
Title: Independent Pilot | "Single And Thriving"
Time: 12:05pm-12:35pm CDT
Theater: Film Festival Screening Room C | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: Single & Thriving... Kind Of is an 8-episode dramedy that follows Cassandra (Cass), a vibrant and sometimes chaotic Brooklyn transplant in her late 20’s, as she navigates love, career, and the journey to self-discovery. Between swiping left and right, hustling at a corporate job that often feels more like a battlefield, and trying to hold it together through self-doubt, uncertainty, vulnerability and all the highs and lows of a human life, Cass is caught in the messy, hilarious, and sometimes heartbreaking reality of being a Black woman in today’s world.
Title: Independent Plot | "The Real Her"
Time: 12:20pm-12:35pm CDT
Theater: Film Festival Screening Room B | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: Michelle throws a party to celebrate her new beginnings, yet things take a turn when her ex shows up with an unexpected white woman.
Title: Single and Thriving... Kind Of Talkback
Time: 12:35pm-12:50pm CDT
Theater:Film Festival Screening Room C | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: Talkback - Conversation between host, talent and audience.
Title: The Real Her Talk Back
Time: 12:35pm-12:45pm CDT
Theater: Film Festival Screening Room B | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: Talkback - Conversation between host, talent and audience.
Title: Community Spotlight | "The Memo"
Time: 1:00pm-1:30pm CDT
Theater: Film Festival Screening Room B | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: A sharp, emotionally charged short thriller based on Minda Harts’ best-selling book, starring Kyla Pratt and executive produced by Valeisha Butterfield’s SEED Media. Directed by Vanna James, the film follows Minda, a rising Black professional, as she navigates the politics, systemic barriers, and emotional toll of climbing the corporate ladder. It’s a compelling spotlight on what women of color contend with every day in powerful boardrooms and beyond.
Title: The Memo Talk Back
Time: 1:30pm-1:45pm CDT
Theater: Film Festival Screening Room B | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: Talkback - Conversation between host, talent and audience.
Title: SPONSORED | The Chi (TBC)
Time: Film Festival Screening Room B | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Theater: 2:05pm- 2:35pm CDT
Short description: THE CHI stars Lynn Whitfield and Luke James take fans behind the scenes of season 7 of the Paramount+/Showtime hit series, produced by 20th Television.
Title: SPONSORED | The Chi Q&A
Time: 2:35pm- 2:50pm CDT
Theater: Film Festival Screening Room B | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: Moderated Question and Answer Session
Title: Short Film | "Jean and I"
Time: 2:05pm-3:05pm CDT
Theater: Film Festival Screening Room C | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description:Film Description: Michelle, a 10-year-old survivor of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, attempts to escape both her past and her new home when she learns that her "new" family is not what they seem.
Title: Jean and I Talk Back
Time: 3:05pm-3:15pm CDT
Theater: Film Festival Screening Room C | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: Talkback - Conversation between host, talent and audience.
Title: Screenplay/Teleplay Competition | "Ellie's Tale"
Time: 3:30pm-4:30pm CDT
Theater: Film Festival Screening Room C | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: Based on a terrifying true story, this psychological horror follows Ellie, a free woman of color in antebellum New Orleans, who is forced into the clutches of the notorious Delphine Lalaurie’s mansion. Behind its opulent facade lies a labyrinth of death and suffering, and as Ellie uncovers the horrifying truths within, she must fight to survive—before becoming another lost soul in Lalaurie’s reign of terror.
Saturday, 07/05/25:
Title: Harm in the Water
Time: 10:35am-12:05pm CDT
Theater: Film Festival Screening Room C | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: Harm in the Water delves into the critical issue of water pollution affecting Black communities along the Mississippi River. This documentary weaves together historical context, scientific insights, and the urgent call for environmental justice.
Title: Short Film | "Someone Loves You"
Time: 10:35am-10:55am CDT
Theater: Film Festival Screening Room B | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: "Someone Loves You" was written over the course of a few years, every Thursday night on Zoom, as a means for cathartic release from built up childhood trauma and a shared understanding of what it means to break away from co-dependent relationships with those who we love the most. The subject matter is inspired by true events and experience with loving and humanizing family members who live with schizophrenia and other challenges. We both come from ethnic backgrounds and communities that tend to silence mental health and treat it as taboo. As millennial and first-generation Americans, we are examining the different responses to mental health within the first-generation immigrant family dynamic. We have found that in focusing on one Jamaican household facing this diagnosis, we are opening up a much-needed universal conversation about schizophrenia and the humanity of those facing it.
