MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – Madison’s Black Film Festival began Wednesday night with a documentary and panel discussion highlighting local art, community and resistance.

For the third year, Madison-based nonprofit, Nehemiah, has hosted the free festival, which will continue through Saturday.

Coordinators said the event is meant to highlight the art of Black filmmaking to the Madison community.

“We’ve created a space for allies to show up,” said Siobhan Jackson, Nehemiah’s director of adult education. “But we will also always continue to protect the space in which we invite Black people into.”

Many of the attendees at the opening night were white, but the documentary shown, “Decades of Discontent”, chronicled the Black experience of the 1960s Civil Rights movement in Milwaukee.

Jackson hopes this event will not only be joyful, but will also help achieve their mission of shaping new community leaders who are eager to make change.

“The conversation must continue, and not just as an allyship and outcry, but actual community engagement,” Jackson said.

After the film screening Wednesday, expert panelists took the stage to engage in a discussion about its importance both in the past and present.

Civil Rights attorney, Thomas Jacobson, was featured in the documentary and spoke on the panel.

“I dedicated my life to fighting for people’s freedom and the importance of standing up for democracy, and that’s the message,” said Attorney Jacobson.

The other films featured throughout the festival will have similar themes. They will play at multiple Madison Public Library locations.

To learn more about these films, or to reserve tickets, click here.

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