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While the all-star casts of The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat and Fight Night will have their glitzy premieres in Hollywood and New York, respectively, in the upcoming weeks, when it came time to screen those films to audiences for the first time, that took place far from the typical red carpet venues — a performing arts center in Martha’s Vineyard.

That’s where actors like Sanaa Lathan, Uzo Aduba, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and Mekhi Phifer — the stars of The Supremes — along with Fight Night’s Taraji P. Henson and Abbott Elementary’s Sheryl Lee Ralph and more flocked for the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival earlier this month, signalling the prominence and importance of the film festival as it completed its 22nd year.

The Mvaaf has become a key destination for Black projects of all types — from documentaries like Netflix’s Daughters and CNN Films’ Luther to Natasha Rothwell...

Prepare for a knockout. Peacock’s limited series “Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist” will premiere at the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival on Aug. 10, closing out its 22nd edition with a star-studded night of programming.

The special presentation will include a career-spanning conversation with “Fight Night” executive producer Will Packer, titled “The Power of Legacy and Influence,” followed by a screening of the show. Then, series stars Taraji P. Henson, Don Cheadle and Chloe Bailey; creator, writer, showrunner and executive producer Shaye Ogbonna; and Packer will sit for one of the festival’s signature “Color of Conversation” discussions. Throughout the evening, DJ Trauma will spin a variety of rare groove vinyls, mashups and hip-hop and soul hits from the 1970s and today to keep the vibe at the venue high.

Based on the acclaimed true-crime podcast, “Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist” chronicles how an armed robbery...

You can’t hurry love, but you can hurry to catch the world premiere of “The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can Eat” at the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival. The Searchlight Pictures movie, starring Uzo Aduba, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and Sanaa Lathan, will debut on Aug. 7 as the Centrepiece selection for the 22nd annual film fest.

The Mvaaff, an Oscar-qualifying film festival in the short film category, was established in 2002 by Run & Shoot Filmworks principals Floyd and Stephanie Rance and runs from Aug. 2-10 with an impressive slate of films, documentaries, panel discussions and exclusive events focused on amplifying Black voices, storytelling and culture. The special presentation of “The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can Eat” will be followed by one of the festival’s signature “Color of Conversation” discussions, featuring Aduba, Ellis-Taylor, Lathan, Mekhi Phifer and director Tina Mabry, moderated by journalist Cori Murray.

Based on Edward Kelsey Moore’s 2013 bestselling novel,...

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Former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama surprised the audience during the opening night of the Martha’s Vineyard African-American Film Festival to celebrate their documentary Descendant.

The couple visited the Friday event to introduce the film that their Higher Ground Productions picked up after its premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and is set to release through Netflix later this year. Director Margaret Brown’s feature, which hails from Participant, centers on residents of Africatown, a small community in Alabama, who have a shared history as descendants of the Clotilda, the last known slave ship to illegally bring captives from Africa to the U.S. The existence of the ship had been a centuries-old open secret that was confirmed by marine archeologists in recent years.

After an introduction from Descendant executive producer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, the Obamas took the stage at Harbor View Hotel in Edgartown,...

The 2022 Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival (Mvaaff) kicked off Friday with great pomp and circumstance — and a few bars of “Hail to the Chief” — as Barack and Michelle Obama made a special appearance for the opening night screening of Netflix documentary “Descendant.”

When Netflix acquired worldwide rights to the Sundance award-winning documentary in January, the Obamas’ production company Higher Ground signed on to present the feature alongside the streamer and Participant. The documentary, which earned the U.S. special jury award for creative vision at Sundance, is set to launch on the streamer later this year.

Directed by Margaret Brown, the documentary follows members of Africatown, a small community in Alabama, as they share their personal stories and community history as descendants of the Clotilda, the last known ship carrying enslaved Africans to the United States. The ship arrived in America 40 years after African slave trading became a capital offense.

Exclusive: Key programming continues for the 20th annual Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival (Mvaaff) taking place August 5th – 13th.

The festival continues its slate of programming with featured content celebrating Black voices, with documentaries and the signature Q&a series, Color of Conversation from Run & Shoot Filmworks, and Festival Co-Founders Floyd and Stephanie Rance.

“Prime Video hosts Visionary Women: A Conversation with the New Wave of Filmmaking Voices,” featuring writer/director Nikyatu Jusu (Nanny) and writer/director Mariama Diallo (Master) at the Martha’s Vineyard Performing Arts Center. The moderated discussion will be led by acclaimed actress, producer and 2022 Harvard graduate, Yara Shahidi. Through the lens of horror, the conversation between these three remarkable women will dive deep into Nikyatu Jusu and Mariama Diallo’s journey to the director’s chair, pushing genre boundaries, and the cultural discourse illustrated in their storytelling.

Disney’s Onyx Collective continues...

The 20th annual Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival (Mvaaff) will open with the award-winning documentary “Descendant” from Netflix, Participant Media and Higher Ground, Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company.

The documentary — which earned the U.S. special jury award for creative vision after its Sundance Film Festival debut earlier this year — follows members of Africatown, a small community in Alabama, as they share their personal stories and community history as descendants of the Clotilda, the last known slave ship to illegally transport human beings as cargo from West Africa to America. The opening night screening will be held at the Martha’s Vineyard Performing Arts Center on Friday, Aug. 5, at 8 p.m. Et, followed by a panel discussion with director Margaret Brown and producers Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter and Essie Chambers.

Celebrating 20 years of Black excellence in film, the Mvaaff — an Oscar-qualifying film festival...