I’m kicking off my 2026 film festival coverage with a trip to my old college stomping grounds. Denton, Texas, home of my alma mater, the University of North Texas, is host to the Denton Black Film Festival, the largest fest in Texas that focuses solely on Black-created films and performing arts.
Celebrating its twelfth year, the fest began in 2015 with an exclusive focus on movies. In the dozen years since its inception, the DBFF has expanded into a multifaceted cultural event for Black creatives to showcase their films, music, art, and standup comedy. Various panels and workshops covering topics ranging from the fundamentals of voice-over acting to the state of the contemporary Black church will also be available.
I learned about the DBFF while covering last year’s Oak Cliff Film Festival. One of the screenings I attended, an engrossing documentary about struggling Black farmers called Seeds, was sponsored by the DBFF. A representative from the fest spoke about the film and encouraged everyone to check out DBFF 2026.
The pitch worked on at least one member of the audience.
The theme for this year’s festival is “Hope and Courage.” That seems aspirational in our current moment. Hope feels like a near-depleted resource in the face of a fascist takeover of our federal government, and courage only seems to come from the proletariat (like the martyr Renee Good), and never from those with real power (like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Shumer).
But anyone who knows anything about me knows that my go-to destination to find the best of humanity is a film festival, where I can see creative people tell engrossing stories using the power of cinema. The schedule for DBFF 2026 promises to deliver plenty of what I seek.
The opening reception on Wednesday night, January 28, will showcase original artwork and essays from fourth and fifth grade students across Denton Independent School District, in a continuation of the partnership between the fest and DISD. The art and essays from the students will focus on the Hope and Courage theme.
The next night will feature the red-carpet premiere of Quakertown USA, the first part of a planned series focusing on the dismantling of a Black community in Denton in the early 20th century by the racist political establishment. From the synopsis: “In the tranquil, deceptively idyllic farmland of Denton, Texas, fifty-four families, nearly five hundred souls, spent 40 years weaving their lives into a tapestry of prosperity and hope. Yet, in the spring of 1921, malevolent forces, both political and economic, descended upon them, shattering both their community and trust in government. This community, known as Quaker, was destroyed, its citizens removed. The methodical efficiency of the removal was a crime near-perfect in its casual indifference and flawless execution, leaving wounds that would never fully heal.”
A few years ago, the City of Denton approved $250,000 in funding for the docuseries, with another quarter-million dollars to be raised for the project through a GoFundMe donation campaign. Quakertown USA sounds like a chronicling of a vital piece of North Texas (and American) history, and I’m looking forward to experiencing it.
Another highlight of the fest that I’m anticipating is the first half of Stax: Soulsville USA, a four-part documentary which premiered at SXSW 2024 before appearing on HBO later that year. All four parts of the music documentary are available for streaming on HBO Max, but hearing the music featured in the doc as it booms out over a theater sound system will surely be a pleasure I won’t want to miss. From the DBFF guide: “In Episode 1- we dive into how a humble Memphis studio became the beating heart of soul music. In Episode 2, we spotlight the legendary early artists—like Otis Redding, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Sam & Dave, and Carla Thomas—who shaped the label’s legacy. Each episode uncovers the stories behind the music and its cultural impact.”
My dad raised me on Booker T. & the M.G.’s, so I’m excited to learn more about that and other music groups that shaped the Stax sound.
Another music-centric doc on my radar is Enongo, which is billed as “an award-winning, feature-length, animation-documentary hybrid and the inspiring story of rapper/producer/Ph.D. candidate, Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo, a.k.a., Sammus.” The fest guide continues: “With her autobiographical and afrofuturism-inspired music, Enongo tackles various subjects including (but certainly not limited to) mental health, growing up, and relationships. Through a combination of actuality and animation, "Enongo" tells a universally-relevant, intimate, empowering story of identity, artistic creation, and survival. Notably, "Enongo" is the first feature-length film of any genre in history to have an all-Black women animation team.” Sounds delightful.
A documentary short, Beyond the Headlines: The NABJ Journey, tells the story of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), celebrating their 50th anniversary and setting a course for the road ahead.
Speaking of shorts, DBFF 2026 has a veritable cornucopia of shorts blocks with tantalizing headings like Becoming Ourselves, Stories in Motion, LGTBQ Stories - "In Our Truth", and a shorts block from The Alliance of Women Directors.
I can already recommend one film playing at DBFF 2026, because I had a chance to see it at DIFF 2025. (At least, I’m almost positive it was DIFF. There’s a small chance that I saw it at either SXSW 2025 or OCFF 2025. Seeing so many movies at so many different venues causes everything to become a blur, and, at the time, this title hadn’t yet been added to Letterboxd, so I can’t confirm definitively where I saw it.)
The film in question, Portrait of a Postman, tells the fascinating story of Texas Southern University graduate Kermit Oliver, who worked most of his life for the US Postal Service, but was also an accomplished painter and visual artist who became, as the festival guide notes, “the only American ever commissioned to design a scarf for Hermès.” Though I’ve already seen it, the DBFF screening will feature a Q&A with director and screenwriter Christopher Charles Scott and Kitti Sue Reed, granddaughter of Oliver. The Q&A will be moderated by my fellow North Texas Film Critics Association colleague Bart Weiss, so I might have to make time for a second look.
The Denton Black Film Festival will run Wednesday, January 28 through Sunday, February 1, 2026, extending virtually through February eighth. You can find single tickets and festival pass options for sale at their website. As always, you can find a complete log of everything I’m seeing at DBFF 2026 on my Letterboxd profile.
See you at the movies!