March on Washington Film Festival

March on Washington Film Festival Uplifting the untold stories of the Civil Rights era to inspire renewed activism.

The focus of the entire film festival is the untold or lesser told stories of the civil rights movement. A focus on the thousands of men and women who courageously worked to make this nation whole.” -Robert Raben, festival founder

The March on Washington Film Festival increases awareness of the untold events and unsung heroes of the Civil Rights Era and inspires a renewed passion for activism. The Film Festival leverages the power of film, music, scholarship, and the arts to share these important stories. It was founded in 2013, on the 50th anniversary of the original March on Washington.

Three student filmmakers. Three unflinching stories. One morning to experience them all.Our 2026 Student Narrative Final...
09/11/2026

Three student filmmakers. Three unflinching stories. One morning to experience them all.

Our 2026 Student Narrative Finalists are bringing fresh, urgent perspectives to the screen this fall:

🎬 THE DAY YOU FIND YOUR NAME, directed by Dominique R. Draper, tells the story of one of the women of the Black Panther Party — the labor, leadership, and sacrifice that so often go unnamed in that history.

🎬 MADE IN AMERICA, directed by Maritza Cruz, follows a 16-year-old migrant girl whose search for her missing best friend leads her to a heartbreaking truth about the garment factory where they both work.

🎬 JOHN, directed by Amirah Adem, follows a Black lawyer who disguises herself as a white man to navigate a corporate law office built on bias — and discovers just how deep that bias runs.

Join us for Tomorrow's Truth-Tellers: Student Film Competition on October 3, 10:00 AM–1:30 PM EDT at the Myrtilla Miner Building Auditorium, Howard University School of Education.

The morning opens with remarks from DC Film Commissioner LaToya Foster, continues with the student finalist screenings, and closes with a talkback led by Emmy-winning producer Opal Hope Bennett and a reception with this year's finalists and jury.

Registration is free — https://marchonfest.org/event/student-filmmaker-competition-finalist-screenings-talkbacks/ Come see the next generation of civil rights storytellers for yourself.

As we count down to the Festival, we're kicking things off with a conversation 250 years in the making.The Boston Sister...
09/10/2026

As we count down to the Festival, we're kicking things off with a conversation 250 years in the making.

The Boston Sisters — Michon and Taquiena — have spent their podcast Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters® unpacking how film has dramatized America's long fight for rights. Their 2026 series, Revolution to Rights: America at 250, walks through 10 episodes and titles like Lincoln, Harriet, Glory, Selma, Mrs. America, and John Adams — using each one as a window into real history, and a mirror for where we still have work to do.

Anthony Coley will moderate this free, virtual conversation on Wednesday, September 16 from 7:00–7:45 PM ET. It's a preamble to everything we've got coming this fall for the March On! Festival.

Register here https://marchonfest.org/event/revolution-to-rights-america-at-250-a-conversation-with-the-boston-sisters/ — it's free, so bring a friend.

Join us October 2 at Metropolitan AME Church for Shall We Gather? Allyship, Music & The Power of Collective Voice — an e...
09/10/2026

Join us October 2 at Metropolitan AME Church for Shall We Gather? Allyship, Music & The Power of Collective Voice — an evening of conversation and song exploring what it really means to show up for one another across lines of difference.

We're honored to welcome William H. Lamar IV, Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, Minister Rahiel Tesfamariam, Mumu Fresh, Rutha Mae Harris, and Andrea R. Flores, with Robert Raben moderating.

Tickets are $10 and up — priced to make sure everyone can be in the room. This is one gathering in a full week of films, conversations, performances, and gatherings connecting the unsung heroes of our past to the movements shaping our future.

Keep an eye out — we'll be spotlighting each panelist individually in the coming days.

🎟️ Get your tickets — https://marchonfest.org/event/shall-we-gather-allyship-music-the-power-of-collective-voice/

09/09/2026

What happens behind the scenes of a decade-long civil rights arts festival? Last night, founders Robert Raben, Isisara Bey, and Opal H. Bennett sat down with Jamal Simmons to answer exactly that — candid stories, unexpected laughs, and gems from the road that shaped March On! along the way. Then came the big reveal: the 2026 finalists for our 10 Years of Film competition. Watch the full conversation now on our YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUj0VJQlNXE&t=11s and get ready — our next preamble to the Festival drops September 16.

