All are welcome to The second annual Kuumba Black Arts and Film Festival taking place at the historic Proctors Theatre in downtown Schenectady, NY.

Our Opening Night on February 16 2024, will be an Afro Future themed event with a red carpet, music and showcasing several projects.

February 17 2024 will be a full program 11am-7pm. The GE Theatre within Proctors boasts the largest projector screen in the northeast. We will have special presentations, panels, speakers and engaging content from both established and up-and- coming creators.

Kuumba celebrates Black artists and showcases content made by and about people of African descent. Kuumba, which is Swahili, celebrates creativity. Kuumba means being creative within the context of the national community vocation of restoring our people to their traditional greatness and leaving our community better than we found it. Swahili was a marketplace language that allowed many languages to communicate.

The Kuumba film festival is being produced by The Media team of Hamilton Hill Arts Center, in part with a Creatives Rebuild New York (CRNY) grant and in association with Super Jermaine Entertainment (Jermaine Wells).

For 50 years, the Hamilton Hill Arts Center has provided exceptional cultural arts programming for people of all ages. We are a minority operated and managed 501(c)3 cultural arts center with programming that serves over 10,000 people a year on and off site. We are Schenectady’s only African/African-American Arts Center and the only remaining community center in Hamilton Hill. HHAC was founded to address the needs of unsupervised youth in Schenectady’s inner city and the need still exists today.

All submissions to the Kuumba film festival require that key members of the film or content submitted are of the African diaspora.This includes but not limited to the writer, lead actor, director or producer. We decided to price all submissions low to encourage and not hinder those that wish to submit. Tickets to this event are only $35 for red carpet and film festival or $25 for standalone film festival. and all profits go to continuing the mission of the Hamilton Hill Arts Center. www.hamiltonhillartscenter.org
For more information
realjermaine@gmail.com
Kuumbafilmfest@gmail.com

Laurels, Plaques or statues and a screening on the Largest Screen in the Northeast.
A free music score for a film and a 1 hour Entertainment Lawyer consultation.

[] For the purposes of our festival, traditional short films can have a maximum runtime of 30 minutes. However, we do have room for a few longer films.

[] Filmmakers are responsible for sorting out the copyright on their own materials. All films and projects submitted must be free from any legal disputes.

[] By submitting to us, you give us the right to screen your film in front of a live audience and or virtually.

[] We may promote clips from your film on social media, based on the content you provide us with.

[] We retain the right to change the date and venue of the festival under special circumstances. All filmmakers will be informed about any changes via email.

[] We place no restrictions on your work in terms of premiere status or whether your work has previously been made available online.

[] Any technical issues with submitted films are 100% the responsibility of the filmmaker. The programming team will reach out if there is concern your film will not pass QC by DCP standards.

[] We cannot provide refunds.

[] By submitting to us you agree to our terms and conditions.

[] We reserve the right to update our terms and conditions without any prior notice.

[] We will present certificates and shout out honorable mentions that are not selected for the festival and may include it in a virtual film festival on a later date.

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