BlackStar Projects, the parent organization of the BlackStar Film Festival , will host its third annual Luminary Gala this month in Philadelphia, with Sinners DoP Autumn Durald Arkapaw and legendary filmmaker Robert Townsend, best known for his seminal satire Hollywood Shuffle (1987), among the list of names that will receive career honors at the event.

BlackStar first launched its Luminary Awards in 2012, with previous honorees including Mira Nair, Menelik Shabazz, Ava DuVernay, Julie Dash, and Wu-Tang’s RZA. The Luminary Gala is an offshoot event launched by BlackStar in 2023. The Gala serves as a presentation for the awards as well as a fundraiser for the Festival, which celebrates its 15th anniversary next year.

“I’m shocked that it’s already been 15 years,” Maori Karmael Hol

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