Photos: Maysles Documentary Center
The 20th Anniversary Harlem International Film Festival (Hi XX) is proud to partner with Maysles again this year and kicks off Wednesday, September 17 at 7PM at Aaron Davis Hall welcoming the 2025 cadre of festival filmmakers to the red carpet and the Annual Renaissance Awards presentation directly followed by the Opening Night screening event with the theme of Harlem Love, a love letter to locally produced filmmakers and their work including that of recent Maysles students, filming with the Harlem Globetrotters.
The Festival is honored to present these tremendous artists with this year’s Renaissance Awards as part of the 20th Annual Opening Night festivities:
Stanley Nelson, the foremost Black documentarian and Harlem’s iconic and most prominent and prolific filmmaker; Vernon Reid, the legendary soundtrack producer, double Grammy-winning guitarist and co-founder of the Black Rock Coalition and Living Colour; and Kara Young, Harlem’s own rising star who became the first African American actress to be nominated for a Tony four years in a row and the first to receive two consecutive Tonys in 2024 and 2025.
The public can get more information here and attend the event by purchasing a ticket when they become available or with a HiPass (All Access Festival Pass), which gives the holder access to all ticketed events the duration of the 2025 festival.
This year’s film lineup will once again celebrate and showcase undiscovered international cinematic gems and local New York filmmaking talent with a special focus on filmmakers from Harlem and Uptown including the Bronx.
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