Four Days of Films

The City of South Fulton, Georgia hosted its first annual South Global Film Festival from November 18, 2024 to November 21, 2024 at the South Fulton Southwest Arts Center. The free inaugural film festival celebrated diverse storytelling, culture, and innovation from filmmakers of the African diaspora.

“This is one of many to come to the City of South Fulton. I’m excited for us,” said South Fulton Councilwoman Helen Willis. “We have the largest African-American populas in the United States, so it’s good for us to embrace the film festival, [to] create the arts, and make sure that we encourage all to participate. Art is a universal language and it’s a way to express ourselves, it’s a way to heal, it’s a way to deal with mental illness, it’s a way to deal with stress…and I am glad that the City of South Fulton supports it.”

Each day, a new film or documentary was shown, followed by a panel from the talent. Throughout each night, it was emphasized that South Fulton is one of the Blackest, if not the Blackest, cities in America.

“This is a commemoration of Black excellence and being able to bring together many nationalities, many cultures, and really embrace that. It’s all about embracing the African diaspora but hey we’re a city on the rise…and we’re one of the Blackest cities in America, so it’s super important that we really capitalize on the film, the beauty, the fashion industry because that’s what we’re made of. We’re kings and queens,” said South Fulton Councilwoman Kesoha Bell.

During the four-day event, there were visits from talent including Terrell Carter from Tyler Perry’s “Black in Beauty” on Netflix, Lavendar from “Matilda”, influencer TonyTalks, TuTone from “P-Valley”, and more.

Day One: “Doubles”

Filmmaker Ian Harnarine showcased his film, “Doubles” on the first day of the South Global Film Festival. The film follows a young Trinidadian street vendor who traveled to Toronto to visit his estranged father to hopefully receive funds to take back home to his mother. In the process of visiting his father, they work through their family drama.

Harnarine, who has a background in physics and astronomy, based the film on his own relationship with his father. As a child of immigrants from Trinidad and Tobago, the Canadian filmmaker described the process of making the film to the Carvd N Stone team.

“At times it was really difficult but it comes from a really honest place and making the film really was a form of therapy in the end. I relived moments that I had with my own father up on the screen but even on set, over and over and over again retaking things, it really caused me to make peace with a lot of things that I had to deal with.”

According to a press release, Harnarine also holds the title of one of the “25 New Faces of Independent Film”.

Day Two: “Kumina Queen”

Day two was a transition from film to all documentaries starting with “Kumina Queen” by Nyasha Laing. The documentary highlights Imogene “Queenie” Kennedy who was a queen, a contemporary priestess, and a healer in post-colonial Jamaica.

The documentary not only shows who Queenie was but also discusses how important dance is to connecting to the spiritual world.

Laing spent three years researching archives where she became inspired by the voice of Queenie.

“Her voice just penetrated through these old files and no one really knew recently, in recent times, who she was and what she contributed to this faith and this expression in Jamaica and to the world. I was just inspired by that to continue, and after three years of research, I finally decided it was time to start filming,” said Laing.

Before working on this documentary, Laing studied Jamaican history while in college, including the songs of enslaved people to truly understand what they were going through, what they loved, how they expressed themselves, and how they resisted. For Laing, working on this documentary was a return to her research in college.

Day Three: “Makayla’s Voice”

For the first 14 years of her life, Makayla didn’t have a way to communicate with her family and the outside world because of autism. Thanks to the art of letter boarding, Makayla is finally able to show the world who she is and what’s inside of her mind. To give a voice to those dealing with the same thing, the documentary, “Makayla’s Voice: A Letter to the World” was created and showcased at the South Global Film Festival.

Throughout the documentary, audiences can witness Makayla’s newfound ability to express herself as she advocates for autism. This documentary is about Makayla’s journey to reclaim her voice.

“We experience so much alone thanks to Austim, so we are left in our big feelings alone and that’s scary,” Makayla said in the documentary. “…I want to show these boards to the world.”

At the time of filming, Makayla was 14 years old. She is now 17 and according to her dad Khari “Needlz” Cain, she’s just like any other teenager.

“To really have that empathy when you see a child knowing that they’re not dumb. They may have some challenges but they’re very much intact, for the most part,” said Cain. “She’s a regular 17-year-old kid.”

Day Four: “What About the Deacon?”

On the last day of the film festival, two films were shown starting with the documentary, “What About the Deacon?” The documentary examines the tragic case of Deacon Johnny Hollman, a 63-year-old man who was killed by an Atlanta police officer in August of 2023.

More than a year later and no one has been indicted. Hollman’s family came in support of the documentary to talk about the positive impacts their father made in their lives and in the community.

“What I remember most about my daddy is those early morning phone calls, waking me up at 6 or 7 o’clock in the morning saying, ‘Hey girlfriend. You woke?’ and I’d be like ‘Yeah, daddy, you done woke me up’,” said Arnitra Hollman, one of the deacon’s daughters. “…right now we’re just trying to live out his legacy and we want justice to be served.”

To end the film festival, actor Malik Yoba showcased his documentary, “Flipping the Hood: From the Ground Up”. This docs-series was designed to inspire and share information about opportunities to create equity, access to investment, and ownership in commercial and residential real estate developments to create generational wealth.

Yoba, who has a long history of working with youth, discussed the importance of why youth need to be a part of the conversation when it comes to real estate and receiving mentorship.

“I’m the product of what I’m talking about. So what happens when you pour into young people, and give them exposure, and give them opportunity, give them support, great things can happen,” said Yoba.

Although the film festival is currently free now, South Fulton Mayor Khalid Kaamu said that may not always be the case.

To watch Carvd N Stone’s South Global Film Festival interviews, click here.