The 34th Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival (SLIFF) returns November 6–16 with screenings across the region and an extremely relevant theme: “Film Without Borders.”
“At a time when division often dominates the global conversation, this year’s theme reminds us that storytelling is a universal language,” said Bree Maniscalco, executive director of Cinema St. Louis. “Film festivals like SLIFF create a space where differences are not barriers but bridges, connecting communities through shared humanity.”
That spirit of connection is especially present in SLIFF’s Race in America: The Black Experience sidebar, now in its 11th year. Originally launched to honor the life and legacy of Michael Brown, the program continues to spotlight African-American stories and storytellers—this year with expanded reach and deeper resonance.
SLIFF presenter Cinema St. Louis has partnered with the International Institute to present the “St. Louis Immigration Project,” a new film debuting Sunday, November 16. The project pairs local filmmakers with immigrant and refugee storytellers to share narratives of resilience, culture, and family.
“’The Immigration Project’ is vital because film can give voice to stories that are too often overlooked in our community,” said Emmett Williams, Director of Festival Curation & Education. “By partnering local filmmakers with immigrant and refugee storytellers, we’re not only preserving these experiences but also inviting audiences to see St. Louis through a broader, more human lens.”
Among the twenty films and shorts featured in the Black Experience sidebar, three standouts offer powerful meditations on survival, artistry, and legacy.
The intimate reckoning of ‘Night Fight’
Award-winning filmmaker Khary Saeed Jones returns to SLIFF with “Night Fight,” a deeply personal documentary that explores fear, memory, and Black survival.
Fresh off its world premiere at SXSW 2025, “Night Fight” has earned Best Feature at the Newburyport Documentary Film Festival and the Karen Schmeer Excellence in Documentary Editing Award.
“I started making these video self-portraits, documenting my feelings and the versions of myself that were born on that day,” Jones said. “I made the film to give audiences time to feel, to remember, and to talk.”
Rather than follow a traditional narrative arc, “Night Fight” unfolds as a layered reckoning. Jones returns to the site of a past encounter, asking not just what happened, but what it fractured within him. On screen, he inhabits four figures shaped by trauma and vigilance: one runs and becomes lost, one fixates on pursuit, one never makes it home, and one burns with anger so intense it threatens to consume him.
“There are a lot of people getting up every day trying to do other people harm,” Jones said. “They are drowning in hate and anger. We have a huge problem on our hands. The film is built for a room and a conversation, not just a feed.”
Jones served on the editorial team of “Where the Pavement Ends,” the Ferguson–Kinloch documentary that aired nationally on PBS’s America ReFramed and earned a Gold Telly Award in Television — History. With “Night Fight,” he deepens that inquiry into policing, memory, and the psychic toll of survival.
The film screens Saturday, November 8 at Greenfinch (3:00 p.m. with a Q&A) and Saturday, November 15 at Arkadin (1:00 p.m.).
‘Enongo’ makes Black History through animation
SLIFF 2025 also features “Enongo,” a groundbreaking animation-documentary hybrid that tells the story of rapper, producer, and Ph.D. candidate Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo—known to fans as Sammus.
Through autobiographical and Afrofuturism-inspired music, “Enongo” explores mental health, growing up, relationships, and the complexities of identity. The film blends actuality and animation to deliver a universally relevant, intimate, and empowering narrative.
“Enongo” is the first feature-length film of any genre in history to be animated entirely by an all-Black women team. The relationship between sound and image illustrates her artistry – and the pressures of balancing multiple roles as a woman in academia, the daughter of West African immigrants, and an artist navigating 21st-century America.
“I wanna see this thing go places,” said director Kevin Schreck. “I think this story is relevant and, dare I say, needed for a lot of people. It’s timely—and timeless.”
“Enongo” screens Saturday, November 15 at 11 a.m. in Brown Hall Auditorium on the campus of Washington University. A post-show discussion will follow.
A restoration of dignity with ‘Greenwood’
Directed by Jim Karpowicz, “Greenwood” is a compelling documentary that explores the powerful and often overlooked Black history of a historic St. Louis burial ground—and the ongoing efforts to restore and preserve it.
It screens as part of the sold-out presentation of Tony West’s “A Black History Tour of St. Louis” on November 8, and again during the “Documentary Shorts 6—Little Wonders” program at 5 p.m. on Friday, November 14 at The Chase Park Plaza.
Whether through the lens of personal reckoning, animated resistance, or historical restoration, SLIFF 2025 invites audiences to reflect, connect, and celebrate the power of film to spark dialogue.
The 34th Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival runs November 6–16 at venues across the region. For a full list of films, locations, and programming, visit www.cinemastlouis.org.
Living It content is produced with funding by the ARPA for the Arts grants program in partnership with the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis and the Community Development Administration.
