Summer Institute Student Films
As part of the Summer Film Institute curriculum, we challenge aspiring student filmmakers to write, direct and produce a short film. Many of the resulting films from the summer intensive have gone on to be selected by national film festivals and helped propel NPF alumni into careers in the industry. We invite you to view these stories, most of which were shot in a single week.
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BLACK BONESThe story of a few teens who are mysteriously confronted with horrific truths from their family’s past while playing a game of “domino bones.”
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BAGGAGE A film that confronts the issue of colorism in the Black community through an adversarial relationship between two HBCU college roommates. The film also takes a closer look at life on an HBCU campus for young men and women.
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HASHTAGThe story of a college debate student who struggles with the pain of love and loss, while he protests against racial injustice and police brutality. Set against the backdrop of the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, the viewer understands this cultural moment is more than a hashtag.
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400 YEARS LATER … ‘FREE-ISHThis four-part docuseries explores the 400-year commemoration of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in Virginia in 1619. The docuseries captures this epic milestone through the lens of 15 HBCU students as they examine past and present race relations in the birthplace of American slavery, and grapple with Virginia’s contentious history. All the while, the students journey to promote racial healing and reconciliation, and highlight the heroic work of community leaders such as Bryan Stevenson, Zyahna Bryant, Dr. Wes Bellamy and Senator Jennifer McClellean.
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HASHTAGDay 74
Day 74 explores the impact of Covid 19 on a couple that grapples with both the disease's devastating impact on the black community and the murder of George Floyd. |
Canoe
Canoe is a short film about a Black man that is falsely accused and trapped in prison during the pandemic, while his loved ones on the outside work desperately to get him home.
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Culture Shot
Summary: Culture Shot tells the story of a rising Black basketball player confronted to choose between his career or the culture.
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