BlackStar Film Festival

Press & Industry: Quintessence Shorts

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Inexplicable energy expanding the universe.


Thank you to our screening partners: Reelblack and West Philadelphia Cultural Alliance / Paul Robeson House & Museum.

An Ojibwe artist named Ish finds that his paintings aren’t selling anymore, he is in debt to his gallery rep, and a local goon is lurking around his studio. When he decides to take an artist’s getaway, he meets trouble with a mysterious woman, Ziibi, who claims to be part of an underwater society that tribal mythology refers to as the people of the water, or Nibiinaabe. Ziibi brings Ish on a wild ride that ultimately leads to him finding success in the last place he ever expected — death.

  • Year
    2026
  • Runtime
    16 minutes
  • Language
    English, Ojibwe
  • Country
    United States
  • Premiere
    East Coast
  • Genre
    Short Narrative
  • Social Media
  • Director
    Jonathan Thunder
  • Screenwriter
    Jonathan Thunder, Tashia Hart
  • Producer
    Vera Bianchini
  • Executive Producer
    Jonathan Thunder
  • Co-Producer
    Tashia Hart
  • Cast
    Jonathan Thunder, Tashia Hart, Stacey Thunder, Charles Thunder, Alex Kmett
  • Cinematographer
    Jeff Saunders
  • Editor
    Jonathan Thunder, Tashia Hart, Vera Bianchini
  • Animator
    Jonathan Thunder
  • Production Design
    Megan Salmela
  • Composer
    Keith Secola, Corey Medina
  • Sound Design
    Jonathan Thunder
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