Black German Filmmakers

2020 · Short film

90%

Jerry Hoffmann

A short listed in Hoffmann’s selected directing filmography by Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

2020 · Short documentary

A Way of Breathing

Brenda Akele Jorde

A portrait of an Afghan artist living in Tehran.

BGHRA 2023 · Filmmaker biography

Official festival film still / Brenda Akele Jorde, Take One Action Film Festival · Image source ↗

2001 · Short film

Afrodeutsch

Director: Ayassi · Writer / performer: Tyron Ricketts

An anti-racist short rooted in Tyron Ricketts’s song and the Brothers Keepers movement.

2012 · Feature film

At Second Glance / Auf den zweiten Blick

Writer / director: Sheri Hagen · Equality Film / filmmaker catalogue

Relationships and unexpected encounters unfold in contemporary Berlin.

BGHRA 2018 · Toronto screening

Film artwork from the linked film and viewing sources.

2011 · Short film

Auf dem Weg nach oben

Sarah Blaßkiewitz

Sarah Blaßkiewitz’s early short, mentioned in her filmmaker biography.

BGHRA 2022 · Filmmaker biography

2025 · Short film

Auf Noahs blutigem Regenbogen tanzen wir

Writer / director: Lara-Sophie Milagro · Label Noir

A murder investigation exposes colonial structures within the justice system.

Featured film · BGHRA 2026

Film artwork from BGHRA programme / original film rights holders

2004 · Television film

Baal

Director: Uwe Janson · Contributor connection: Sheri Hagen (see source for credits)

Named in Sheri Hagen’s acting credits; she plays Sophie.

BGHRA 2026 · Contributor biography

Promotional film poster / still. Original film rights holders. Artwork source: www.safeshellvpn.com · Image source ↗

2019 · Documentary

Becoming Black

Writer / director: Ines Johnson-Spain

The filmmaker revisits family silence, her East German childhood and Togolese connections.

Film artwork from the linked film and viewing sources.

2007 · Short film

Beento

Nancy Mac Granaky-Quaye

An autobiographical short about Sammy and Katharina, a Ghanaian man and a German woman who meet in the GDR in 1963. The film brings an intimate family perspective to Black German history and life in East Germany.

2025 · Feature film

Billie

Writer / director: Sheri Hagen · Equality Film / filmmaker catalogue

Two friends take control of their lives during an unexpected bank confrontation.

BGHRA 2026 · Special screening

BGHRA conference artwork / Equality Film

2016 · Medium-length film

Blank

Sarah Blaßkiewitz

An independently made mid-length fiction work; Blaßkiewitz is credited as director, co-writer, cinematographer and producer.

1995 · Feature film

Bunte Hunde

Director: Lars Becker · Cast: Tyron Ricketts (Medjoub)

A crime film included for Tyron Ricketts’s screen performance. This is an acting credit, separate from his work as a writer and producer.

2013 · Video installation

Christa/Christopher

Branwen Okpako

A two-screen imagined dialogue between Christa Wolf and Christopher Okigbo, documented by the DEFA Film Library.

2014 · Documentary

Curse of Medea / Fluch der Medea

Branwen Okpako

Christa Wolf’s Medea opens questions about migration and memory.

Branwen Okpako film programme · BGHRA 2022

2026 · Feature film

Das Geheimnis der gestohlenen Maske / The Secret of the Stolen Mask

Director: Nancy Mac Granaky-Quaye · Cast includes Lara-Sophie Milagro and Malick Bauer

Featuring Malick Bauer and Lara-Sophie Milagro. Johanna and her friends investigate the disappearance of a Makonde mask connected to her grandfather’s family history.

Film artwork from the linked film and viewing sources.

2006 · Feature film

Das Leben der Anderen / The Lives of Others

Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck · Contributor connection: Sheri Hagen (see source for credits)

Referenced in Sheri Hagen’s acting biography.

BGHRA 2026 · Contributor biography

Promotional film poster / still. Original film rights holders. Artwork source: www.cinema.nl · Image source ↗

2025 · Feature film

Der Medicus 2 / The Physician II

Director: Philipp Stölzl · Contributor connection: Malick Bauer (see source for credits)

Named in Malick Bauer’s acting biography.

BGHRA 2026 · Contributor biography

Official promotional poster © Constantin Film / Zeitsprung Pictures / UFA Fiction · Image source ↗

2014 · Documentary

Die Arier / The Aryans

Mo Asumang

Mo Asumang questions racist ideology through encounters in Germany and the United States. This excerpt comes from the filmmaker’s own channel.

Hanfgarn & Ufer / MA Motion

2000 · Documentary

Dirt for Dinner / Dreckfresser

Branwen Okpako

Sam Meffire’s life illuminates racism and the politics of representation.

