Celebrating Emerging Black Storytellers
Black Light: A Howard Short Film Showcase
Black Light is a two-night film showcase spotlighting Howard University’s emerging filmmakers alongside invited guest artists. Launched in Fall 2025 at the historic Miracle Theatre, the showcase brings together undergraduate directing students, MFA filmmakers, and alumni in a public program that honors Howard’s cinematic legacy and builds future creative community in Washington, D.C.
April 30 - May 1, 2026
Founder & Artistic Director
Akosua Adoma Owusu
Akosua Adoma Owusu is an award-winning filmmaker and Assistant Professor of Film at Howard University. Her work explores identity, memory, and the global Black diaspora, and has screened at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Berlin International Film Festival, and the New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center.
She is the founder and artistic director of Black Light: A Howard Short Film Showcase, an independently produced, faculty-led program presented through Obibini Pictures. Held at the Miracle Theatre, Black Light presents undergraduate and MFA alumni films in a theatrical setting, placing student work in dialogue with invited guest artists and industry professionals.
Owusu is also the founder of Save the Rex, an initiative to revive Ghana’s historic Rex Cinema in Accra as a space for film, culture, and public dialogue.
Associate Programmer
Zion Murphy
Zion Binet Murphy is a passionate filmmaker and culture worker currently pursuing an MFA in Film at Howard University. His cinematic practice is poetic and experimental, situated within the Black Fantastic and Third Cinema tradition. Driven by a deep commitment to the intersection of art and activism, Zion wields the camera as a powerful tool for driving social change.
Black Light: A Howard Short Film Showcase is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a nonprofit arts service organization. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
Featured Publications
The Dig
Published November 25th, 2025
From classroom to big screen, Black Light: A Howard Short Film Showcase is a platform for emerging filmmakers to share their work with public audiences. The showcase centers Black storytelling and intergenerational exchange in Washington, D.C.
Black Light: A Howard Short Film Showcase is presented by Obibini Pictures, LLC. This showcase is independently produced and is not an official Howard University event. Student films remain the intellectual property of their creators.
