This post comes a tad late, but in case you missed NVBC Fest 2012, or would just like to relive a few great cinematic moments, read on 😉

New Voices in Black Cinema Festival concluded February 20 at BAMcinematek in Brooklyn, NY, boasting multiple sold-out screenings and attracting the participation of producer Warrington Hudlin, director Theodore Witcher, actress Lisa Nicole Carson, and a host of others. Presented by ActNow Foundation, the two-year-old, home-grown Brooklyn event closed Black History Month with an impressive array of features and shorts by emerging independent filmmakers, along with workshops, panel discussions and afterparties.

Among the festival highlights was the New Black Classics presentation of love jones, where the afforementioned filmmakers were joined by Lisa Nicole Carson as a special surprise guest. After the screening, director Theodore Witcher gave his insights on the making of the film as well as what he's been up to since its 1997 release. The Q&A inevitably gave way to a larger conversation on the struggles of black filmmakers and actors, as Witcher has had several projects in different stages of development over the years. Actor Jeffrey Wright, who also attended the screening, chimed in with a familiar sentiment – that in order to get steady work in Hollywood people of color are often asked to check their culture and convictions at the door.

Filmmakers and casts were present for nearly all of the screenings,which included five New York premieres – opening night film The Tested, global hip hop documentary The Furious Force of Rhymes, modern romantic drama Single Hills, social issue documentary From Fatherless to Fatherhood, and Infiltrating Hollywood: The Rise and Fall of the Spook Who Sat by the Door, a profile of Sam Greenlee's 1973 novel-turned-film. Also impressive was the response to Sunday's sold-out short film program, which straddled several genres and included Jerry LaMothe's heavy-hitting drama The Tombs, as well as films by Monique Walton, Raafi Rivero, Angela Tucker and Rachel Johnson.

Find more Festival highlights in the photos below:

ActNow Foundation was founded by veteran actor Aaron Ingram in 2005. For more information on New Voices in Black Cinema Festival or the organization's year-round activities, visit the ActNow website.