FILM + MUSIC PROGRAMMING
FILMS: FRI JUN 19
MUSIC: SUN JUN 21
FILMS:
“Freedom in Three Movements: History, Culture, and the Black Lens”
A three-part Juneteenth program exploring Black history, culture, and storytelling through film. Featuring local history, global music traditions, and contemporary Black voices, “Freedom in Three Movements” is a cinematic journey across the African diaspora. Featuring award-winning films and live conversations with filmmakers.
Description
“Freedom in Three Movements” is a curated Juneteenth program presented by the SilverVox Film + Music Festival, designed to explore the Black experience through three interconnected lenses: history, culture, and narrative.
Beginning with powerful examinations of the Region’s local history and the legacy of slavery and law in America, the program transitions into a global exploration of Black music and cultural identity, before culminating in contemporary storytelling that reflects the interior lives and creative voices of Black artists today.
Blending documentary, short film, and narrative cinema, this program offers audiences a dynamic and immersive experience that honors the past while celebrating the present and future of Black storytelling.
Overview
Delaplaine Arts Center: June 19
“Freedom in Three Movements” is a curated Juneteenth program that explores the Black experience across three interconnected dimensions: history, culture, and narrative storytelling. Rather than presenting a single perspective, the program is intentionally structured as a journey—guiding audiences from historical truth, through cultural expression, and into contemporary Black storytelling.
The program isn’t just about looking back—it’s about understanding how history lives through culture and continues to evolve through storytelling today.
This program reflects SilverVox’s core mission: to create immersive, multidisciplinary experiences that blend film, music, and cultural dialogue.
PART I — HISTORY
Reckoning, Legacy, and Place
- The House on Jonathan Street
- DAC – 11:00 (Free Screening)
- A powerful exploration of Black history rooted in Hagerstown, Maryland, examining how the legacy of slavery and segregation continues to shape the present day.
- Followed by filmmaker Q&A
- Program Page
- A Man of His Time
- DAC – 12:30 (Free Screening)
- Two men in their 70’s sit down for coffee off a New Jersey Turnpike 159 years after the infamous Dred Scott Decision of 1857. One is descended from Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney and the other, from Mr. Dred Scott. The Taney descendant brings with him an apology and in return, receives an education on why an apology just won’t cut it.
- Followed by Q&A with the film’s writer, a Taney descendant, and Washington DC judge Michelle Greer, a descendant of the enslaved people the Taney’s held.
- Program Page
- Up Jump Da Boogie
- DAC – 2:00
- This film is more than a documentary—it’s a cultural time capsule. Journey through 40 years of raw, untold urban dance history born in the heart of New York’s Lower East Side. From the concrete playgrounds of the ghetto to the global stage, this film tells the real story behind the moves that shaped a multibillion dollar industry. Through powerful interviews, rare archival footage, and landmark events dating back to 1978, Up Jump Da Boogie gives voice to the unsung pioneers who turned rhythm into revolution. This is the history mainstream media missed—the beats before the Billboard charts, the footwork before the fame.
- Followed by Q&A with the filmmaker
- Program Page
PART II — CULTURE & MUSIC
Rhythm, Identity, and Diaspora
- Japan to Jamaica (Short Film)
- DAC: 3:45
- A fascinating portrait of a Japanese music archivist whose journey into Jamaican reggae uncovers unexpected cultural connections and deepens the global story of Black musical influence.
- Beloved Youth of Many Days: Stories About Mlimani Park Orchestra
- DAC: 4:00
- An award-winning documentary chronicling one of Tanzania’s most celebrated rhumba bands, exploring African musical heritage, cultural identity, and the enduring power of rhythm across generations.
PART III — NARRATIVE
Interior Lives and Contemporary Voices
- Attached (Short Film)
- DAC: 6:00
- A psychologically charged portrait of a young Black actress navigating heartbreak, ambition, and identity. Blending emotional realism with horror metaphor, the film explores the pressures of creative life and the search for control in an uncertain world.
- Three Colors: Pan-African (Feature Film)
- DAC: 6:45
- An anthology feature film where the main theme of each chapter takes its meaning from the themes behind the colors of the Pan-African flag. The frame focuses on three Black children playing freely at their grandmother’s home until a hypnotic TV rerun depicting a Black family performing racist caricature captures their attention. When the kids repeat disparaging language they heard on the show at the breakfast table, their grandmother shares stories of strength, community, and character to instill pride in their Blackness.
- AUDIENCE AWARD for BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE at Slamdance 2026