A mini film festival celebrating Black documentary filmmakers returns to LA on May 16th and 17! , the annual fundraising event for BADWest is back for its 18th year in the form of a two-day, mini film festival and celebration of documentaries that center the Black experience, both behind and in front of the camera.

is a two day long celebration of documentaries that highlight the Black experience. Guests can enjoy a full day of back-to-back Black documentary, film screenings, panel discussions and Q&As with filmmakers. This year, take place on The esteemed is the moderator.

This year’s screenings include:

A mini film festival celebrating Black documentary filmmakers returns to LA ! , the annual fundraising event for BADWest is back for its 18th year in the form of a two-day, mini film festival and celebration of documentaries that center the Black experience, both behind and in front of the camera.

The takes place the evening before on BADWest brings together four veteran Black filmmakers in an intimate panel discussion and audience Q&A on the topics of , with clips from the filmmakers’ work shown and a reception to follow. The organization is always looking to connect more Black documentary professions and provide those working within the documentary world an opportunity to connect and network with other Black creatives across the industry. Click the link for more info and purchase your . Or Click

The panel will feature:

For the 18th we are thrilled to present an electrifying celebration of music through film. This year’s showcase features a carefully curated lineup of one short and three feature-length documentaries, with four screenings divided into two dynamic blocks. This year,dives deep into music documentaries and personal narratives—powerful stories that resonate with themes of resilience, determination, and self-acceptance. The program also examines the transformative influence of funk music, illuminating its profound impact on both new wave and hip-hop.

Let the rhythm inspire and the stories captivate!

• Tickets purchased online only. No walk-ins.
• Tickets must be purchased by Saturday, May 17, 2025 @ 9am.
• Food vendors -

Three incredible feature length documentaries and a heartwarming short documentary film.

is hosted by Tim is a veteran film critic and journalist with over 30 years of experience working for national print, broadcast, and internet-based media concerns, including NPR, KNBC, Spectrum News, ABC 7, Box Office Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, and Alt-Film Guide, among others. He's a regular on NPR affiliate KPCC's FilmWeek with Larry Mantle and co-host of the CineGods podcast.

From the rugged caves of Ethiopia to the dazzling lights of Hollywood, follows the remarkable journey of an Ethiopian shepherd turned filmmaker in America. This captivating documentary explores the struggles of leaving home, reconciling cultural identities, and the universal quest for belonging.

It Was All a Dream is a feature-length archival documentary by dream hampton. An NYU film student when she began shooting in 1993, hampton was already a provocative music journalist and critic with access to rap’s emerging superstars including her neighbor . It Was All a Dream takes its viewers inside the studio for the making of landmark albums by rap’s greatest voices. This thirty year old archive sat in storage for three decades and is a largely vérité journey. hampton’s narration added 30 years later is actually text from articles published in the early 90s.

Billy Preston was 5 years old when he backed gospel legend Mahalia Jackson. Over the following six-decade career, Billy contributed his signature sound to the greatest artists of his time, including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Barbra Streisand, Sly Stone, Ray Charles, Rufus, Eric Clapton, and others, while establishing himself as a GRAMMY-winning solo artist. Despite his success, Billy struggled to reconcile his deep relationship with the Black church with his sexuality, setting off a lifelong quest to find love and acceptance. (LA Festival Premiere)

Is a syncopated voyage through the history of funk music, spanning from African, soul, and early jazz roots, to its rise into the public consciousness. Featuring James Brown's dynamism, the extraterrestrial funk of George Clinton's Parliament Funkadelic, transformed girl group Labelle, and Fela Kuti's Afrobeat, the story also traces funk's influences on both new wave and hip-hop.

