Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival announces Fall 2025 lineup starting on October 8!

The Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival & Lecture Series — the first Oscar Qualifying film festival devoted to women filmmakers — will showcase a stellar slate of films focusing on themes of healing, love and community activism. The four-week festival will kick off Oct. 8 in Harlem and continue its showcase in Brooklyn. Reel Sisters features films from all genres from comedy, science fiction, drama and documentary.

Reel Sisters is also excited to announce our new partnership with 651 Arts that will offer a full day of cinematic excellence on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. In honor of Reel Sisters 28th Anniversary, cinephiles can purchase All Access Passes and
tickets at www.reelsisters.org. Tickets: $12 ($8 for seniors/students). Bring a Pal discounts are $6.50 for 2+ tickets.

“We are proud to join our presenting partners 651 Arts, the Brooklyn Academy of Music and Center For Fiction in bringing world class films by women of color to Brooklyn,” said Festival Founder Carolyn A. Butts. “From Harlem to Brooklyn, we’re bringing families together to honor our stories during a time when our communities need to unite in power and faith.”

Kicking off on Wednesday, October 8th through and October 29th, we invite film enthusiasts to enjoy an array of enriching events including an awards ceremony, film premieres and a special script reading co-sponsored with BRIC Media on Oct. 29th.

Reel Sisters Virtual Showcase will stream online from Oct. 25, 2025 through Nov. 10, 2025.

For more information on the schedule and tickets, visit reelsisters.org or call 212-865-2982.

Reel Sisters Festival Highlights
Oct. 8, 2025 @Riverside Theater

• On Wed., Oct. 8, 2025, Reel Sisters Remembers Maitefa Angaza with a special screening of In Our Heads About Our Hair produced by Anu Prestonia, Maitefa Angaza, Paulette Maat Kesa Tabb, and directed by Hemamset Angaza. The celebration will honor her legacy as an author, filmmaker and community activist whose contributions to African Voices, Reel Sisters and countless cultural institutions were far reaching. The event will be held at Riverside Theater, 91 Claremont Ave. For information and to RSVP visit www.reelsiters.org or click: Reel Sisters Remembers Maitefa.
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Oct. 22, 2025
@Brooklyn Academy of Music

• On Wed., Oct. 22, 2025 at 7 pm, Reel Sisters and the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) will present a trailblazer award to Brooklyn filmmaker Samantha Knowles, director of Harlem Ice (Disney+), for her distinguishing career in documentary filmmaking. Her latest work includes directing an episode of “Katrina: Come Hell and High Water,” a highly acclaimed Netflix docuseries. The celebration will be held at BAM, 30 Lafayette Ave. Tickets: $25 ($15 Code: REELSIS2025). For tickets: Trailblazer Award.

Yoruba Richen, a Peabody award-winning documentary filmmaker, will lead a dynamic conversation with Samantha on the power of the female lens in storytelling.

• Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025 | Reel Sisters will offer a day of screenings from 1 PM to 9 PM at 651 Arts, 10 Lafayette Avenue in Brooklyn. One Day Pass: $25 ($20 for seniors and students with ID).
• Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025 | Reel Sisters 28th Anniversary season continues with a second day of powerful films and community talks from 1 pm to 6 pm at the Center For Fiction, 15 Lafayette Avenue. One Day Pass: $25 ($20 for seniors and students with ID).
• Wed., Oct. 29, 2025 | Reel Sisters & BRIC will present an exciting staged reading of scripts by filmmakers from our Summer Screenwriting Lab. Join us for an intimate conversation with the writers on their work-in-progress. Featured writers and guests to be announced. The event will be held from 6:30 pm-8:30 pm at BRIC, 647 Fulton Street in Brooklyn. Please RSVP, seats are limited. RSVP via website at www.reelsisters.org or HERE: Staged Reading.

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NOTABLE FESTIVAL FILMS

Camille A. Brown: Giant Steps @651 Arts – Section C – Ancestral Rhythms
Directors: Shellée M. Haynesworth, Michelle Parkerson
Producer: Shellée M. Haynesworth
Doc., 15 min.
Camille A. Brown: Giant Steps follows 4-time Tony-nominated choreographer, director, and educator Camille A. Brown (Hell’s Kitchen, GYPSY) as she elevates the possible with bold explorations of everyday movement and African Diasporic dance.
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Boil the Cabbage
@651 Arts – Section C
– Ancestral Rhythms
Director: Candace Mae Williamson Producers: Kaylee Hayes, Jemina Garcia
Doc., 24 min.
Candace is a documentary filmmaker and novice banjo player. As she learns her first tune, “Boil That Cabbage Down,” she reaches out to historians, activists, and storytellers to uncover the complex history of the banjo. Through her journey, we are transported to the past, where the painting “The Old Plantation” is reimagined, revealing the instrument’s origins.
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Nannies of New York (Invited)
@651 Arts – Section D
Rooted in Resistance
Director/Writer: April Guscott
Documentary, 9:51 min.

Nannies of New York provides uncensored, first-hand accounts of three Afro-Caribbean women’s perspectives working as nannies to wealthy white families in NYC, the stigma associated with the work, and the fight for their rights as domestic workers.
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Plenum (Invited) @651 Arts
Section B – Transitions
Producers: Ahasha Davis,
Charlene A. Carruthers
Director: Charlene A. Carruthers
Narrative, 25:50 min.
An experimental reconstruction of the 1995 Black Nations/Queer Nations Conference, PLENUM follows the experience of siblings Ajani and Tracy, as they make their way from Chicago to New York City. Tracy worries Ajani’s recent HIV positive diagnosis will drive him into isolation while Ajani fears the consequences of telling their father as he enters a new stage of life and community.

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You Are Not Alone @Center For
Fiction – Section F
Body & Birthrights
doc., 52 min.
In the United States, Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women, a disparity that rises sharply in the Bronx, one of New York State’s most impacted communities, where Black mothers face a maternal mortality rate nine times higher than their counterparts. You Are Not Alone captures the powerful stories of women in the Bronx navigating pregnancy and advocating for change.
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Men of Courage
@Center for Fiction
Courage to Heal
Director: Byron P. Hurt Producer:
Natalie Bullock Brown
Doc., 40 min.
Men of Courage takes the viewer on a journey inside the Garden State of New Jersey for a fly-on-the-wall experience as five black and Latino men engage in compelling conversations with other boys and men about the role they play in ending violence against women.
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Exodus @Center for Fiction\
Courage to Heal Section
Director: Nimco Sheikhaden
Producers: Geeta Gandbhir,
Blair Foster, Rudy Valdez,
Sara Chishti
Doc., 35 min.
EXODUS is an intimate portrait of two women who face unique challenges following decades of incarceration. The film bears witness to their impassioned attempts to rebuild their lives and ultimately restore their humanity.
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FESTIVAL TICKETS & PASSES
Reel Sisters Film Festival offers affordable ticket prices. All Access Passes are $75 (includes the Awards Ceremony). A one-day pass is $25 ($20 for seniors/students) and a section pass is $12 ($8 for seniors/students). Awards ceremony tickets are $25 ($15 until 10/10/25). Students, seniors and group discounts are available upon request. For info call 212-865-2982. Tickets for Reel Sisters Virtual Showcase are available at www.reelsisters.org.

Reel Sisters All Access Passes includes:

• Access to 50+ films by women of color from across the world
• Opportunities to network with filmmakers and professionals in the film industry
• Access to panels, special screenings & awards ceremony on Oct. 22, 2025.

To view the schedule and purchase tickets at the website www.reelsisters.org.