About the Black Harvest Film Festival
Celebrating its 32nd year, November 6-15, 2026, Black Harvest Film Festival is Chicago’s annual showcase of Black film across the diaspora. Co-founded by Sergio Mims in response to the historic absence of Black filmmakers on screen and in exhibition spaces, Black Harvest Film Festival unites filmmakers and audiences to showcase the power and breadth of Black cinema. The festival’s programming spans contemporary work by emerging and established artists, alongside repertory and restoration programming. Through the presentation of short and feature-length films, Black Harvest convenes intergenerational filmmakers and the community in dialogue, reflection, and celebration.
About the Black Harvest Community Council
The Black Harvest Community Council (BHCC) elevates and uplifts the Black Harvest Film Festival (BHFF) by incorporating Black artists, communities, organizations, and entrepreneurs as vital parts of the annual film festival celebrating Black creativity and storytelling at the Gene Siskel Film Center. The Council is composed of volunteers who are actively engaged in their communities and who act as ambassadors to help ensure BHFF reaches the widest possible audience while authentically representing a range of Black experiences throughout Chicago and beyond. The Council is an asset to the planning and execution of BHFF, complementing the efforts and existing resources of the Gene Siskel Film Center and various departments of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Black Harvest Community Council Members
D’Tura Green (co-chair)
Cortlyn Kelly (co-chair)
Barbara (B.A.) Allen
Jada Buford
Harold Dennis
Lonnie Edwards
Marshall Gibson
Okema “Seven” Gunn
NK Gutiérrez
Jameelah Houston
Alima Iscandari
Kristy Johnson
Muteeat Lawal
Alessandra Pinkston
Bolaji Sosan
Whitney Wade
David Weathersby
Jai Williams
Contacts
Black Harvest Film Festival | Christy LeMaster, associate director of programming, clemaster@saic.edu
Make a Gift
Contact Emily Long, executive director, elong@saic.edu
About the Gene Siskel Film Center
Since 1972, the Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago has presented cutting edge cinema to an annual audience of 100,000. The Film Center’s programming includes annual film festivals that celebrate diverse voices and international cultures, premieres of trailblazing work by today’s independent filmmakers, restorations and revivals of essential films from cinema history, and insightful, provocative discussions with filmmakers and media artists. Altogether, the Film Center hosts over 1,600 screenings and 200 filmmaker appearances every year. The Film Center was renamed the Gene Siskel Film Center in 2000 after the late, nationally celebrated film critic, Gene Siskel.
About the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
The Gene Siskel Film Center is a public program of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). For 160 years, SAIC has been a leader in educating the world’s most influential artists, designers, and scholars. Located in downtown Chicago with a fine arts graduate program ranked number two by U.S. News and World Report, SAIC provides an interdisciplinary approach to art and design as well as world-class resources, including the Art Institute of Chicago museum, on-campus galleries, and state-of-the-art facilities. SAIC’s undergraduate, graduate, and post-baccalaureate students have the freedom to take risks and create the bold ideas that transform Chicago and the world—as seen through notable alumni and faculty such as Michelle Grabner, David Sedaris, Elizabeth Murray, Richard Hunt, Georgia O’Keeffe, Cynthia Rowley, Nick Cave, and LeRoy Neiman.
Accessibility
The Gene Siskel Film Center strives to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals to engage fully. To request reasonable accommodations or for inquiries about accessibility, please contact filmcenter@saic.edu at your earliest convenience. Click here to read more.