-Q&A with Director, Wubetu Shimelash

– Q&A with Director, dream hampton

– Q&A w/ Producers, Stephanie Allain Bray and Jeanne Elfant Festa

– Q&A w/ Co- Director/Producer, Nicole London

Tim is a veteran film critic and journalist with over 30 years of experience working for national print, broadcast, and internet-based media concerns, including NPR, KNBC, Spectrum News, ABC 7, Box Office Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, and Alt-Film Guide, among others. He's a regular on NPR affiliate KPCC's FilmWeek with Larry Mantle and co-host of the CineGods podcast.

is an award-winning filmmaker, social entrepreneur, and Cultural Advocater redefining the intersection of storytelling, advocacy, and sustainable impact. With a lens shaped by his Ethiopian heritage and refined through Hollywood training, he creates films that amplify underrepresented voices, celebrate cultural identity, and confront urgent social and environmental issues through film and purpose-driven ventures.

A trailblazer in Ethiopian cinema, Wubetu made history as the first Ethiopian documentary filmmaker to win a Directors Guild of America (DGA) Award, and only the second Ethiopian recognized in any category in the DGA’s 89-year history. He also became the first Ethiopian filmmaker nominated for a BAFTA in its 78-year legacy, marking his rising influence on global cinema. He is a proud member of the International Documentary Association (IDA).

He is currently based in Los Angeles, CA, where he continues his filmmaking work with a focus on global impact.

Beyond filmmaking, Wubetu is the Co-founder and CEO of Simien Eco Trek, a pioneering Ethiopian social enterprise that merges eco-cultural tourism with grassroots impact. Since 2017, the company has hosted thousands of international travelers and empowered over 13,000 Ethiopians through initiatives in education, menstrual health, solar energy access, job creation, and entrepreneurship training.

In 2018, Wubetu was selected from over 50,000 applicants to represent Ethiopia as a One Young World Ambassador at the global summit in The Hague. One Young World is the world’s leading forum for young leaders from over 190 countries committed to accelerating social change. In 2019, he returned as a keynote speaker at the London Summit, sharing the stage with global changemakers including Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, Sir Richard Branson, Dr. Jane Goodall, the Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle, and J.K. Rowling, among others. His speech received international acclaim and was covered by more than 300 major media outlets, including BBC, TIME, The Guardian, CNBC, Reuters, and Vanity Fair.

Wubetu holds an MFA in Producing, Directing, and Cinematography from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, and a BA in Film Studies, Communication, and Social Entrepreneurship from Wake Forest University. His films have screened at over 200 major film festivals worldwide, transcending borders to ignite dialogue and honor cultural heritage.

His acclaimed documentary Shepherd’s Calling (2024)—the first Ethiopian film to win a DGA Award—captures the resilience of Ethiopian shepherds. I Am More Dangerous Dead (2023) explores environmental crises in Nigeria, while Blackifier (2022) confronts systemic racial injustice in America. Each film has earned critical acclaim and DGA recognition.

Deeply rooted in his Ethiopian upbringing and globally engaged through cinema, Wubetu crafts transformative stories that foster cultural exchange, uplift marginalized voices, and challenge societal norms—proving that storytelling is not just art, but a force for justice, unity, and lasting change.

from Detroit. For three decades her essays and cultural criticism helped shape a generation. Her most recent works include the award-winning short film “Freshwater” (NYT OpDocs/PBS, 2023), “Ladies First” (Netflix, 2023) and the visual memoir/feature documentary "It Was All A Dream" which debuted at Tribeca Film Festival (2024). Selected works include “Treasure“ (Frameline, 2015) and the Emmy-nominated "Surviving R. Kelly" (Netflix, 2019), which broke ratings records and earned her a Peabody Award. In 2019, hampton was named one of TIME 100's most influential people in the world.

A preeminent force in television entertainment, Barclay has directed nearly 200 episodes of television and was active as a Director/Producer for series including: Station 19, Pitch, Sons of Anarchy, In Treatment, Cold Case, City of Angels and NYPD Blue. He also has directed episodes of a wide variety of series including Empire, House, NCIS: Los Angeles, CSI, Lost, The Shield, The West Wing, ER, The Watcher and American Horror Story; as well as three films: the feature Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood; and the movies for television The Cherokee Kid and The Big Time.

