Stefani Saintonge

Tomorrow I get to premiere my newest short AXEL at my favorite festival, @blackstarfest ! It’s about my wild little creature, who teaches me every day about love, and my way of preserving this fleeting, tender time in his life. This was also an experiment in process. We were a two-person crew, galvanizing both our families. Shot by my other half, Sebastien Denis, with my brilliant sister-in-law Josephine Denis as his mother. Deep gratitude as well to my sister @pskale04 for making an appearance and lending us her space while we explored this way of making. I’m also proud to see two other films I edited on the big screen this week: Untitled (How High the Moon) by Rashida Bumbray @sunrara and The Debutantes by Contessa Gayles @contessagayles See y’all in Philly 😝😝😝

Forever grateful to @contessagayles for inviting me on this journey. The Debutantes is a beautiful portrait on young women preparing to enter the world. I felt so close to each of them even though we only met at the premiere. And I learned so much about filmmaking and storytelling through this edit. Happy to report it’s out in the world streaming on @xumotv . Link in bio.

✨ Had an inspiring time cutting this deeply personal portrait of an artist processing/ in process with one of the most visionary artists of our time @solangeknowles . ・・・ Shakersss.mov (2025) VHS (8:14 minutes) Yucatán, Miami, New York Shakersss.mov will be showcased at @MOCA Los Angeles from February 16 to May 4, 2025, as part of American Gurl: home—land, an exhibition curated by @KiloKish and @zehrahmed , featured within the @WomxninWindows residency in the museum’s culture:LAB space.
 Directed by Solange Knowles
Edited by Solange Knowles and Stefani Saintonge (@steffisees )
Shot by Solange Knowles
Additional Shooting Chris Kauffman (@mr1of1 ) Title Card Design: @callmesabla I hereby declare that I do not own the rights to any of the music featured. All rights belong to the owner. No Copyright Infringement Intended.

Honored to accept this award tomorrow in recognition of our work with the New Negress Film Society. Collectivizing is a tricky but rewarding road, and I’m continually grateful to my fellow NNFS members past and present — especially Yvonne Michelle Shirley as we’ve together gone through NNFS’ many shifts in recent years. Cooperatives will save the world! Thank you @blackstarfest for recognizing it. ✨✨✨ ・・・ We are thrilled to honor @newnegressfilmsociety at this year’s #LuminaryGala.💥⁠ ⁠ Join us in celebrating them and other genre-defying artists on December 3 at The Switch House. Book your tickets by Wednesday, November 27 at the link in our bio or visit blackstarfest.org/gala. ⁠ ⁠ New Negress Film Society was founded in 2013 by Kumi James (formerly Wendy James), Nevline Nnaji, Nuotama Bodomo, and Ja’Tovia Gary. The collective, composed of Black women and non-binary filmmakers, creates communal spaces–like the Black Women Film Conference, and films that reimagine cultural productions that have traditionally exploited our communities.⁠ ⁠ The award will be accepted by New Negress Film Society members Stefani Saintonge (@steffisees ) and Yvonne Michelle Shirley. Saintonge’s FUCKED LIKE A STAR, won the juried and audience awards at #BSFF18. Additionally, her edited works have screened at Sundance, Berlinale, Tribeca, Guggenheim, and PBS. @yvonnemichelleshirley is the director of the Community Media Center at Express Newark, a socially engaged art center at Rutgers University-Newark. Her short film MIASIA: THE NATURE OF EXPERIENCE premiered at #BSFF17. ⁠

Looking forward to soaking this up ✨✨✨

My little chunky bestie is six months 😝😝. Here’s a moment from each month of his life so far.

Deeply honored to be participating in this historic event. ✨✨✨ @newnegressfilmsociety ・・・ In 1976, an extraordinary group of Black feminist artists and activists—Michele Wallace, Faith Ringgold, Patricia Jones, Margo Jefferson, and Monica Freeman—co-organized the first ever Black women’s film festival: the Sojourner Truth Festival of the Arts. The festival, held at New York’s Women’s Interart Center, powerfully linked Black women’s filmmaking to other artforms: Ntozake Shange and Joanne Braxton gave poetry readings, Faith Ringgold debuted a performance piece, Camille Billops lectured on art history, and an array of artists participated in panel discussions. Situating new film-work by Black women within a broader Black feminist arts ecosystem, the festival was simultaneously a celebration of the emerging world of Black women’s filmmaking as well as a radical call for the kinds of socio-political and institutional changes necessary for a Black women’s film culture to thrive. Four decades later, The Sojourner Truth Festival of the Arts, 2023 will commemorate the 1976 festival with a nine-week screening series. The final symposium, featuring roundtable conversations with some of the original festival participants and contemporary filmmakers, will provide an opportunity to reflect on the past and future of Black women’s filmmaking. Stefani Saintonge (@steffisees ) and Yvonne Michelle Shirley (@yvonnemichelleshirley ) are honored to participate in this program. To learn more and watch the livestream, visit voices.uchicago.edu/sojourner/. @loganuchicago #sojournertruthfestivalofthearts2023