Title: Someone Loves You Talk Back
Time: 10:55am-11:05am CDT
Theater: Film Festival Screening Room B | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: Talkback - Conversation between host, talent and audience
Title: Narrative Feature | "Wild Cards"
Time: 11:20am- 1:00pm CDT
Theater: Film Festival Screening Room B | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: Wildcards dives deep into the complexities of the justice system, unraveling as the jury deliberates the case of Theodore Sterling, a privileged young man accused of sexual assault of a 20’s something African-American woman. The prosecution is led by Assistant State Attorney James Jones, an overworked yet determined prosecutor, who faces off against Greg Sims, a veteran defense attorney with an unbroken 25-year winning streak. The film focuses on the moments after the closing argument and before a jury renders a verdict.
Title: Screenplay/Teleplay Competition | "The Last Cowboy"
Time: 12:20pm-1:20pm CDT
Theater: Film Festival Screening Room C | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: Saddled by crippling mob debt, a suave ex-con conspires with an unassuming bartender for one more heist that'll bring them the freedom they've long desired.
Title: Wildcards Talk Back
Time: 1:00pm-1:15pm CDT
Theater: Film Festival Screening Room B | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: Talkback - Conversation between host, talent and audience.
Title: Short Film | "The Black Bart of Taco King #17"
Time: 1:20pm-1:40pm CDT
Theater: Film Festival Screening Room C | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: A suave larcenist searches for a new partner at a dive bar and finds the perfect Bonnie to his Clyde. He takes her to dinner to put her to the test, yet she has all the answers... and more.
Title: SPONSORED | "Nat Geo's Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time"
Time: 1:40pm-2:40pm CDT
Theater: Film Festival Screening Room B | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: "Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time" is a National Geographic documentary series that explores the human stories and systemic failures surrounding Hurricane Katrina, particularly focusing on the aftermath and the disproportionate impact on marginalized communities. The series examines the storm's devastating effects on New Orleans and the surrounding Gulf Coast, highlighting the racial and socioeconomic disparities laid bare by the disaster.
Title: Screenplay/Teleplay Competition | "Gold Star"
Time: 1:50pm-2:50pm CDT
Theater:Film Festival Screening Room C | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: Gold Star delves into the disturbed mind of Jacob Reed, a man tormented by a past of abuse and betrayal. Blamed by his abusive father for his mother’s abandonment, Jacob’s life spirals after uncovering his mother’s affair with a masculine-presenting woman. Consumed by rage and obsession, Jacob embarks on a mission to emasculate the women he deems to be responsible for his suffering, stripping them of their perceived ‘Gold Star’, a symbol of their purity, before ending their lives. Detective Maxx Jones, driven by her own traumas, must unravel the disturbing pattern behind Jacob’s twisted actions. What follows is a psychological game of cat-and-mouse, where one wrong move could cost her life, and Jacob is forced to confront the truth that has haunted him.
Title: Nat Geo's Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time Q&A
Time: 2:40pm-2:55pm CDT
Theater:Film Festival Screening Room B | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: Question and Answer Session Moderated by Okla Jones
Title: Community Favorite | "The Rebel Girls"
Time: 3:05pm-3:30pm CDT
Theater: Film Festival Screening Room C | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: THE REBEL GIRLS is the one-hour drama series
inspired by their true story. Tonally, it is part Orange is the New Black, part Lost in its
exploration of Family, Faith, and Fantasy.
Title: BET Sistas: (NOT CONFIRMED)
Time: 3:10pm-3:40pm CDT
Theater: Festival Screening Room B | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: N/A
Title: The Rebel Girls Talk Back
Time: 3:30pm-3:45pm CDT
Theater: Film Festival Screening Room C | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: Talkback - Conversation between host, talent and audience.
Sunday, 07/06/25:
Title: Documentary | "The Legacy of Dr. Benjamin E Mays"
Time: 10:35am-11:40am CDT
Theater: Film Festival Screening Room C | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: Narrated by the legendary Louis Gossett Jr., this one-hour documentary explores the life and impact of Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, a scholar, minister, and educator whose influence shaped the Civil Rights Movement. From his humble beginnings in rural South Carolina to his role as president of Morehouse College, Mays mentored leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and championed the pursuit of justice and equality. Through archival footage, expert interviews, and powerful storytelling, this documentary highlights Mays’ enduring legacy as a moral compass for generations to come.
