“The Black Girl Lives!” Inaugural Event Celebrated Black Female Horror Filmmakers
History was made in Philadelphia on August 7, 2025. The tired Black best friend and underutilized Black women trends were tossed out like old trash. For one beautiful evening, an audience gathered because they were promised a night of short films where the Black Girl lives. The inaugural event, titled The Black Girl Lives: Diasporic Horror Shorts, was held at the Philadelphia Film Society, and an eager crowd filled the space on a school night, ready to support Black women filmmakers. The event originated as a partnership between Dusky Projects and Be Reel Black Cinema Club.
The evening began with a mixer, allowing people to meet the filmmakers while buying incense and getting tarot readings from local vendors. As the crowd moved into the screening space, filmmakers posed for photos in the lobby. Some writers and directors even met integral parts of their team in person for the first time. Meanwhile, strangers shared their bottles of wine while making friends. Many attendees mentioned that horror movies are too scary for them. However, they wanted to come out to support this event for the culture and were willing to risk a few nightmares.
When the theater doors opened, the energy was infectious as people found their lobby friends and got seated together. Everyone seemed excited to see the four shorts made by Black women and starring Black women.
The First Annual Black Girl Lives event included:
Fell Ends, written and directed by Eunice Levis. The one-minute short followed a teen running late to meet up with friends. She takes a shortcut through the woods despite being warned about a forest demon named La Ciguapa.
Affordable Housing, written by Wi-Moto Nyoka and directed by Eunice Levis. The short explores the housing crisis as two roommates must fight to the death to keep their apartment.
You Were Dead Yesterday, written and directed by Destiny Cox. The movie follows a family trying to survive a zombie apocalypse caused by the government.
Cabbage, written by Vincent J. Walker and directed by Destinee McCaster. A couple thinks their prayers are answered when a mysterious stranger offers them what they think they want.
The Viewing Experience and Building Community
Unlike most film screenings, the audience was encouraged to react in real time to the films. This fostered a sense of community as people cheered the characters on or giggled at their neighbor’s reactions. This is another way The Black Girl Lives sets itself apart from other events. It also highlights the event organizer’s, Wi-Moto Nyoka of Dusky Projects, goal to get people offline and speaking to each other in person.
“It’s really important to remember that the technology, the software, were tools. You know it was to assist and enhance socializing and connection. Not to eat it, or make it disappear, or do that with a robot,” Nyoka explained. “It was, in fact, meant for people to stay in touch with one another and to facilitate us connecting in person.”
She continued, “You know, initially, when it was packaged and sold to us, it was supposed to deepen this connection and not destroy it. So, I think that as long as we remember that the tech is a tool. This is an inanimate object to be used as we see fit. The goal is to be in person, to be together. To talk to each other face-to-face, and not to be anonymous to one another. Because that’s how we survive, and that’s how we grow, and that’s also how we live in a real society. Not in this weird dystopia that we’re in now.”
Nyoka further elaborated on why it is so crucial for people to get to know their local communities and neighbors, saying, “Building in-person communities is essential just to being human, but I also think with movement work, or with even just reprieve from movement work, right? It can’t all be struggle. How will we get together and party if we don’t get together and party?”
What Horror Means To The Filmmakers
After the shorts block, The Black Girl Lives held a talkback for all the filmmakers in attendance. When asked why the horror genre was the perfect vehicle for their movie’s message, the filmmakers had some very cool answers.
Destiny Cox said, “More people are able to resonate and relate to the main characters versus a regular drama. They are able to empathise…It allows people to imagine the craziest thing of being able to relate to the person who is suffering.”
Nyoka stated, “I believe that horror is intimate. You’re not supposed to tell people what you’re scared of, and I really like doing things that I’m not supposed to do. That’s why it’s horror for me all the time. Also, I really want to communicate how something feels, and drama just isn’t enough because it doesn’t allow for the magic.”
She elaborated, “I love magic, I need magic, and horror gives me magical language to play with, to communicate with. So, you understand how this feels, sounds, and looks. I need the magic, I need the larger-than-life language, I need the iconography to really convey what this feels like. This genre allows me to do that.”
Eunice Levis explained, “Horror allows you to see the worst-case scenario. What is the worst thing that can happen? That’s what I want to see. I love the idea that you can play around with what is the worst thing that can happen to this person at this time, and how can I make it super horrific? That’s the challenge.”
Levis continued, “It also plays into our anxieties because we do anticipate it, and we do have these anxieties of the worst things that can happen. Seeing someone else go through that and seeing their human responses is fun.”
Nyoka is already planning for the next iteration of The Black Girl Lives. However, if you are looking for more Philadelphia horror gatherings to hold you over until then, follow Nyoka’s award-winning show, Black Women Are Scary. Nyoka is working on in-person events for the podcast this fall.
Categorized: Editorials
