Camara Aaron is a writer and filmmaker, passionate about telling coming-of-age

stories for and about Black women and girls. Felicia Sobhani is an assistant director and

director, desiring to use filmmaking to explore new narratives and foster community-building.

fullstop is their co-writing and co-directing debut.

Dir. Statement

FULL STOP is the film we needed when we were our protagonist Liv’s age.

Our first periods brought on feelings of shame, confusion and isolation. We wanted to tell a

story that tackled the experience with humor and heart, centering community and

empowerment. With FULL STOP, we hope to combat period shame for young people of all

genders and advance screen representation of girls of color and girls in sports.

FRANK HARTS is currently shooting a major role opposite Jennifer Lopez in a

new Netflix film entitled, The Last Mrs. Parrish, directed by Robert Zemeckis

(Back to The Future, Forrest Gump). Frank will also recur on the Netflix

series The Beast In Me starring Claire Danes premiering in November.

As well as the final season of PowerBook III: Raising Kanan for Starz coming in

2026. Frank went directly from training at Juilliard onto Broadway as George

Murchison in the Tony Award-Winning production of A Raisin in The Sun. As a

filmmaker, his award-winning short film Two Wongs premiered at over ten

festivals in major cities and recently received distribution. Frank is thrilled to have

the Canadian premiere of his latest film Be True to Your School at VBIFF. He

lives in New York with his wife Shelley and two boys, Hendrix and Brixton.

Dir. Statement

I love telling stories that blend dark comedy and drama to challenge how we see the

world. In a time when education is under siege and young minds lack

mentorship, I wanted to spotlight Ruby Saint-Fleur—a Haitian American

prodigy who resists her own brilliance. Her refusal isn’t apathy, but a quiet

rebellion against a system that commodifies genius. Through tough love

and raw confrontation, Ruby is shaken—moved just enough to consider

what it might mean to truly embrace her gift. Whether she does or not, the

question lingers.

Fikile Malikongwa Born and raised in Gaborone, Botswana, I am an independent filmmaker

based in London. I am of South African and Motswana ethnicity, and moved to New

York in 2019 to study acting at the New York Film Academy. Following a life changing

adjustment to the Covid Pandemic, I migrated back home and eventually moved to

London to pursue filmmaking

Director Statement: We had just over two weeks of production and an intense budget

to pull this off. After countless denials from location scoutings, compromised story

changes, and the most heart wrenching process of post production; the entire crew are

beyond ready to share this with a worldwide audience. A fun fact is that Sarráa had to fly

out back to Egypt the morning after we wrapped our set here in London.

‘Dance For You’

was made with literal tears that may just relate to anybody, such traumas depicted in the

story. Many risks were taken but we know that this is worth telling and worth an audience

that is fitting to your festival’s ethos.

JEFERSON DE

He studied Film at USP, where he was a FAPESP fellow with the research project

“Black Film Directors.” In 2000, he published the manifesto “Dogma Feijoada.”

Screenwriter and director of the award-winning short films “DISTRACTED TO

DEATH” (2001), “CAROLINA” (2003), and “NARCISO RAP” (2005). He worked as

editor and post-production supervisor on projects for MTV and SBT. In 2003, he

produced in São Paulo the TV programs “TOTAL BRAZIL” and “PERIPHERY

CENTRAL” , broadcast on TV Globo. In 2005, he released the book “Dogma

Feijoada and Black Brazilian Cinema.” In 2007, he directed the short film “JONAS,

JUST ONE MORE” , about the genocide of Black youth. His debut feature film

“BRODER” was selected for the 60th Berlin International Film Festival and released

in Brazil in April 2011, winning Best Film by APCA (São Paulo Association of Art

Critics) and receiving 11 nominations at the Brazilian Cinema Grand Prize. The

screenplay was selected for the VI Screenwriters Lab at the Sundance Institute. In

2013, he directed 26 episodes of the series “PEDRO AND BIANCA” (TV Cultura),

winner of the Emmy at the 2nd International Emmy Kids Awards and the

Ibero-American Prix Jeunesse in the fiction category for ages 12+. He directed

thesixth season of “URBAN CONNECTIONS”, broadcast on Multishow channel. In

2014, he directed the series “JACQUELINE CONDOMINIUM” (Fox/TV Cultura) and

hosted the program “More Rights, More Humanity” (TV Brasil). In 2015, he

premiered his second feature film “THE AMULET” (Paris Filmes). In 2016, he

directed the film “RUNNING AFTER” (Globo Filmes), released in 2021. He directed

three seasons of the youth series “SCHOOL OF GENIUSES” (Mixer/GLOOB),

winner of Best Fiction Series at the 2019 Grande Prêmio do Cinema Brasileiro. In

2019, he directed the feature films “M-8: WHEN DEATH RESCUES LIFE” (Paris

Filmes/Downtown), winner of the Audience Award for Best Film at the 2019 Rio Film

Festival; Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Film by ABRA in 2021; and Best

Screenplay and Best Direction by the Brazilian Academy of Cinema in 2021. He also

released in theaters and on GloboPlay the film “DR. GAMA” (Globo Filmes/Elo

Company). In 2021/22, he directed the GNT series “FAMILY STORIES”. On TV

Globo, he directed the telenovelas “A PLACE IN THE SUN”, “BEYOND ILLUSION”,

and “LAND OF DESIRE” . In 2025, he served as General Director of “THE GIRL OF

THE MOMENT” (2025). He recently completed the unreleased feature film““NARCISO”

.

Director Statement

The film is loosely inspired by the myth of Narciso. Unlike the classical version — or

the painting — here, the protagonist, an orphaned boy, has no self-esteem. He

doesn’t see himself as beautiful and doesn’t feel loved. His journey begins with a

deep dive into himself, the place he inhabits, and the relationships around him. It is

through a basketball — a symbolic object that evokes the circle, the cycle, the

eternal — that this new Narcissus finds himself. The ball becomes a metaphorical

mirror, sparking a spiritual journey in which the boy confronts his desires,

frustrations, and inner pain. Our direction focused on visually and emotionally

translating the internalized violence that shapes the experience of Black men in the

Americas — an existence historically taught only through slavery and its legacy. The

sadness, often silenced, here takes form, strength, and reality. The film becomes a

rite of passage, where beauty and pain intertwine on a path of self-discovery and

resistance.