The Black August Queer Film Festival is a celebration of resilience, liberation, freedom and abolition through the lenses of queer and allied Black filmmakers. Sparked from a conversation between renowned Minneapolis based artist Danez Smith and Pillsbury House and Theater’s Executive Director, Signe Harriday, this film festival features short films, features, and web series’ that seek to help us see ourselves, our futures, and our freedoms in a new light.

Each film will be screened for free alongside a community fair featuring food, local vendors, and organizations championing community wellness, justice, and education. Performances by each of these multi-talented filmmakers will precede each screening; screenings will be followed by intimate q&a’s with the filmmakers and genre aficionado, Valerie Deus.

BAQFF is co-produced by Pillsbury House Theatre and Artist and Activist Tish Jones. – Danez Smith, Curator