He earned two Emmy Awards and the DGA award for Outstanding Direction of a Drama Series for NYPD Blue, received seven additional Emmy nominations for both producing and directing, and garnered ten other DGA Award nominations for shows as diverse as Glee, In Treatment, The West Wing, and House. He was nominated last year for the “Silenced” episode of Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. He was inducted into the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame in 2014, and was made an Honorary Life Member of the Directors Guild in 2021, after serving two terms as its president.

In 2021 Barclay was given the Honorary Life Member Award, the Directors Guild’s highest honor for both service and career achievement. He currently serves as the Guild’s Secretary/Treasurer.

A WGA member before he was a DGA member, Barclay co-created and wrote for the CBS series City of Angels with Nicholas Wootton and Steven Bochco, which ran for two years on the network. He co-wrote with James DeMonaco the Showtime pilot Hate, and has written other pilots for CBS and NBC. He wrote with Dustin Lance Black (on his first WGA-credited project) Pedro, a film about the life of AIDS activist Pedro Zamora for MTV, which received a Writers Guild nomination. As a playwright and composer, he has had musical dramas produced by Soho Rep, The Village Theatre, the Signature Theater, and the North Shore Music Theatre among others – including One Red Flower – adapted from soldiers letters written during the Vietnam War. He is currently working with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Brian Yorkey to adapt it for television.

In 2024-2025, Paris helmed two episodes of a new Ryan Murphy series for FX/HULU: AMERICAN SPORTS STORY: AARON HERNANDEZ, as well as two episodes of the second season of MONSTER, this time THE ERIK AND LYLE MENENDEZ STORY with Javier Bardem and Chloe Sevigny. He also directed the pilot and executive produced DOCTOR ODYSSEY for ABC, starring Joshua Jackson and Don Johnson.

He’s also completed a feature documentary about the life of iconic keyboard and recording artist Billy Preston, which premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival and DOC NYC. Most recently, he directed two episodes of THE NIGHT AGENT for Sony, Netflix, and Shawn Ryan.

Stephanie Allain produces award-winning films that make headlines, launch careers and shape the culture. Titles include Hustle & Flow, Something New, Beyond the Lights, Dear White People, Exhibiting Forgiveness and Woman in the Yard. She is Emmy-nominated for producing 2020 Academy Awards. A long-time activist for equity and belonging, Allain is the first woman of color elected President of the Producers Guild of America and a member of AMPAS and the WGA. She sits on the boards of American Cinematheque, Producers Guild of America and Cast & Crew. Her first children’s book, WHO’S IN CHARGE? was published by Candlewick Press in 2024.

is the Co-President and Partner at White Horse Pictures, responsible for overseeing all aspects of the company’s creative content, production, and development.

She has produced Emmy-winning films three years in a row: THE APOLLO, directed by Roger Ross Williams, THE BEE GEES: HOW CAN YOU MEND A BROKEN HEART, directed by Frank Marshall and LUCY AND DESI, directed by Amy Poehler.

Before joining the White Horse Pictures creative producing team, she operated her own production company, Piper Cub Productions. With Piper Cub Productions, she had a first look deal with Exclusive Media and joined forces there with Nigel Sinclair, executive producing the Grammy-winning documentary FOO FIGHTERS: BACK AND FORTH, directed by James Moll.

