Black Lounge Film Series is a unique curatorial program which uses cinema as a platform to explore the global Black experience. The program stages themed screening events, conversations with filmmakers and also provides marketing/promotional support for film festivals, organizations and independent filmmakers wishing to target audiences interested in their content.
Winners of the 2016 Knight Arts Challenge, the series specialty is to bring these unique films to historic Black communities and also invite their audiences to places that may seem out of reach to them. Activities in the past included outdoor family screenings, Book & Film parings at local libraries, live music, vegan food and film nights. While BLFS is currently based in Miami, the goal is to create a traveling series reaching communities in Haiti and Africa.
Spearheaded by Haitian-American filmmaker, Rachelle Salnave, Black Lounge Film Series has been a long time dream of Salnave. Growing up in Harlem, NY in the 1980’s, she had always been inspired by African American films and actors that projected heroism in their journey to freedom and in their plight to excellence.
She’s studied film production both at Hunter College in New York City and the University of Miami, eventually earning her an M.F.A. from the Motion Pictures department at UM.
Simultaneously, Salnave has had a range of professional and educational experiences creating two historical feature documentaries on the gentrification of Harlem and her EMMY nominated film about her Haitian identity. She has teamed up with photographer, Jean H. Marcelin, to help facilitate community programs for families through his non-profit organization FePouLi (Children’s Hope Chest of Dreams, Inc.).
Together they have successfully launched niche cinematic gatherings in South Florida; such as a series entitled Ayiti Images, which showcases highly acclaimed films exploring the Haitian experience, Ayiti Images Film Club and youth film screenings in Miami-Dade and Broward School system, which they use cinema as a teaching tool to explore identity issues.