Branwen Okpako film programme · BGHRA 2022

Dreckfresser film still © Katja Clos / Branwen Okpako, Arsenal Filminstitut · Image source ↗

In production · Feature project

Emmett Till – German History X (working title)

Writer / co-director: Lara-Sophie Milagro · Co-director: Dela Dabulamanzi · Producers: Julia Peters and Jutta Feit / Jippie Film

A separate feature project following Label Noir’s earlier theatre film. The February 2026 funding decision lists Lara-Sophie Milagro as writer and co-director with Dela Dabulamanzi.

2022 · Theatre film

Emmett – Tief in meinem Herzen

Director / editor / performer: Lara-Sophie Milagro · Label Noir

Label Noir’s theatre film retells Emmett Till’s story through a Black German and Afrodiasporic ensemble.

Film artwork from BGHRA programme / original film rights holders

2025 · Television film

Fang mich doch

Director: Ester Amrami · Contributor connection: Lara-Sophie Milagro (see source for credits)

Named in Lara-Sophie Milagro’s biography; the biography references festival recognition in 2025.

BGHRA 2026 · Contributor biography

Promotional film poster / still. Original film rights holders. Artwork source: www.imdb.com · Image source ↗

In financing · Short film project

Farewell

Production project: Sheri Hagen’s Equality Film

Equality Film lists this short drama as an upcoming project in financing. Individual directing credits are not specified on the project listing.

2016 · Feature film

Fenster Blau / Blue Window

Writer / director: Sheri Hagen · Equality Film / filmmaker catalogue

A search for an absent father brings buried family history to the surface. Directed and co-written by Hagen; produced by Equality Film. Company catalogue year: 2016; festival screening recorded in 2018.

Filmography · Sheri Hagen

Equality Film · film poster

2010 · Documentary

GO-BAMA: Between Hope & Dreams

A. Rahman Satti

German-Sudanese filmmaker Satti follows Barack Obama’s campaign while reflecting on hope and his own experience of belonging.

Further viewing

2021 · Short film

I AM

Writer / director: Jerry Hoffmann · Cast includes Sheri Hagen

A grieving woman encounters an android, unsettling the boundaries of identity.

BGHRA 2024 · Screening

© Lena Katharina Krause / Hamburg Media School

2021 · Feature film

Ivie wie Ivie / Precious Ivie

Writer / director: Sarah Blaßkiewitz · Cast includes Sheri Hagen

Two sisters’ meeting reshapes identity, family and belonging.

BGHRA 2022 · Screening

Film artwork from the linked film and viewing sources.

2000 · Feature film

Kanak Attack

Director: Lars Becker · Cast: Tyron Ricketts (Mehdi Jamal)

An adaptation of Feridun Zaimoglu’s Abschaum. Included for Tyron Ricketts’s performance as Mehdi Jamal; the film’s director is Lars Becker.

In development · Series project

Kehinde

Production project: Sheri Hagen’s Equality Film

A mystery thriller series in development with Equality Film; Hagen’s company biography records support from Hessenfilm & Medien.

2020 · Poetry and dance film

Live, Chile

Director: Black Brown Berlin / Rhea Ramjohn · Contributor connection: Rhea Ramjohn, Femi Oyewole, Chanel Knight, Tristan Littlejohn (see source for credits)

A film by Black Brown Berlin drawing on Rhea Ramjohn’s poetry; discussed in the arts program.

BGHRA 2023 · Program presentation

Official Live, Chile video still / Black Brown Berlin, HKW CC: World · Image source ↗

2019 · Short film

Mall

Jerry Hoffmann

A father and son’s shopping trip becomes a story about gender expectations and acceptance.

2018 · Documentary

Milli’s Awakening / Millis Erwachen

Natasha A. Kelly

Black German women of different generations speak about art, resistance and representation.

Courtesy Natasha A. Kelly / 10th Berlin Biennale

In development · Feature project

Motherhood (working title)

Writer / director: Sheri Hagen · Equality Film / filmmaker catalogue

An episodic feature project from Equality Film. Listed separately from the 2018 companion film.

Equality Film · project artwork

2018 · Companion film

Motherhood (working title) — companion film

Writer / director: Sheri Hagen · Equality Film / filmmaker catalogue

A film accompanying the Motherhood treatment, made with the Gunda-Werner-Institut. This is separate from the feature project in development.

Equality Film · Motherhood companion film image

2011 · Documentary

My Quarter Century / Mein Viertel 100

Julie G. Rivera

A film about a generation of Black German community and connection.

Trailer excerpt in Noah Sow’s keynote · BGHRA 2011

2012 · Feature film

On the Inside

Director: Uwe Janson · Contributor connection: Sheri Hagen, Tyron Ricketts (see source for credits)

Sheri Hagen stars as a Congolese teacher. Filmportal lists production in 2011/2012; other credit lists use 2010.

BGHRA 2026 · Contributor biography

2019 · Short film

Respringendo

Denise Ekale Kum

A young woman’s withdrawal is interrupted by family, friendship and the memory carried by a guitar.

2023 · Feature film

Return to Chibok

Branwen Okpako

A dramatic reconstruction of a journey to Chibok, adapted from Helon Habila’s account of the aftermath of the schoolgirls’ abduction.

