| BLACK HARVEST OPENING NIGHT |
2026, dir. Various
USA, Switzerland, France, Senegal, 71 min.
In English, French, and Wolof with English subtitles | Format: Digital
November 6 | Black Harvest opens with four standout short films, presentation of the Richard and Ellen Sandor Family Prize, and a post-screening reception celebrating the filmmakers and the future of Black cinema.
PROGRAM
NOTES OF REST
2026, dirs. Sulyiman Stokes, Julian Davis Reid, USA, 11 min.
A deeply resonant exploration of Black masculinity, music, and the necessity of rest as a tool for radical healing and spiritual restoration.
CAFÉ ?
2025, dir. Bamar Kane, France, Senegal, 25 min.
A vibrant and observational portrait set within a bustling neighborhood gathering place, capturing the rhythms, conversations, and intersections of everyday diasporic life.
KANSAS
2026, dir. Leah Deeray, USA, 16 min.
An ex-patient plunges into an underground conspiracy while searching for quick cash in this tense psychological thriller.
DËMM
2025, dir. Aida Captijn, Switzerland, Senegal, 19 min.
A grieving teenager is drawn into a mysterious community of soul-eating women undergoing a haunting transformation.
EVENING HOSTS: EVROD CASSIMY AND LEANN TROTTER
Evrod Cassimy is a Morning News anchor for NBC Chicago, a singer/songwriter, a seven-time Emmy-nominated journalist, and a philanthropist.
LeeAnn Trotter is a longtime Chicago arts and culture reporter known for her coverage of celebrities, entertainment, and happenings around the city, as well as for her contributions to NBC Chicago’s Making a Difference series.
The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 7:00 P.M.
$25 – Gene Siskel Film Center Members and SAIC students, staff, and faculty
$35 – Students
$40 – General Audiences
