BronzeLens Festival promoting Black voices in filmmaking returns this week

The BronzeLens Film Festival kicks off Wednesday in Atlanta, marking its 15th year of celebrating diverse voices in filmmaking. The festival will feature screenings, workshops, panels, and more.

"Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist," starring Kevin Hart, Taraji P. Henson, and Samuel L. Jackson, will launch the festival with a screening of the first episode of the Peacock series at 8 p.m. on Aug. 21 at Tara Theatre.

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The Filmmakers Ball is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Aug. 24 in the atrium of Atlanta City Hall, hosted by actor Jonathan Slocumb, with DJ Salah Ananse providing the entertainment.

The festival will conclude on Aug. 25 with the BronzeLens Awards Show at 5:30 p.m. at the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center on the campus of Morehouse College.

The BronzeLens Film Festival is dedicated to bringing national and worldwide attention to Atlanta as a hub for film and film production for people of color. It promotes the work of independent filmmakers of color from Atlanta, the Southeast, and beyond.

The inaugural festival in 2010 featured 24 films over four days, along with 15 workshops and panels. By 2018, the festival had grown to showcase 79 films and 17 workshops/panels.

This year's lineup includes a diverse array of films and documentaries, such as "The Novelist," a thriller and dark comedy written and directed by Emmy-nominated filmmaker Harold Jackson III; "Finding Tony," a story about a former NBA star who loses everything after his wife's murder; "The Waterboyz," which explores the lives of two young men on the volatile streets of Atlanta; "The South Got Something To Say," a documentary from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about Atlanta's impact on hip-hop; "The Final Play," a tale of a retired pro basketball player seeking true love and a fresh start; and "Vera's Holiday Flop," a story about friendships, flirtations, fallouts, fun, and foolery.

Workshops and panels will cover topics such as iPhone Magic: Turn Your Phone into a Storyteller's Toolkit, Crowdfunding to Build Independence, Making Money in the Funny Business, Podcast Power, Preventing Legal Nightmares in Indie Filmmaking, and more.

For more information and tickets, click here