Movies In the Lounge

The Movies in the Lounge Series
August 7 at 6:30pm

Movies in the Lounge showcases emerging filmmakers exploring new territory in their work. We screen short and mid-length films (up to 60 minutes) across all genres and styles. Filmmakers are in the room to talk about their process and answer questions after each screening. This is a space for informal dialogue between artists and audiences. Discover voices you haven’t encountered yet!

About The Films

Why I Love You: Meet The Ultimates, Shontel Horne

“Why I Love You: Meet The Ultimates” is a short documentary that proves great art will always find an audience. In 1970s West Philadelphia, childhood friends came together under the guidance of visionary producer Evetta Valentine to form The Ultimates. At 14 years old they recorded “Why I Love You,” a soulful ballad that didn’t go very far at the time, but decades later and nearly 3,000 miles away, the song surfaced on the California Chicano lowrider scene and has been a cult classic with a dedicated fanbase. Through intimate interviews and archival material, the film traces the journeys of Monica Thornton, Debra Gunn Herbin, and Evetta Valentine, revealing a story of legacy, reinvention, and how the right song always finds its way home.

Runtime: 16 minutes

Be The Mogul, Brian Anderson

Set between 2003 and 2021, this documentary traces a journey from East Baltimore’s Greenmount Avenue to cities across Europe and back again. Through an intimate interview layered with archival family footage and visual storytelling, the filmmaker reflects on a childhood shaped by incarceration, gun violence, and loss—and the unlikely freedom found through basketball.
This is a story of survival, movement, and learning to navigate life without a blueprint. Rejecting linear narratives of success, the film honors community, resilience, and the reality of figuring life out in real time. A deeply personal portrait of survival, movement, and love for home.

Runtime: 9 minutes

Black Fatherhood, PJ Boyd

Black Fatherhood is a documentary film that centers the lived experiences of Black fathers in Baltimore City. Through personal interviews, observational scenes, and moments of everyday life, the film focuses on the emotional, social, and cultural realities that shape the subjects roles as caregivers, protectors, nurturers, and leaders. Visually, the documentary will employ a warm, grounded, observational/verite style- with a sense of personal proximity to the subjects while situating them in Baltimore’s many beautiful landscapes.

Runtime: 5 minutes

SqueeGee Boy, Nateya Taylor

Five water justice advocates discuss how Milwaukee’s Black communities are disproportionately being lead poisoned, and the debilitating effects it has on residents’ health, with hopes to see equitable change that will heal the water and Black resident’s relationship to it.

Runtime: 12 minutes