Detroit Black Film Festival Sets 89-Film Program for September 23-27

The seventh Detroit Black Film Festival will run September 23-27 with 89 films, filmmaker panels and programs spread across Detroit venues. The festival’s five-day structure begins with a filmmaker lounge on September 23; regular screenings run September 24-27 at the Detroit Historical Museum, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History and The Love Building.

The event is built around the theme “Sincerely Detroit,” but its program reaches beyond local work. Organizers describe the lineup as a showcase for Black filmmakers and actors from numerous countries, while a Detroit-focused component gives the city’s own creators a visible place in the schedule. The festival is presented by Trinity Films Entertainment Group with the Wright Museum, the Ford Foundation, RealTimes Media and other Detroit partners.

This year’s clearest programming distinction is a new vertical-short competition. Entrants must submit films in a 9:16 aspect ratio, with runtimes of eight to 12 minutes and entries limited to romantic comedy, comedy or action. The competition reflects the reality that many independent creators now develop work for phones and social platforms first, while still seeking the legitimacy and in-person audience of a festival screening.

The competition pays $500 for first place, $250 for second and $150 for third. The festival’s FilmFreeway listing says winners will be announced September 24. That is a more precise and defensible claim than describing the category broadly as a completed showcase: the available material confirms the competition rules and prizes, not the names of finalists or winning films.

The festival also includes the Taste of Black Spirits and Liquid Forum at Belle Isle Casino on September 25, alongside screenings, panels, networking and after-hours events. The combination gives DBFF a distinct independent-culture angle. It is not simply importing a national film-festival model; it is connecting short-form production, local exhibition, Black-owned business and Detroit’s broader creative infrastructure before the festival opens next week.