FOLA x Skyriver x FUBU Film Club: A Digital Watch Party & Community Conversation
Calling Up Justice was honored to host a powerful collaborative gathering with FOLA, Skyriver, and the FUBU Film Club, an ongoing project that uses Black film as a portal for collective learning, reflection, and the celebration of the many faces of Blackness. FUBU Film Club creates intentional, welcoming spaces where Black people can explore identity, culture, memory, joy, and complexity through cinema—and this event was no exception.
Together, we gathered in the Calling Up Justice Digital Encampment on the GatherTown platform, transforming our virtual campus into a vibrant watch-party environment complete with accessible note-taking, digital placemaking, and shared reflection tools. Participants joined from across geographies and experiences to watch and discuss two iconic works by filmmaker Julie Dash. This event took place in Oct 5 2025.
The Films
Daughters of the Dust (1991)
A landmark in Black cinema and the first feature film directed by an African American woman to receive a wide theatrical release in the U.S.
The story follows a Gullah family on the Sea Islands in 1902 as they prepare for the Great Migration north. Through interwoven timelines, ancestral memory, and poetic visual storytelling, the film traces themes of tradition, spirituality, land, language, and the enduring strength of Black womanhood.
Four Women
This early 16mm film by Julie Dash uses dance, gesture, and embodiment to explore the archetypes and stereotypes forced onto African American women. Performed by dancer Linda Martina Young and set to Nina Simone’s searing song “Four Women,” the film becomes a kinetic meditation on identity, history, and resistance.
A Community Discussion Rooted in Care and Reflection
After the screenings, participants moved into a collective conversation, supported by a live Canva board where attendees could add reflections, questions, and connections. For accessibility, event organizers transcribed comments, added participant insights, and helped map the emotional landscape of the films in real time.
We explored:
- How Julie Dash’s work expands our visual language for Black womanhood
- The significance of the Sea Islands and Gullah culture
- Movement, embodiment, and storytelling in Four Women
- Memory, migration, and intergenerational connection
- What it means to watch Black films in community—digitally, across distance
The digital encampment became a space of warmth, imagination, and collective meaning-making, affirming the power of Black cinema to gather us, teach us, and connect us.
Thank You
Deep gratitude to our collaborators:
✨ FOLA
✨ Skyriver and FUBU Film Club
✨ All the participants who showed up with openness, curiosity, and care
Events like this remind us that Black stories are not just to be watched—they are to be held, discussed, honored, and lived with.