Shades of Black Returns for Its Third Annual South Florida Black Pride Film Showcase

South Florida Black Pride and Black Alphabet return with the Shades of Black Film Showcase, an evening of Black LGBTQ+ film, visual art and community conversation taking place Friday, October 9, 2026, from 6–10 PM at Victory Black Box Theatre at the L.A. Lee YMCA/Mizell Community Center in Fort Lauderdale. 

Presented as part of South Florida Black Pride’s Heat Wave Weekend, Shades of Black creates space for Black LGBTQ+ stories, filmmakers, artists and community voices to be seen, heard and celebrated. 

This year’s curated program moves across romance, family, gender identity, health, cultural memory, music, creativity, resilience and joy, bringing together local South Florida creatives with Black LGBTQ+ stories from beyond the region. 

The 2026 Shades of Black Film Showcase is produced and coordinated by Niki Lopez of Niki Lopez Creative. An award-winning Afro-Latina interdisciplinary artist, curator, cultural producer and social practitioner, Lopez’s work bridges visual storytelling, cultural programming, community dialogue, identity, healing and social impact through Niki Lopez Creative and What’s Your Elephant.

2026 Film Program

Sea Salt 

Written, Directed, Shot & Scored by Nastassia Dillon 

An experimental Super 8 film using in-camera editing, silent-era-inspired intertitles and an original score featuring the berimbau. The work invites audiences into a slower, intentional approach to visual storytelling and analog filmmaking.

Final Ingredient 

Directed and Produced by Lovely Jones | 2 Reel Kweenz Media 

A suspenseful short in which a couple hires a professional organizer to transform their home, only for something far more unsettling to begin emerging beneath the surface. 

Coffee & Lavender 

A tender story of attraction and connection between two young Black women whose chance meeting during a Chicago summer grows into something unexpected.

SCORED 

Two Black queer creatives hired to score a film navigate representation, artistic compromise, grief, creativity and the value of their work. 

Chestbound 

An intimate family story centered on a transmasculine young adult returning home following top surgery and confronting complicated relationships, hurt, acceptance, forgiveness and reconciliation. 

Tapestry: Reclaiming Our Past 

Presented by Ujima Men’s Collective 

Shades of Black will feature a special excerpt from this documentary centering Black same-gender-loving men from their early 50s through their early 80s. Through personal stories, the film explores identity, health, relationships, spirituality, advocacy, aging, homophobia, self-worth and the experiences that have shaped Black SGL men across generations. 

Southern Sonshine 

A documentary-style work combining poetry, music and personal storytelling as Black gay men reflect on Southern identity, HIV, healthcare, faith, stigma, resilience, joy and legacy. 

Together, the films offer audiences multiple entry points into Black LGBTQ+ life, moving beyond a single narrative of struggle to include intimacy, creativity, humor, family, cultural memory, health, healing and joy.

Visual Art Beyond the Screen

Shades of Black extends its storytelling beyond film with a visual art spotlight featuring South Florida artists Teepop and Rov Marley. 

Miami-based painter and graphic designer Teepop creates portraits of cultural icons and everyday people through an approach merging fine art and graphic design. Working across acrylic, oil, spray paint, graphite, pencil and layered processes, she describes each portrait as more than an image, but a visual biography. 

South Florida painter Rov Marley brings a multidisciplinary practice informed by fine art, design and the cultural influences of South Florida and Jamaica. A YoungArts national awardee, his broader creative background includes painting, architecture, ceramics, printmaking, fashion and film, informing work rooted in bold color, texture, cultural heritage and experimentation.

Beyond the Screen: Black Queer Storytelling, Memory & Community 

Following the films, Shades of Black continues with a live post-screening conversation exploring how Black queer stories move beyond the screen into lived experience, cultural memory, creativity, health, identity and community. 

The conversation will be moderated by Kenan Cooper-Gilmore of Black Gay Table Talk, a podcast and live conversation platform creating space for honest dialogue around Black gay identity, intersectionality, healing and shared experience. 

Panelists include: 

Niki Lopez — Producer, curator, artist and social practitioner whose work bridges visual storytelling, cultural programming, community dialogue, identity, healing and social impact.  

Adam McMath, Black Alphabet — Filmmaker, activist, political consultant and President of Black Alphabet, bringing perspective on Black queer cinema, representation, film and cultural visibility.

Lorenzo Robertson, Ujima Men’s Collective / Tapestry: Reclaiming Our Past — Bringing an intergenerational perspective on Black same-gender-loving men, health, relationships, spirituality, advocacy, aging, identity and community memory. 

Lovely Jones, 2 Reel Kweenz Media / Final Ingredient — South Florida independent filmmaker, director and producer bringing the perspective of a local Black lesbian filmmaker working within South Florida’s independent film community.

More Than a Screening 

Shades of Black is designed as a gathering rooted in visibility, creative expression, dialogue and connection. Alongside the films and panel, audiences will experience visual art, vendors, community organizations and opportunities to connect directly with filmmakers, artists and cultural leaders. 

The showcase builds on previous Shades of Black programs that have brought filmmakers, artists, advocates and community members together through cinema and conversation. Last year’s program included seven short films and a live post-screening discussion examining Black queer identity, representation, healing and storytelling. 

Tickets Available Now 

Shades of Black Film Showcase 2026 

Friday, October 9, 2026 

6–10 PM 

Victory Black Box Theatre 

L.A. Lee YMCA/Mizell Community Center 

1409 NW 6th Street, 3rd Floor 

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311 

Early Bird Tickets: $10 

Tickets: https://southfloridablackpride.com