Join Us
The William and Louise Greaves Filmmaker Seminar is a gathering for Black, Brown, and Indigenous artists working in cinematic realms. It will take place March 7-9, in-person only, at Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA.
Registration and pass purchase is $250 and is required. Group rates as well as discounts for students and low income individuals are available. See below for details.
For all other questions, please contact seminar@blackstarfest.org.
FAQ
Program
The Seminar is named after visionary filmmakers William and Louise Greaves, who together co-produced landmark documentaries such as Symbiopsychotaxiplasm and Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey. Read more about the importance of William’s decades-long career, which included over 200 documentary films, here.
Participants can expect to explore the technical and creative aspects of media-making, while having honest conversations about the successes and pitfalls of their work. Our environment considers the intersection of cinema and visual arts, and is exclusively designed for people of color to focus and not manage the added burden of representation.
Select Programs
This program will serve as an entry point for us to begin to approach and discuss questions of form, source material, the creative process, logistical realities, while simultaneously exploring and sharing creative strategies that filmmakers find invaluable to their practice.
With impact front-and-center, hear from the Asian American Documentary Network (A-Doc) microdocs producing team and one of the filmmakers on how they crafted succinct, yet effective stories to connect with regional partners and civic engagement efforts on the ground.
This workshop invites participants to challenge traditional storytelling by exploring screenwriting through a decolonized and abstract lens.
Writer and director Nijla Mu’min stages a table reading of her short film script, NOOR, and shows a private screening of the recently filmed version of the script.
This film and food curation invites participants to engage with deserts as meeting points that connect our struggles and strengthen our solidarities.
What can we learn from the art and organizing of our Caribbean elders? This workshop invites participants to reflect on our elders, their creative experiments, and some of the lessons they’ve left for us to rediscover.
How many frames does it take to make an animation and who says so? In this workshop we will experiment with image sequences and create a collaborative animation to try to answer this question and inquire on our own practices.
Venues
The 2025 Seminar will take place on the campus of Stanford University with specific locations and venue information to be announced.
Recommended Hotels:
625 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, CA 94301
(7mins walking distance from campus)
675 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, CA 94301
(9 mins walking distance from campus)
Recommended Airports:
- San Francisco International Airport
(25 mins driving distance from campus)
- San Jose Mineta International Airport
(23 mins driving distance from campus)
Seminar Archive
Look back at our programming for a glimpse of what to expect.
Programs
Programs