This year, I transitioned into motherhood, and what a beautiful journey it’s been so far. I’m full of gratitude for the community of mothers and caregivers around me who generously prepped us with advice, education, gear and genuine empathy. Thank you @pskale04 , @tamarasttaj , @oneheartmedicine , @tikouks and the many people who offered to help, shared their experiences and little tips along the way. Our little Axel will soon learn how much love surrounds him. 💜💜💜💜

I’m incredibly proud of what we manifested this year. Many thanks to everyone who supported our fundraising campaign enabling us to continue centering The Work. Hope to see you all in Harlem Saturday! ✨✨✨✨ #Repost @newnegressfilmsociety ・・・ Our third annual Black Women’s Film Conference returns in just 2 weeks! Join us on October 1, 2022 at The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem. Register today for a full day of screenings and conversation series featuring the work, practices, and principles of Black women and non-binary filmmakers. Join us as we re-center our voices and shift the gaze toward our collective imagination. Extended conversations and films featuring: Madeline Anderson Jessica Beshir Claire-Laura Flamand Ellie Foumbi Dr. Terri Francis Gessica Généus Vashni Korin Simone Lagrand Loira Limbal Melissa Lyde Dr. Samantha Sheppard Dr. Salamishah Tillet ✨Click the link in our bio for more details and to register✨ Video and Audio: Excerpt from film “You Can’t Stop Spirit” (2021) by Vashni Korin.

We’re working hard to bring back this rare event. Please support today make it happen! ✨✨✨ #Repost @newnegressfilmsociety ・・・ New Negress Film Society is fundraising and we'd love your support! Our third annual Black Women’s Film Conference will take place at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (@schomburgcenter ) and Marcus Garvey Park on Saturday, October 1, 2022. Click on the link in our bio and support us today! 🔥 🔥 🔥 The conference will include film screenings, a panel discussion with Black women film writers and critics, and a cocktail reception for guest filmmakers and attendees. Weather permitting, after-dark screenings will take place at Marcus Garvey Park (just a 15-minute walk from the Schomburg). 🔥 🔥 🔥 Your support throughout the years made the 2019 and 2020 Black Women's Film Conferences a success. We are committed to hosting our event in a Black community, free and open to the public. Your contribution will go directly towards supporting attendee access, conference participants, guest filmmakers and their work. 🔥 Video: Dyani, Music: Submerge by @dyanidouze #BlackWomensFilm Conference

#Repost @newnegressfilmsociety ・・・ The Collective Conversation series continues today, February 24th at 7:00PM EST. This virtual series features scholars and filmmakers amplifying communal forms of filmmaking while centering the political act of collectivity. Brett Story is an award-winning filmmaker and writer whose work explores geographies of power and struggle. Her films have screened in theatres and festivals widely, including at CPH-DOX, SXSW, Hot Docs and Sheffield Doc Fest. She is the director of the critically acclaimed feature documentaries “The Prison in Twelve Landscapes” (2016) and “The Hottest August” (2019), and author of the book “Prison Land.” Brett has held fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the Sundance Documentary Institute and she was named one of Variety’s 10 Documentary Filmmakers to Watch in 2019. The New Negress Film Society is a collective of Black women and non-binary filmmakers who create community, spaces, and films that reimagine cultural productions that have traditionally exploited our communities. We coordinate public programming and produce films committed to centering radical Black women's voices. We protect the integrity of our artistic process from the commercialization and commodification that have historically caused harm to our communities. We believe the best protection is collectivizing. Join us as we explore the histories, strategies, and methods of collective artmaking. This free and public event series will be recorded and made available on the @newnegressfilmsociety website. 2. Portrait of Brett Story 3. Portrait of New Negress Film Society Member Chanelle Aponte Pearson 4. Portrait of New Negress Film Society Member Stefani Saintonge 5. Portrait of New Negress Film Society Member Yvonne Michelle Shirley Sound: Petter Eldh & Koma Saxo - Erzeben Koma #newnegressfilmsociety #collectiveconvoseries #BrettStory #BlackCinema #BlackIndependentFilm #StefaniSaintonge #ChanelleApontePearson #yvonnemichelleshirley

Centropy directed by Deana Lawson. ✨Much appreciation to @theummahchroma for bringing me in to cut this beautiful and inspiring self-portrait. Deana Lawson is a revelation. This film is available online.