Storytelling is the core of any culture. And at the Denton Black Film Festival, we share stories of the Black community – it’s traditions, ideas and experiences – in a multitude of ways. Each festival, held annually in January, features Black cinema, music, art, spoken word, comedy, food and fashion. It’s our way of bringing the Black experience to life.
History
The Denton Black Film Festival is the brainchild of Harry Eaddy, president of the Denton African American Scholarship Foundation, Inc. A few years ago, he approached two staples of the Denton community – Cheylon Brown and Mesha George – with a unique idea to bring an event focused on Black cinema to the region. Together, the trio began dreaming up an event that would evolve into the festival thousands enjoy today. Not long after Eaddy and his fellow founding organizers began collaborating, the Denton African American Scholarship Foundation came onboard as the festival’s founding sponsor. Mesha George served as festival director and film programming director in the inaugural year of the festival. That first year, more than 800 people attended the day-and-a-half event. Initially, the focus was only cinema, but by the second year when Eaddy became festival director, DBFF added art, music and spoken word to its rosters of offerings. Comedy and artist panels/workshops were added in subsequent years.
