Pulling Focus Black Film Festival of
The Quad Cities
In 2023, the Azubuike African American Council for the Arts launched the Pulling Focus Black Film Festival of the Quad Cities, creating a regional gathering place for Black filmmakers and audiences eager to experience their stories.
The festival grew from Azubuike’s work with emerging filmmakers through Urban Exposure, now the Urban Exposure Creative Film and Workforce Development Program. Through years of helping underrepresented young people develop their skills and tell their own stories, we recognized the need for more opportunities to bring Black independent cinema to Quad Cities audiences.
Pulling Focus celebrates African American and Black Diasporic voices through films that reflect the richness and complexity of our lives—our struggles and triumphs, our everyday experiences, and our extraordinary possibilities. Screenings, filmmaker conversations, and community gatherings invite audiences to discover new perspectives and connect across generations and backgrounds.
Held annually in June in celebration of the spirit of Juneteenth, the festival honors Black freedom, creativity, and self-expression. Our fifth festival takes place June 10–13, 2027, with a pre-festival community event on June 9.
2027 Festival Overview
June 10–13, 2027 | Pre-Festival Community Event: June 9
The Pulling Focus Black Film Festival of the Quad Cities returns for its fifth year. Join us on both sides of the Mississippi River for independent films that move you, challenge you, and stay with you. Meet the filmmakers, ask questions, and be part of conversations that continue long after the credits roll.
Opening Night is Thursday, June 10, at The Last Picture House in Davenport. We’ll begin with a reception, followed by a short film program and a filmmaker Q&A.
Across the festival, you’ll find shorts from local, regional, national, and international filmmakers, along with our Open Competition Short Film Showcase and Reel Impact Showcase, which features films that invite conversation about social issues. Our new Best AI Short Film category highlights filmmakers using generative AI as a visual storytelling medium.
On Saturday, June 12, the first Pulling Focus Industry Day will bring invited filmmakers, film students, and industry professionals together to exchange ideas, build relationships, and explore ways to bring their work to wider audiences. On Sunday, June 13, we’ll close the festival with an awards ceremony celebrating the filmmakers and their work.
We’ll share the full screening schedule, special guests, and event details as they’re confirmed.
Come for the films. Stay for the conversations. Become part of the story.
A Special Thanks to Our Funders, Supporters & Community Partners
Dear Friends,
As we prepare for the fifth year of the Pulling Focus Black Film Festival of the Quad Cities, we want to thank you for helping this festival grow. Your generosity, encouragement, and belief in Azubuike’s work have made room for stories that deserve to be seen and voices that deserve to be heard.
Support takes many forms. Whether you contribute funding, welcome us into your venue, volunteer your time, share our events, or bring someone to a screening, you help create the connections that make Pulling Focus possible.
Since our first festival in 2023, we have brought filmmakers and audiences together around stories reflecting the richness and complexity of Black life. You have helped us build a place where emerging and established filmmakers can share their work, where audiences can ask questions, and where a film can open the door to a meaningful conversation.
As we look toward June 10–13, 2027, with a pre-festival community event on June 9, we are excited to build on that foundation. New opportunities, including Industry Day, will deepen connections among filmmakers, students, and industry professionals while our public screenings continue to bring our community together.
Please join us, invite your friends and neighbors, and help introduce someone new to Pulling Focus. Your presence matters just as much as your support.
Thank you for believing in the power of Black storytelling and in what we can build together here in the Quad Cities.
With gratitude,
Gaye Shannon Burnett
Festival Director & Co-Founder
Pulling Focus Black Film Festival of the Quad Cities
Our Funders
Our Community Partners
