The people behind the music. Thank you to our screening partners: <a href="https://wurdradio.com/" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">WURD Radio</a> and <a href="https://leeway.org/" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Leeway Foundation</a>.

The Gnawa inhabit ordinary and unordinary worlds, and their music and song create passageways between the two. This experimental nonfiction short gives a brief entryway into these worlds through an encounter with Mustafa, a Gnawa musician who lives in Rabat.&nbsp;

An Afternoon with a Gnawa

The Gnawa inhabit ordinary and unordinary worlds, and their music and song create passageways between the two. This experimental nonfiction short gives a brief entryway into these worlds through an encounter with Mustafa, a Gnawa musician who lives in Rabat.

During a recording session of Gershwin’s songbook, Ella sings her love songs — scatting through her darkest notes.

Ella

Ella sings her love songs — scatting through her darkest notes.

Philadelphia is often referred to as the mecca for American soul music. However, its contributions have been overlooked despite its mass proliferation of artists, many of whom have made landmark contributions as MCs, graffiti artists, dancers and most notably as DJs. Native talents such as Will Smith, The Roots and Eve have become international pop stars and made great strides domestically and internationally, but somehow “the Illadelph” still doesn’t get the same kind of props as a city like Los Angeles or even Atlanta. Despite all of this, the City of Brotherly Love has continued to churn out some of the most innovative hip hop artists of the current generation. Perhaps one of the most unique aspects to the scene is the abundance of powerful female voices it has produced as artists, promoters and writers. In this debut featurette, director and producer Maori Karmael Holmes seeks to tell the story of these women — the legends, the famed and the ingénues — as they struggle to succeed in a male-dominated industry in a city that has been left behind in the national consciousness. Scene Not Heard features interviews with some of the originators of hip hop such as Lady B, Schoolly D and Rennie Harris, with vanguards chiming in including Bahamadia and Ursula Rucker, and presents current talents such as the Jazzyfatnastees, Ms. Jade and Lady Alma and emerging talents such as Versus, Keen of Subliminal Orphans and Michele Byrd-McPhee of Montäzh, as well as scholars, critics and local promoters. Recently restored in 2K, this special retrospective film will return to BlackStar Film Festival. Retrospective Screening

Flashing lights: 02:01-03:07, 01:33:28-01:34:52 Intermittent flashing lights

Scene Not Heard: Women in Philadelphia Hip Hop

Scene Not Heard tells the story of a group of emerging and established female hip hop artists as they struggle to find success in the City of Brotherly Love.

Press & Industry: Scene Not Heard & Shorts

Press & Industry Virtual

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BlackStar Film Festival is an annual celebration of the visual and storytelling traditions of the global majority, showcasing films by Black, Brown, and Indigenous people from around the world. Celebrate our 15th anniversary with us. Events will take place in person in Philadelphia and films will stream online around the world from August 6-9, 2026.

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BlackStar Film Festival an annual celebration of the visual and storytelling traditions of Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities globally. 

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