PREVIEW: The Third Annual Renaissance Black Film Festival Blends Local Spirit with National Sights
10/09 - 10/12 @ Spectrum 8 and The Renaissance Hotel, Albany
Photos of last year’s festival by Jaquell Chandler
“The festival is an intersection of connection and creativity. That magic is what first-time and veteran festival goers will experience once they get here.”
Albany will once again come alive with vision and storytelling on the big screen as the Third Annual Renaissance Black Film Festival returns from October 9th to 12th. Anchored at the Renaissance Hotel and Spectrum 8 Theater in Albany, the festival has quickly become one of the Capital Region’s most vital cultural events, where art, identity, and community meet on and off the screen.
Now in its third year, the Renaissance Black Film Festival (RBFF) continues to grow in both scope and spirit. What began as a locally powered showcase for underrepresented filmmakers has evolved into a creative crossroads that draws audiences and artists from across the country. This year’s program spans a wide emotional and visual spectrum, from intimate dramas, to documentaries that confront systemic injustice, to experimental shorts and joyful stories of resilience and self-discovery.
The lineup captures the range of Black experience with depth and imagination. RBFF Program Director, Patrick Harris Jr., calls the festival’s opener Farming While Black a “must see” that “immediately showcases the energy of the festival” from its first day to its last. The film is a resonant look at Soul Fire Farm’s mission to reclaim land and reconnect generations through community agriculture.
Films such as Outdoor School and Force of Blue explore belonging and social awakening in the face of racial and generational tension, while Return of the Mack and The Journey East reimagine narratives of legacy, sound, and transformation. The shorts program is particularly strong this year with bold, inventive works like Naturally Crowned, Love Is Blind, LAUNDRY, Perils of Otranto, and You Were Dead Yesterday. Meditative pieces such as Rehash, After the Rain, and Yasodhara add a unique texture to the festival’s variety of stories.
Although the festival remains proudly rooted in Albany, it has opened its doors to a national audience. Filmmakers are traveling in from Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay area, and other creative hubs, reflecting how RBFF has grown beyond its local beginnings to become part of the national circuit of independent Black cinema. The result is a gathering that feels both homegrown and expansive, where local artists share space with established and emerging talent from across the country, and where Albany becomes, for one long weekend, the center of cinema.
Yet RBFF is more than what happens on screen. Between the panels, mixers, and late-night gatherings, the festival pulses with connection. The Renaissance Hotel transforms into a creative village, becoming a place where filmmakers trade notes over coffee, where students approach mentors for advice, and where discussions on funding, access, and representation stretch long past their scheduled end times. The parties are also extensions of that energy, especially the Friday-night after-party featuring local musicians Aila Chiar and Morganical, alongside DJ TGIF at The Fuze Box. It’s an exhilarating reminder that Black artistry is as much a celebration as it is a statement of the time.
The addition of Spectrum 8 Theater this year deepens the festival’s cinematic reach while retaining a local vibe. Long a beloved venue for independent and art-house films, Spectrum 8 provides a classic theater setting for the festival’s centerpiece screenings. Meanwhile, the Renaissance Hotel serves as the heartbeat of the weekend, a gathering space for panels, receptions, and informal networking that keeps the spirit of collaboration front and center. Together, they frame an experience that feels both polished and personal, cinematic yet rooted in community.
For Albany, the festival represents more than a weekend of entertainment. It’s a declaration that Black stories belong at the forefront of cultural life in the Capital Region. It’s also a reminder that the infrastructure for independent filmmaking can thrive outside New York City or Los Angeles when community and creativity align. By giving filmmakers of color a visible stage, RBFF has become not just a festival but a movement. One that’s helping shape how the region sees itself and how the broader film world sees Albany. As Festival Director Kevin Johnson puts it, “The festival is an intersection of connection and creativity. That magic is what first-time and veteran festival goers will experience once they get here.”
Whether you come for a single screening or immerse yourself in the full four-day experience, this year’s festival invites you to engage, reflect, and celebrate. It’s a time of shared stories and collective imagination, where every frame carries a sense of purpose.
“At the very least, people can come to watch some really great films,” Patrick says. “Friends and neighbors are coming to the Spectrum to get a warm and close movie-going experience that has been gone for a while. We couldn’t be more excited or prouder.”
The Third Annual Renaissance Black Film Festival isn’t just about film—it’s about creating space for connection, creativity, and change. When the lights dim at Spectrum 8 and the first images appear on screen, you’ll feel the sense that something powerful is happening right here, in the heart of Albany.
For more information about the Renaissance Black Film Festival and to buy tickets visit: https://www.blackfilmfestny.com/