PBS Short Film Festival

The New Orleans Baby Doll maskers are a pivotal yet overshadowed tradition of Black Mardi Gras that stems from Storyville, the former vice district in New Orleans, in the early 19th century. Baby Dolls of the Mardi Gras tradition paint a full picture of masking culture and how it operates as a vehicle for women to redefine notions of gender, sexual identity and freedom.

A University of Mississippi step team vies to defend their title at the annual Black Greek Step Show. Embodiments of Black southern culture, brotherhood, creativity, and determination, the Eta Beta chapter of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. offers a deeper look into the lives of Black students at the university and how Black culture is lived out in a predominantly white environment.

From Bessemer, AL to Brooklyn, NY, this self taught illustrator has transformed her practice into a full time art career championing confidence, joy, and vibrancy.

Ducky Dynamo discusses the history of Baltimore Club, the city's unique music and dance genre that is poised for a post-pandemic comeback. "Club music isn’t dead, we just lost a lot of momentum. My focus now is working with everybody to reignite the culture, get people to see what is good here...based specifically on the Baltimore Club scene."

When Mia’s two school friends join her birthday party, they don't think her piñata is cool, amongst other things. Mia finds it difficult to keep up appearances for her friends and family.

Michael was a ballet prodigy with his career ahead of him, but when life doesn’t go as planned, he finds refuge from trauma and liberation as his alter ego, Russian ballet instructor, Madame Olga. By slipping into this ostentatious character, Michael discovers a way to both embrace himself as an artist and reconcile his past.

Against the backdrop of a community pool, a young Yezidi girl wrestles quietly with her traumatic memories of the Mediterranean Sea.

A documentary about Alexander, a queer artist and drag queen living in Peoria, Illinois, who uses their artwork to take us on a journey through gender identity, expression, drag, and being queer in a Midwestern town.

A aging blacksmith tells stories from his past and shares the importance of his craft to daily life in the past. Historical experts provide testimony on the role the craft and products had played in Guam.

Kashmiere Culberson is a recent college graduate who embodies strength and confidence. Kash does not allow her disability to limit her pursuit of happiness and self-love.

Chilly, William’s father, is a diabetic with kidney failure, whose illness detrimentally affects his and his family’s lives. Milly sees her sole purpose in life as to taking care of her loved ones. While watching the documentary, Chilly and Milly discuss their life together, and their successes and setbacks in life. When Chilly passes away during the pandemic, Milly comes to terms with her loss.

This film follows the story of Haitian immigrant Rene, who moves to Louisiana with his wife in hopes of raising a child and starting a new life there.