Black Girl Magic: Speculative Fiction on Film
Our special WOW Apollo edition of ImageNation Cocktails and Sol Cinema features short films that explore speculative fiction through the Black female gaze. From roots work and a dystopian future, to blood thirst and collective psychosis, Black Girl Magic highlights the brilliance Black women bring to this imaginative genre.

Films

Invisible Universe
Directed by M. Asli Dukan, 3 min, US, (Work-In-Progress, Excerpt)

The Invisible Universe documentary travels across time and space to tell the stories of a diverse group of creators who built an informal network that is changing how Black people imagine themselves and are seen, in the past, present and future. From science fiction, speculative fiction and Afrofuturism, to horror and fantasy, this documentary explores nearly 150 years of the Black speculative imagination in literature, comics and film through the perspective of Black people and Black history. Invisible Universe reveals how several generations of Black creators have used speculation as an artistic tool to envision transformed worlds and liberated realities.

Suicide by Sunlight
Directed by Nikyatu Jusu, 17 min., 2018, USA

In this official Sundance Film Festival selection, Valentina, a day-walking black vampire protected from the sun by her melanin, is forced to restrain her bloodlust to regain custody of her estranged daughters.

Afropunk Girl
Directed by Annetta Laufer, 15 min., UK

Winner Best Short Film at the Black International Film Festival (UK) “Afropunk Girl” is set in a dystopian, post apocalyptic Britain, where a young punk discovers true rebellion when she meets a radical old dandy.

Red Pill
Directed by Tonya Pinkins, 87 min., US (Exclusive Clip)

Halloween weekend of the 2020 election, six old friends ride into red country, armed with humor and naiveté. When they meet an immovable force, their plans are thwarted and their fight to win the election becomes a fight for their lives. Six progressives, one deadly weekend!

Wake
Directed by Bree Newsome, 2010, 22 min., USA

A repressed woman does away with her domineering father, freeing herself to pursue her heart’s desire. Using a local folk magic called “root work”, she conjures a demon to aid her in creating the man of her dreams. However, she soon finds herself in a waking nightmare. Wake won Best Short Film at the 2011 Urbanworld Film Festival.

Post Screening Panel Discussion
Tonya Pinkins, Asil Dukan, Annetta Laufer

Moderated by Moikgantsi Kgama