For years, Black LGBTQ+ stories have struggled to find the space they deserve, especially in mainstream films.
Too often sidelined or sanitized to fit into broader narratives, these voices have remained powerful but unheard.
This year, two grassroots organizations, Chicago’s Black Alphabet NFP and The T.R.U.T.H. Project Inc. in Houston, are launching a local edition of the acclaimed Black Alphabet Film Festival on Saturday, May 31.
But this isn’t just a film event. It’s a cultural intervention.
“When I first attended Black Alphabet in Chicago, I didn’t know what to expect,” said Founder of the T.R.U.T.H Project Kevin Anderson. “What I found was a space where I felt completely seen. And I knew right then, Houston needed this.”
The Black Alphabet Film Festival was born in Chicago over a decade ago during Black Pride, as a response to the lack of visibility for Black LGBTQ+ creators in mainstream queer film spaces. Most festivals try to represent the entire LGBTQ+ spectrum, often at the expense of nuanced, Black-centered narratives.
“We weren’t trying to compete,” said Executive Director of Black Alphabet Adam L. McMath. “We were creating the space we needed. A space that’s for us, by us, where our stories aren’t reduced to side plots or tokenism.”
The mission has always gone beyond entertainment. Black Alphabet was designed to amplify stories about HIV, mental health, resilience and community survival—issues that are often stigmatized but woven deeply into the lived experience of Black queer communities.
“Films have always been the tool, but healing is the goal,” McMath said.
The partnership that made Houston possible
Anderson’s connection to the festival began when he submitted his short documentary And We Rest on Giants. The film, which went on to win an award at the 2024 Chicago festival, was a personal project, an offering to his community. But it also sparked something bigger.
“I came back home and said, ‘This is what we’re missing,’” Anderson recalled. “Instead of reinventing the wheel, why not build something together?”
That conversation turned into a partnership. Rather than simply importing the festival’s model, Black Alphabet and The T.R.U.T.H. Project have built the Houston edition collaboratively, shaped by the city’s energy, voices, and needs.
This year’s theme centers on Southern storytelling, with a focus on the distinct cultural and political challenges faced by Black LGBTQ+ people in the South. The lineup includes Assembly, a film about an artist navigating identity in Southern landscapes; 90 Days, an intimate look at HIV disclosure and Black love; and Smoke, Lilies and Jade, which draws inspiration from the Harlem Renaissance.
Equally important is the platform being given to local filmmakers. First-time director Josie Pickens will premiere A Vision of Grace, a documentary about unhoused queer youth using art as a survival and healing tool. Cassius Clay brings Turning Diagnosis into Purpose, a personal account of a young Black man facing an HIV diagnosis and the journey that followed.
“These aren’t just stories, they’re tools. They educate, they humanize and they hold space for the truth we’re so often denied.”
Kevin Anderson, founder of The T.R.U.T.H. Project
Held inside a gallery that already features The T.R.U.T.H. Project’s annual art exhibition, the festival will blur the lines between visual art, film, and live performance. In between screenings, spoken word artists will take the stage, drawing connections between the films and real-life themes of identity, love and liberation.
“We want this to feel like a living, breathing conversation,” McMath said. “This is about community, not consumption.”
Entry is free, but the goal isn’t attendance, it’s impact.
“I want to see people walking out of that space processing what they just saw,” Anderson said. “I want them talking about it in the car, texting friends, creating something new. That’s how you know it mattered.”
This won’t be a one-time experiment. Both organizations are already planning a 2026 return and are committed to making the festival a permanent part of Houston’s cultural landscape.
“We’re not just visiting,” McMath said. “We’re investing. Houston is full of brilliance and resilience. It deserves a platform like this every year.”
Black Alphabet Film Festival Houston
Date: May 31, 2025
Time: 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Location: MATCH Gallery, 3400 Main, Houston, TX
Free to the public *registration requested
