Issue 010 of @seen_journal is now available for pre-order. This 10th edition celebrates the cinema that has changed us, the craft of timeless and genre-defying movies, and BlackStar’s evolution as an organization. It brings together thoughts from @anamibia , Beverly Wood, @fahamupecou , @cheryldunye , @meriembennani , and more.
Pre-order a copy today at the link in our bio or visit seenjournal.org
Join us on Thursday, May 28 @barnesfoundation for our #Seen010 launch event! Get your tickets at the link in our bio. 🎟️
This special evening will feature a conversation about how the 10th issue of Seen came together from the editorial and design process with section editor @cam_acker and art director @l.brks , moderated by editor-in-chief @heidi_saman .
Tickets include a copy of issue 010 for pick-up at the event, plus access to the Freedom Dreams exhibition co-curated by @maorikarmael (founder of BlackStar and Seen)! On view at the Barnes through August 9.
This event is presented with support from @opensocietyfoundations . Subscribers and those have already pre-ordered #Seen010 receive free entry, you will receive a code via email.
Take a peek at the table of contents for #Seen010, featuring writing and reflections from some of our favorite artists and thinkers. Pre-order your copy today at the link in our bio or visit seenjournal.org
A massive congratulations goes out to Autumn Durald Arkapaw, who made history last night as the first woman to win an Academy Award for Best Cinematography.
Revisit the BlackStar Luminary Gala honoree’s letter to emerging cinematographers featured in Seen Issue 009. She reflects on lensing SINNERS and encourages young filmmakers to be brave and draw inspiration from within themselves.
“Great storytelling happens when you find the right moments, the right light, the right framing, and, most importantly, an emotional connection. This connection stays with people long after the image fades,” writes @addp . “A single still image has the power to stay with you, and this opportunity to create many images, moving ones, is something I never take for granted. Being bold creatively means trusting your voice and sharing work that reflects who you truly are.”
Read the full letter at the link in the bio.
We had a #Seen009 contributors roundtable @reparationsclub in Los Angeles last month and people turned out! Thank you to everyone who joined us and to @jennyyangtv , @mayasymonecade , @darolkae_ , and editor-in-chief @heidi_saman for a great conversation.
Swipe for a few photos from the special night.
📸: @pablo.a .
*UPDATE: The Dreams Issue is officially out-of-stock! Thank you for supporting one of our favorite editions, check out the other issues at the link in our bio.*
Heads up! We were digging through our closets and found a small quantity of our previously sold out #TheDreamsIssue.
They are now available for sale on our online shop!
A huge congratulations goes out to BAFTA outstanding debut award winner @akinoladaviesjr ! The MY FATHER’S SHADOW director spoke with Seen contributor @kambolecampbell about making the film, why he doubled down on romanticizing his childhood in Nigeria, and the layered history of the country.
Read the full interview, a special early release from our upcoming edition #Seen010, at the link in our bio.
“As the United States revives colonialism with anti-immigration policy and aggressive foreign policies, the films of Akinola Davies Jr. feel like a spiritual counterbalance,” writes Campbell. “Davies’s films, through their intimate stories, show the potential for change already coming from within.”
#Seen010 will be available on stands in May. MY FATHER’S SHADOW made its U.S. theatrical debut earlier this month.
🖊️: @kambolecampbell
📷: Stills from My Father’s Shadow (2025) dir. Akinola Davies Jr. Courtesy of MUBI.
Have you booked your tickets yet for our contributor’s roundtable? Meet us next Thursday, February 12 at 7pm @reparations.club for an evening of food, drinks, and conversation.
#Seen009 contributors @mayasymonecade , @jennyyangtv and @darolkae_ will discuss Black film distribution, the experience of being a DEI hire in Hollywood, and the subversive poetics of Charles Burnett’s KILLER OF SHEEP (1978). The talk will be moderated by editor-in-chief @hiedi_saman .
Tickets include a copy of Issue 009 for pick-up at the event. Get yours at the link in our bio.
Photos by @pablo.a .
Los Angeles friends! Meet us @reparations.club on February 12 at 7pm for a special contributors roundtable with #Seen009 writers @mayasymonecade , @jennyyangtv , and @darolkae_ , moderated by editor-in-chief @heidi_saman . Tickets at the link in our bio.✨
They’ll discuss Black film distribution, the experience of being a DEI hire in Hollywood, and the subversive poetics of Charles Burnett’s KILLER OF SHEEP.
Tickets include a copy of #Seen009 for pick-up at the event, plus light food and drinks. For Seen subscribers and those who have previously ordered the issue, entry is free—you will receive a complimentary code via email.
This event is presented by @opensocietyfoundations .
We hope you’ve been enjoying #Seen009. We’ve loved highlighting some of the powerful essays, profiles, and interviews featured in this edition. Do you have a piece that is sticking with you from this edition? Let us know in the comments below.
Make sure to pick up a copy at one of our stockists or order via our online store at blackstarfest.org/seen.
For #Seen009, writer @bedatridc explores a Mumbai artists’ studio and collective that’s redefining how we archive.
“Through images, words, and videos, CAMP strives to create an ecosystem where the ideas of search and re-search are met with rigor and labor, and eschews a world where people turn to a state-controlled body (national archives), hegemonic power structures (academic archives), or tech conglomerates (internet search engines),” writes Choudhury.
Read the full profile and order a copy of #Seen009 at the link in our bio.
🖊️: @bedatridc
📷: Images from pad.ma archive.
In an essay for #Seen009, writer Nicole G. Young looks back at the film and TV adaptations of Colson Whitehead’s novel–NICKEL BOYS (2024) and THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD (2021), and asks speculative authors and filmmakers to stop replicating cycles of violence in their work and to instead use the genre as a tool for re-imagining.
“Speculative fiction provides an opportunity to imagine what never was and what has yet to be seen. It doesn’t require utopia or catharsis, but it does require us to imagine our own world differently,” writes @ittybittyng . “To a degree, Whitehead’s writing seems to understand that; after all, he allows Cora to escape her pursuer via a magical train. But even in a dreamlike narrative, this Black author does not seem to think his protagonists are worthy of any justice or true peace.”
Read the full essay and order a copy of #Seen009 at the link in our bio.
🖊️: @ittybittyng
🖼️: Illustrations by @seesaalt , 2025, based on stills from Nickel Boys (2024), dir. RaMell Ross, courtesy Orion Pictures.
