Black History Month Short Film Festival
2026: Dream in Color
Curated & Programmed by Residential Life and Housing Services Residential Life Assistant, Naa Adei Mante
2026 BHM Film Festival: Dream in Color!
Ready to Dream in Color? Join RLHS, IRHC, The Leagues, and Black Violets to celebrate the work of past, present, and future generations of Black Cinema at NYU. This annual Black History Month Short Film Festival will feature short films from NYU Film students & alum. Light refreshments will be provided. Door Prizes & Giveaways!
2026 Film Selections
John Monaco - Black Care
Mike Lamar Brown - The Celebration
Doron JéPaul - Rest
Joanna White-Oldham and Jarvis Matthews - Following Directions
Honorable Mention: Samara Huckvale - 420 Ways to Die
Kai Hartman - If the Sun Exploded Today
Taylor Williams - Looking Back on Growing Up: Jay
Malcolm Walker - Air Junie
asharyah alvarado - Lost in Love
2025: My Legacy Connects
Curated & Programmed by Residential Life and Housing Services Residential Life Assistant, Naa Adei Mante
2025 Films
Umoja by Taurean Houston Moore
Ghosted by Marquette Jones
Crash Cam by Mattison Lewis
Interception: Jayne Kennedy, American Sportscaster by Safiya Songhai
Black Girl in Paris by Kiandra Parks
The Wrath of Othell-Yo by Kwesi Jones
2025 Program
2024
Curated & PRogrammed By Residential Life and Housing Services Residential Life Assistant, Bianca Nkwonta
2024 Filmmakers
John McPhaul III
Anndi Jinelle Liggett
Nile Price
Professor Alrick A Brown
Meet the Curators
Naa Adei Mante
Residential Life Assistant, Residential Life & Housing Services, Leadership & Engagement; Tisch School of the Arts, MFA in Film and Television (2026)
naa adei (nah • aday) is a writer, director, producer, and avid traveler based in New York City. As a former engineer, she loves to use her full brain, marrying the creative with sound logic and pragmatism to make every project feel grounded and beautiful as it comes to life! She is currently pursuing an MFA in Film at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts (2026). she has produced several short form documentaries, commercials, and short films, as well as the 2023 NYU 2nd Year Film Showcase in the Skirball Center for the Arts, and the NYU Black History Month Short Film Festivals! As the curator of the 2025 and 2026 editions of the BHM Short Film Festival, Naa Adei relocated the event to KJCC, and expanded the partnerships to include The Leagues and Black Violets!
Bianca Nkwonta
Residential Life Assistant, Residential Life & Housing Services, Leadership & Engagement (2023); Tisch School of the Arts, MFA in Dramatic Writing
Bianca Nkwonta (she/her) is a writer and consultant originally from Eagan, MN. She writes stories about the Black and African diaspora, and the intersections with Midwestern-ness, womanhood, youth, health, wealth, and the pursuit of happiness. While Bianca was pursuing her MFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU Tisch, she served as an RLA in the RLHS department, and planned the inaugural Black History Month Short Film Festival in 2023. She partnered with the Center for Black Visual Culture and began planning this festival because she wanted to create an intimate space for Black filmmakers on campus to connect and screen their work.