Twenty-four years ago, Stephanie Tavares-Rance and Floyd Rance had an idea to do a film festival focusing on Black stories and creatives in Barbados. They were in the middle of solidifying programming when the September 11th attacks happened, and Barbados backed out as host. But instead of letting the idea die, the Rances decided to shift the festival’s location to their personal happy place, Martha’s Vineyard. From there, the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival ( MVAAFF ) was born. Since then, the festival has had countless sponsors, including HBO Max and Netflix, and has championed projects from creatives such as Issa Rae, Barack and Michelle Obama and numerous others.

“It’s been amazing to see the growth of this film festival,” Tavares-Rance tells Variety following

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