By shades Magazine staff
This Wednesday, the Oakland International Film Festival will kick off its 23rd season with 11 days of short films from around the globe, panel discussions and more at the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland.
The annual festival, presented by nonprofit The Oakland Film Society, first launched in 2002 with the intention of bringing a diverse mix of films that empower the people who experience them.
“Our mission is to promote independent filmmakers and their stories, while utilizing films to improve the city of Oakland,” said David Roach, co-founder and director of the festival in this year’s program.
One of this year’s films – close to shades Magazine’s heart – is “Beyond the Headlines, The NABJ Journey.” The 40-minute documentary was created by the National Association of Black Journalists for its 50th anniversary as an organization, which was founded in 1975. The screening begins at 6:45 p.m. and will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Bay Area and national NABJ members follows immediately after. Tickets can be purchased for $15 at the theater or online HERE.
The documentary’s showing in Oakland follows nationwide film festival screenings in San Francisco, Atlanta, Chicago and Birmingham, Alabama.
As journalism and journalists face attacks around the world from government censorship, disinformation, legal harassment and physical harm, this documentary highlights NABJ’s advocacy for responsible journalism.
“In 1975, 44 mighty, bold founders came together with this vision to speak truth to power, and to make sure that we were not going to be silenced, that our voices were not going to be erased,” NABJ President Errin Haines said during the film’s screening at the BronzeLens Film Festival in Atlanta in August. “That is a message that is a mission 50 years later that matters more than ever.”
Haines, “founding mother and editor-at-large for The 19th News and was elected the organization’s 24th leader during its national convention in Cleveland, Ohio, last month.
NABJ’s documentary chronicles its rise through several presidential administrations; its professional development and career advancement programs; the advances and attacks against Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives; and NABJ’s overall impact on American media.
The documentary sends a message that “the power of Black journalism matters, that our journalists matter, that representation in journalism is part of what it means to have a free press and a healthy, and truly representative democracy,” Haines said.
For more information about “Beyond the Headlines” or any of the other screenings, visit oiff.org.