When Black Panther hit the big screen in 2018, it broke records and became the highest grossing film directed by a Black filmmaker. Before then, local filmmaker and director William Edwards says, “The running thing in Hollywood was that you couldn’t have a Black film with a Black director, with a Black cast, and a Black story line and it make money. And with Black Panther, it shattered that myth.”
Coincidentally, that same year, Edwards founded the Global Black Film Consortium, with headquarters in Memphis. Of the organization, Edwards says, “After I wrote a couple of films, I was doing some research on global film, and what I found interesting was that people all over in the global film industry did not feel that the whole continent [of Africa] or the Caribbean or the Black community within the United States were viable film markets. And so what I wanted to do was to figure out a way of creating a platform that would give Black filmmakers on a global level the opportunity to express themselves and get that support.”
From that mission, in early 2020, the Global Black Film Consortium founded the Mid-South Black Film Festival showcasing feature films, short films, documentaries, and other video media submitted by Black filmmakers from around the world. This weekend, the group is gearing up to celebrate its 2022 festival winners with a ceremony on Sunday, featuring a special presentation by internationally award-winning filmmaker Basira Mohammed from Ghana.
“The other component of what I do is I try to get people from all walks of life to just see each other as people as human,” Edwards says. “And I see film as a medium that is very powerful and helps shape society.”
At this moment, especially after the case of Tyre Nichols, Edwards says, “Memphis as a whole is at a very serious crossroads, and how the city leaders and citizens and the police officers handle things, it could either splinter the city further or cause it to come together as one.”
For his part, Edwards hopes to bring people together, so in addition to the awards ceremony this weekend, the group is also hosting a Global Black Taste of Memphis & Youth Expo, where local and global vendors will serve up the cuisines of the African continent, the Caribbean, and the United States. The event is sponsored by Lit Restaurant Supply.
The day will also feature live music, free activities for youth, and food competitions. And, Edwards adds, “We’re gonna send out an appeal to the police department, to the fire department, to the sheriff department, to educators, to clergy, to youth, to Black Greek organizations, and we’re going to have a eating contest with representatives from the various groups. And so that’s just something that we wanted to do, kind of fun, to get the city more connected.”
Global Black Taste of Memphis & Youth Expo, Hickory Ridge Mall, Saturday, February 18, noon-7 p.m., $2-$5.
Mid-South Black Film Festival Awards Ceremony, VIP Entertainment Center, Sunday, February 19, 4-6 p.m., $20.