Mark your calendar. 🎥The Power of the Story: Emerging Filmmaker Competition returns as part of the 14th Annual March On!...
09/08/2026

Mark your calendar. 🎥

The Power of the Story: Emerging Filmmaker Competition returns as part of the 14th Annual March On! Festival — and this year celebrates 10 Years of Film. Emerging storytellers take the stage at Howard University to share the histories and perspectives too often left untold.

📅 Saturday, October 3 | 12:30–4PM
📍 Myrtilla Miner Building Auditorium, Howard University School of Education
2565 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001 (entrance on 6th St NW)

Want a first look at who made this year's competition? We're revealing the finalists live TONIGHT at March On! After Hours: The Stories You Haven't Heard — streaming free on our YouTube, 7–8:30PM ET. https://youtube.com/live/NUj0VJQlNXE

Meet the jury behind Tomorrow's Truth-Tellers, our Student Film Competition: Anurima Bhargava (Civil Rights Advocate and...
09/07/2026

Meet the jury behind Tomorrow's Truth-Tellers, our Student Film Competition: Anurima Bhargava (Civil Rights Advocate and Filmmaker), Louis Massiah (Filmmaker and Founder of Scribe Video Center), and Srikanth Nandigama (Award-Winning Cinematographer and Educator).

This panel is reviewing finalist submissions ahead of the October 3 screening at Howard University, part of 10 Years of Film. https://marchonfest.org/event/student-filmmaker-competition-finalist-screenings-talkbacks/

Want to know which films they selected? Tune in live to March On! After Hours: Behind the Scenes & the Film Finalists Revealed on September 8 for the exclusive announcement. marchonfest.org https://marchonfest.org/event/march-on-after-hours-the-stories-you-havent-heard/

Tomorrow's Truth-Tellers takes the stage October 3. This Student Film Competition spotlights the next generation of stor...
09/04/2026

Tomorrow's Truth-Tellers takes the stage October 3. This Student Film Competition spotlights the next generation of storytellers carrying civil rights history and today's justice movements forward — part of 10 Years of Film at the 14th Annual March On! Festival. Join us Saturday, October 3, 10AM–1:30PM at the Myrtilla Miner Building Auditorium, Howard University School of Education (entrance on 6th St NW). https://marchonfest.org/event/student-filmmaker-competition-finalist-screenings-talkbacks/

Want a first look at who made the cut? Tune in live to March On! After Hours: Behind the Scenes & the Film Finalists Revealed on September 8 for the exclusive finalist announcement. marchonfest.org https://marchonfest.org/event/march-on-after-hours-the-stories-you-havent-heard/

The box office is open. The 14th Annual March On! Festival returns to Washington, DC and virtually, September 29–October...
09/02/2026

The box office is open. The 14th Annual March On! Festival returns to Washington, DC and virtually, September 29–October 6, with this year's theme: 250 Years of Democracy. Film, music, and conversation connecting untold stories of the Civil Rights Movement to today's justice movements. It opens with the Opening Night Awards Gala at Dock 5, Union Market. Get your seat at marchonfest.org.

Save the date: September 16th.Our Preambles series continues — a lead-up to the 14th Annual March On! Festival — with Re...
08/31/2026

Save the date: September 16th.

Our Preambles series continues — a lead-up to the 14th Annual March On! Festival — with Revolution to Rights: America at 250, a conversation with sisters Michon and Taquiena Boston, moderated by Anthony Coley, on 250 years of democracy and the work still ahead.

Free and virtual, streaming on YouTube.

Did you know? Slavery was abolished in the United States in 1865 — and within months, Southern states had already found ...
08/31/2026

Did you know? Slavery was abolished in the United States in 1865 — and within months, Southern states had already found a way around it.

The Black Codes restricted nearly every part of Black life: no land ownership, no freedom of assembly, no leaving a job without an employer's permission. Vagrancy laws went further still — simply being unemployed was classified as a crime, and the punishment was forced labor. In practice, it was slavery with new paperwork.

Here's the part that's easy to miss: the 13th Amendment itself made this possible. It abolished slavery "except as a punishment for crime" — a loophole Southern states moved on almost immediately, arresting freed Black people under vagrancy laws and leasing their labor right back to plantations and industry.

That exception didn't disappear. It's still part of the Constitution today, and its legacy runs through the history of convict leasing, chain gangs, and modern mass incarceration.

This is the kind of history March On! exists to surface — the parts of the story that don't make it into the textbook version of "abolition." Follow along for more posts as we count down to the 14th Annual March On! Festival.

Address

525 9th Street, 7th Floor C/O Raben
Washington D.C., DC
20004

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when March on Washington Film Festival posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to March on Washington Film Festival:

Shortcuts

Share