Since joining White Horse Pictures, she has served on the producing team for the Grammy & Emmy-winning, and BAFTA-nominated THE BEATLES: EIGHT DAYS A WEEK - THE TOURING YEARS, directed by Ron Howard and his Imagine Entertainment. She also produced the critically acclaimed PAVAROTTI, also directed by Ron Howard. Jeanne produced the Emmy-winning, IDA & NAACP-nominated and Oscar-shortlisted THE APOLLO, directed by Oscar-winning director Roger Ross Williams. She also produced six-time Emmy-nominated, & multi-Emmy-winning, THE BEE GEES: HOW CAN YOU MEND A BROKEN HEART, directed by Frank Marshall of Kennedy/Marshall. Jeanne produced, with Amy Poehler’s Paper Kite, the six-time Emmy-nominated & multi-Emmy-winning, Hollywood Critics Association Television-winning, as well as Critics Choice, PGA, WGA, and Peabody-nominated, LUCY AND DESI. Jeanne is one of the producers of the Emmy-nominated, THE BEACH BOYS directed by Frank Marshall of Kennedy/Marshall. Jeanne is a co-producer of the multi-Emmy- nominated STAX: SOULSVILLE, U.S.A. directed by Jamila Wignot. Jeanne is also an executive producer on an upcoming documentary about LILITH FAIR, directed by Ally Pankiw and produced by Dan Levy. She also produced, alongside PGA President Stephanie Allain and her company Homegrown Pictures, BILLY PRESTON: THAT’S THE WAY GOD PLANNED IT directed by Emmy-winning director Paris Barclay. Jeanne is a producer on a feature film about KEITH MOON, the eccentric drummer of The Who, and she is also producing a number of other not yet announced high-end documentaries and projects now on White Horse Pictures’ slate.

She serves on the board of Step Up a nation-wide non-profit organization that propels girls living or going to school in under-resourced communities to fulfill their potential by empowering them to become confident, college-bound, career-focused, and ready to join the next generation of professional women.

Stanley Nelson, Co-Director We Want the Funk

Stanley Nelson [he/him] is today’s leading documentarian of the African American experience. His films combine compelling narratives with rich historical detail to shine new light on the under-explored American past. Awards received over the course of his career include a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, five Primetime Emmy Awards, and lifetime achievement awards from the Emmys and IDA. In 2013, Nelson received the National Medal in the Humanities from President Obama. In 2019, Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool was nominated by the Grammys for Best Music Film and won two Emmy® Awards at the 42nd Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards.

Nelson’s 2021 documentary Attica, for SHOWTIME Documentary Films, was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 94th Academy Awards® and earned him the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary. Also in 2021, Nelson directed the feature film Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy for Netflix, which was a 2022 duPont-Columbia Awards Finalist, and Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre, with co-director Marco Williams, for the HISTORY Channel, which was nominated for three Primetime Emmy® Awards. Nelson also executive produced After Jackie for the HISTORY Channel in 2022 about the generation of Black baseball players who came after Jackie Robinson. Nelson’s latest film, Sound of the Police, co-directed with Valerie Scoon and produced with ABC News Studios, is now streaming on Hulu.

In 2000, Mr. Nelson and his wife, Marcia Smith, co-founded Firelight Media, a non-profit organization that provides mentorship, funding, and artist development opportunities to emerging documentary filmmakers of color. In 2008, Nelson and Smith co-founded Firelight Films, a production company focused on making documentary films and developing strategies, partnerships, and materials to reach and engage diverse audiences.

Nicole London, Co-Director, We Want the Funk

Nicole London (Director, Producer) is an Emmy® Award-winning and GRAMMY® -nominated producer and director who began her career as an associate producer at PBS's To The Contrary and local stations in Maryland and has gone on to work on many projects with the top directors in documentary film.

She was an associate producer for AMERICAN MASTERS Marvin Gaye: What's Going On; Sammy Davis, Jr.: I've Gotta Be Me; POV's American Promise; and INDEPENDENT LENS' The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution, which was nominated for a 2016 Exceptional Merit In Documentary Filmmaking Emmy. She served as a producer on Life & Life and Netflix's Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy, directed by Stanley Nelson.

She was also the producer for Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, for which she was nominated for a 2020 GRAMMY for Best Music Film, and which won the 2021 News & Documentary Emmy for Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary. In 2021, she was honored as a Trailblazer at the 22nd Annual African American Women In Cinema Film Festival. She is currently directing a new project for AMERICAN MASTERS.

And, a big Thank You to Tim Cogshell and Krystal Tingle, the moderators of the events.

And a Very Special Thank You to our Sponsors!!

The Black Association of Documentary Filmmakers West is s project of Fulcrum Arts' Emerge fiscal sponsorship program. www.fulcrumarts.org.