The 4th Annual HBCU First LOOK Film & TV Festival returns to Howard University November 5-7, with Starz serving as presenting sponsor for the first time. This year’s theme, “How to Be the Next,” centers the festival around turning HBCU talent into industry decision-makers through screenings, master classes, and direct conversations with alumni working across film and television.
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Actors Laya DeLeon Hayes and DaSan Frazier headline as the 2026 I Aspire Ambassadors, hosting the Salute THEM Awards luncheon, where winners of the HBCU First LOOK Challenge, selected from more than 450 entries, will split a collective $8,500 along with an internship opportunity. That same luncheon honors the 2026 I Aspire 25, recognizing HBCU alumni across five categories, including Michael Strahan, Eva Marcille, Jamila Mustafa, Colby Muhammad Nixon, and Tone Bell.
This year’s Film Challenge Finalists include:
- Best Feature Film: Rooted in Resilience: Black Farmer Perspectives on Land, Loss, and Legacy — Jada Davis, Florida A&M University
- Best Short Film: Glitch in the System: The War for Women’s Place in Gaming — Alysha McKnight, Bowie State University
- Best Documentary: Black Gymnasts in HERstory — Naimah Muhammed, Fisk University
- Best Mobile Film: My Alter Ego — Christian Sutton, Coppin State University
- Best Family & Faith Film: Flowers — Mya Nechell Frye, Howard University
- Best Animated Film: New Student Dis-Orientation: Chad Against the World (S1:EP3) — Kimarley Henry, Morehouse College
- Best Wellness Film: My Testimony: Gender, Sexuality, and HIV in the Black Church — Raina Danyelle Jenkins, Florida A&M University
- Best Verticals Film (New Category): Decision Day — Talia Renee Watson, Howard University
- Global Impact Film: Unconditional Love — Diego Fernando Borrillo, Argentina
Founded by Howard alumna Sheila Eldridge, the festival has built its identity specifically around closing the gap between exposure and actual industry access for HBCU students, a distinction Eldridge emphasized directly, noting that 12 Howard students are helping produce this year’s event themselves. That structure, students shaping programming rather than simply attending it, reflects a broader shift in how some industry pipeline programs are moving away from one-off mentorship toward sustained, hands-on production experience built into the event itself.
Programming this year includes:
- A Starz-presented panel with P-Valley stars Nicco Annan and Shannon Thornton
- A 10th anniversary celebration from founding sponsor Andscape, featuring producers Sheila Matthews and Jesse Washington
- A session with producer Autumn Bailey-Ford on global film production
- A master class on vertical storytelling led by Nicki Micheaux
- A conversation with Grammy winners Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis alongside Broadway’s Myles Frost on music’s relationship to television, film, and stage
- Creator-focused panels featuring Alexis Powell, Jade & Jadah, and the Burke Brothers
- A leading-lady panel featuring actress Kennedi Reece, an I Aspire 25 honoree starring in Netflix’s upcoming A Different World reboot
- An AspireTV spotlight on its new scripted series Savannah State of Mind, from producer Bentley Kyle Evans
The festival has drawn an increasingly prominent roster of Black film and television talent since its 2023 launch, including Ryan Coogler, Lynn Whitfield, Marsai Martin, Naturi Naughton, and Keshia Knight Pulliam in past years, alongside industry leaders like costume designer Ruth E. Carter and TV One founder Cathy Hughes.
With 12 Howard students directly shaping this year’s festival from the inside, the bigger story to watch is how much of that hands-on production experience follows these students into actual industry roles once the festival wraps.
TO PURCHASE TICKETS, CLICK HERE.