null
Check out the below 4 films selected from the PBS Online Film Festival – a festival showcasing 25 short films that feature a diversity of subjects, voices and viewpoints.

Audiences will watch and will then have the opportunity to vote for your favorite short film, from March 4 through March 22. The film with the most votes will receive the People’s Choice Award, which will be announced in early April.

I went through the list and selected the 4 that represent the African Diaspora, and all 4 are embedded below. For the remaining 21, click HERE.

1- Sound of Vision is a glimpse into one man’s journey to belong. Born and bred in the city that never sleeps, Frank Senior spends his waking and dream-swaddled hours confronting the hurdles, and embracing the beauty, of the city he will never see.

 

Watch 2013 Festival | Sound of Vision on PBS. See more from PBS Online Film Festival.

2 – After the country’s president boldly claims that there are “no gays in Nigeria” Bisi Alimi is outraged and becomes the first to openly discuss his homosexuality on national television. His appearance becomes a watershed moment in Nigerian media history, leading Bisi into constant life-threatening danger.

Watch 2013 Festival | Asylum – Bisi on PBS. See more from PBS Online Film Festival.

3 – At 14, Williams was suffering from health problems and chronic asthma. Now a 17-year-old senior at Kansas City’s Central High School, Brionna has become healthier and has found success as a highly recruited student athlete.

Watch 2013 Festival | Brionna Williams on PBS. See more from PBS Online Film Festival.

4 – Skye Tenevimbo, originally from Zimbabwe, moved to England to attend university. While there, Skye became politically active and wrote articles critiquing Zimbabwe’s President, Robert Mugabe for his homophobic stance. This brought unwanted attention to her family back in Zimbabwe. Skye did not want to return for fear that she would be harmed, and decided to seek asylum by going to the Home Office to explain her case. She did not expect to be arrested but was put into a police car and detained for 24 hours. While in detention, Skye saw other women from different countries that were close to deportation. The experience left her with a stammer that she still has today.

Watch 2013 Festival | Asylum – Skye on PBS. See more from PBS Online Film Festival.

Blavity EntertainmentShadow and Act