Title: Narrative Feature | "No Not Me!"
Time: 10:35am-12:05pm CDT
Theater: Festival Screening Room B | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: No, Not Me!" is a film by Allyson D. Brown inspired by her relocation to Liberia after 40 years. A love story unfolds amid the social issues of Female Genital Mutilation and the plight of ex-child soldiers who are now adults. Starring Frank Artus, Shoana Cachelle, Selassie Mends-Cole, and Susan Wleh, the film follows a Liberian couple's journey to prove that love can conquer all obstacles, while also addressing the mounting security concerns caused by disadvantaged youth. It is a poignant tale of love in challenging times.
Title: Animation + Tech | "Magnificent Macie"
Time: 11:55am-12:05pm CDT
Theater:Film Festival Screening Room C | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: Macie travels around the world through a mirror portal to perform good deeds and acts of kindness. Along her journey, she discovers a new sense of pride and strength. She realizes that she is magnificent in her own way and capable of doing great things in the world!
Title: Magnificent Macie Talkback
Time:12:05pm-12:15pm CDT
Theater: Film Festival Screening Room C | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: Talkback - Conversation between host, talent and audience.
Title: Community Favorite | "Beyond The Headlines"
Time: 12:20pm-1:05pm CDT
Theater:Film Festival Screening Room B | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: The NABJ Journey” is a powerful documentary celebrating the National Association of Black Journalists’ 50-year legacy, weaving together archival footage, intimate interviews, and pivotal moments in media history to honor the organization’s fight for representation, truth, and equity in journalism.
Title: Independent Pilot | "Black Men Don't Cheat"
Time: 12:30pm-12:50pm
Theater: Film Festival Screening Room C | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: BLACK MEN, DON’T CHEAT is a bold, laugh-out-loud comedy that takes us inside the mind of Chad — a reformed player turned faithful husband, trying to stay committed in a world where temptation is always just a scroll, squat, or Sunday sermon away. Three years into marriage with his no-nonsense, loving wife Vanessa, Chad’s sex life has stalled, the spark is flickering, and every day feels like a new test of his willpower.
Title:Black Men Don't Cheat Talk Back
Time: 12:50pm -1:05pm CDT
Theater:Film Festival Screening Room C | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: Talkback - Conversation between host, talent and audience.
Title: Beyond The Headlines Talk Back
Time: 1:05pm-1:20pm CDT
Theater:Film Festival Screening Room B | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: Talkback - Conversation between host, talent and audience
Title: Social Impact Film | "Hatchlings"
Time: 1:20pm-1”45pm CDT
Theater:Film Festival Screening Room C | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: A resentful teenager is forced to babysit her turtle-obsessed half-brother; meanwhile, he dives into a vivid fantasy world where he is a sea turtle and she is a tortoise.
Title: Social Impact Film | "The Ebony Canal: A Story of Black Infant Health"
Time:1:35pm-2:35pm CDT
Theater:Film Festival Screening Room B | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: The Ebony Canal is a documentary film narrated by Academy Award-winning icon, Viola Davis. This masterful cinematic poem directed by Emmai Alaquiva examines the HERstoric portal between the disparities of infant mortality and the current state of maternal health orbiting Black and Brown women.
Title: Hatchlings Talkback
Time: 1:45pm-1:55pm CDT
Theater:Film Festival Screening Room C | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: Talkback - Conversation between host, talent and audience.
Title: AWARDS ANNOUNCEMENT
Time: 2:05pm-3:05pm CDT
Theater: Film Festival Screening Room C | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Title: The Ebony Canal: A Story of Black Infant Health Talk Back
Time: 2:35pm-2:50pm CDT
Theater: Film Festival Screening Room B | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description:Talkback - Conversation between host, talent and audience.
Title: Red Clay NOT CONFIRMED
Time: N/A
Theater: Film Festival Screening Room C | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: N/A
Title: Red Clay Talk Back NOT CONFIRMED
Time: N/A
Theater: Film Festival Screening Room C | La Nouvelle Ballroom
Short description: N/A
Tickets
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ESSENCE Fest 2025