Join us this June for the 8th iteration of “Life Within the Lens”, our short film program featuring some of the city’s most talented Black creators.

UPTOWN SOLDIER - Dir. Akeem Soyan (Shot & Edited by Paul Araki), 2 min

Uptown Soldier is a love letter to Uptown Chicago and the complex history embedded in its streets. Through a lens shaped by personal memory, the film explores the texture of gentrification, territorial legacy, and neighborhood pride, honoring a community whose spirit continues to endure despite attempts at erasure.

OPTIMUM CONTINUUM 3.1 - Dir. Amir George, 19 min

An ongoing barrage of blackness, always in progress. Abrupt patterns, part of and as a whole.

UDK - Dir. Jellystone Robinson, 6 min

To identify himself in the present, Fonzo goes on a journey to locate his past across the many layers of “home” he finds in the Footwork Circle.

SUPERPOWER (2025) - Dir. Tre King, 8 min

This short documentary focuses on the triumph, struggle, and importance of hair in the Black community, told from the perspective of young creatives within my circle of friends and family. It pays homage to previous eras of liberation through archival footage while highlighting real stories through the journeys myself and those I have chosen to be my co-stars.

NYA DOES NOTHING (2025) - Dir. Erisa Apantaku & Jenny Casas, 12 min

An overworked Chicagoan tries to resist the interruptions to her day off, going to extreme lengths to truly “do nothing.”

MATRIARCH (2022) - Dir. Donald Conley, 29 min

An exploration of over 100 years of motherhood from the perspective of the filmmaker's grandmothers, two Southern Black women hoping to maintain their independence during what could potentially be the final year of their lives.