2007 · Documentary

Roots Germania

Mo Asumang

Mo Asumang investigates ancestry, German identity and belonging.

Pre-conference screening and filmmaker Q&A · BGHRA 2011

Promotional film poster / still. Original film rights holders. Artwork source: www.tvtoday.de · Image source ↗

2023 · Series

Sam – A Saxon / Sam – Ein Sachse

Directors: Soleen Yusef and Sarah Blaßkiewitz · Co-creator / executive producer / writer / actor: Tyron Ricketts

Malick Bauer stars as Sam Meffire; Tyron Ricketts is a creator, producer and cast member.

© Stephan Burchardt / The Walt Disney Company

2024 · Series

Schwarze Früchte / Black Fruit

Creator / head writer / co-producer: Lamin Leroy Gibba · Directors: Elisha Smith-Leverock and David Uzochukwu · Creative producer: Raquel Dukpa

Black queer friends Lalo and Karla navigate loss, ambition, intimacy and belonging in Hamburg.

ARD Degeto / Jünglinge Film / Studio Zentral / David Uzochukwu

2015 · Short film

Simply Different / Einfach anders

Writer / director: Sheri Hagen · Equality Film / filmmaker catalogue

Hagen’s short film explores an unfulfilled wish for a child.

Filmography · Sheri Hagen

Equality Film · film poster

2019 · Music video

Somewhere in Between Us

Denise Ekale Kum

A music video for Cloudy June, directed by Ekale Kum.

Jan Klein · video thumbnail

2007 · Short film

Stella und die Störche / Stella and the Storks

Writer / director: Sheri Hagen · Equality Film / filmmaker catalogue

A children’s short written and directed by Sheri Hagen. Biography and completed-project listing give 2007; the company’s trailer heading uses 2009.

Filmography · Sheri Hagen

Equality Film · film poster

2020 · Short documentary

Stick of Joy

Brenda Akele Jorde

An exploration of playfulness, physical experience and trust. The conference press kit dates the film to 2020; some filmographies list 2021.

BGHRA 2023 · Filmmaker biography

Stick of Joy film still / Brenda Akele Jorde, Beijing Queer Film Festival · Image source ↗

2023 · Animated feature

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

Director: Jeff Rowe · Contributor connection: Malick Bauer (see source for credits)

Malick Bauer’s German-language dubbing credit; not a BGHRA screening.

BGHRA 2025 · Contributor biography

Promotional film poster / still. Original film rights holders. Artwork source: www.rottentomatoes.com · Image source ↗

2011 · Documentary

The Education of Auma Obama

Branwen Okpako

A portrait of Auma Obama and intergenerational life in Kenya.

Branwen Okpako film programme · BGHRA 2022

Filmkantine · official English poster

2022 · Documentary

The Homes We Carry

Brenda Akele Jorde

Family connections stretch between Germany, Mozambique and South Africa.

BGHRA 2023 · Screening

BGHRA conference film still / Film Five

2007 · Film

The Pilot and the Passenger

Branwen Okpako

Listed in Arsenal’s 2014 filmmaker filmography. Conference screening is not established for this title.

1999 · Documentary

Und wir waren Deutsche / And We Were Germans

John A. Kantara

Hans-Jürgen Massaquoi and Ralph Giordano revisit their Hamburg histories.

BGHRA–Davidson teaching and filmmaker conversations

2018 · Short documentary

Va-Bene (crazinisT artist)

Brenda Akele Jorde

A portrait of Ghanaian performance artist Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi.

BGHRA 2023 · Filmmaker biography

Va-Bene film still / Brenda Akele Jorde, XPOSED Queer Film Festival · Image source ↗

2003 · Feature film

Valley of the Innocent / Tal der Ahnungslosen

Branwen Okpako

A detective searches Stasi records for her own family history.

Branwen Okpako film programme · BGHRA 2022

2014 · Short film

Winter Solstice / Wintersonnenwende

Writer / director: Denise Ekale Kum

A short exploring inward fear and its effect on emotion and action.

Denise Ekale Kum · video thumbnail

2022 · Feature film

Wir könnten genauso gut tot sein / We Might as Well Be Dead

Director: Natalia Sinelnikova · Contributor connection: Lara-Sophie Milagro (see source for credits)

Named in Lara-Sophie Milagro’s acting credits.

BGHRA 2022 · Contributor biography

Promotional film poster / still. Original film rights holders. Artwork source: www.imdb.com · Image source ↗

2026 · Feature film

Woodwalkers 2

Director: Sven Unterwaldt · Contributor connection: Lara-Sophie Milagro (see source for credits)

Named in Lara-Sophie Milagro’s acting biography.

BGHRA 2026 · Contributor biography

Promotional film poster / still. Original film rights holders. Artwork source: www.kino.de · Image source ↗

2000 · Feature film

Zurück auf Los! / Return to Go!

Pierre Sanoussi-Bliss

A tragicomedy about Sam, a Black East German singer, and a circle of friends negotiating love, illness and the creation of a chosen family in Berlin.