Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival

What Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival does

Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival is a Brooklyn-based film festival founded in 1997 and operated as a program under African Voices Communications Inc. It is recognized as the first Academy qualifying film festival devoted to women, serving filmmakers of the African diaspora with both in-person and virtual programming. The 2025 edition marks its 28th anniversary, with in-person screenings held October 25–26 at partner venues 651 Arts and Center For Fiction, and virtual programming running October 25 through November 10.

The core offering is an annual festival comprising film screenings, award ceremonies, and an Audience Choice Award, supported by a modular year-round ecosystem that includes the Reel Sisters Fellowship for emerging filmmakers, a Lecture Series, a master scriptwriting class co-presented with BRIC, a New Orleans Screenwriting Retreat, and the Tea & Cinema community screening series. Filmmakers engage via an online submission portal, and audiences access content through tiered passes (All Access Virtual, All Access, and 1-Day Passes) sold via Universe.com, with supplemental event ticketing via Eventbrite.

The business model is non-profit and community-supported, generating revenue through three streams: (1) one-time pass and ticket sales, (2) voluntary donations and membership contributions processed via PayPal, and (3) corporate and institutional sponsorships. Marketing is conducted through the festival website, social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn), the African Voices Magazine/blog, and an email mailing list. The festival operates from 325 Lafayette Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, and has no disclosed headcount, funding rounds, or revenue figures.

Name

Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival

Legal name

Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival

Website

https://reelsisters.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival is the first Academy qualifying festival devoted to women, founded in 1997 and based in Brooklyn. It serves women filmmakers of the African diaspora through an annual hybrid festival, fellowships, workshops, retreats, and year-round community programming.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Film Festival

NAICS

Motion Picture and Video Exhibition (51213), Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries (711)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture Theaters (7830)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPADAKAD

Film Festivals & Festival Organizers

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Film & Video Production/Distribution/Exhibition (Cinemas, Film Festivals, Screenings)

SECONDARYMPAGAOAK

Virtual Community Festivals & Cultural Events (Online Celebrations)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Live Entertainment & Events (Concerts, Theater, Festivals)/Virtual & Hybrid Events

SECONDARYMPAGAEAG

Arts & Culture Community Festivals (Multidisciplinary Arts Weeks)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Live Entertainment & Events (Concerts, Theater, Festivals)/Cultural Festivals & Community Events

Keywords

• Film festival production
• Independent film screenings
• Filmmaker fellowship programs
• Screenwriting workshops
• Diaspora film community

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Film Festival Passes and Ticket Sales: The festival sells tiered passes and single-day tickets for its in-person and virtual events, including All Access Virtual Passes, All Access Passes, and 1-Day Passes at partner venues (651 Arts, Center For Fiction). Revenue is generated per ticket/per pass on a one-time basis per festival season.
2. Donations and Fundraising: The festival accepts donations via PayPal and through its membership/join program. Donations are solicited from the public and festival community to support festival operations and growth.
3. Sponsorships: Corporate and institutional sponsors fund the festival, evidenced by a 'Become a Sponsor' page and visible season funder acknowledgments. Sponsorship is a material revenue/support stream for the annual festival.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Reel Sisters produces an annual film festival (the first Academy qualifying festival devoted to women) with hybrid in-person and virtual screenings, award ceremonies, and industry programming targeted at women filmmakers of the African diaspora. Surrounding the annual festival are a fellowship program, lecture series, scriptwriting workshops/retreats (with BRIC and in New Orleans/Harlem), and the Tea & Cinema community series.

Product overview

Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival is a single unified offering focused on celebrating women filmmakers of African descent. The festival operates as a program of African Voices Communications, Inc. and centers on its annual film festival featuring both in-person and virtual screenings. Supporting the core festival are modular programs including the Reel Sisters Fellowship for emerging talent development, Lecture Series for industry education, Scriptwriting Workshops in partnership with BRIC, the New Orleans Screenwriting Retreat for intensive writer development, and the Tea & Cinema Series for community engagement. The festival also offers an Audience Choice Awards program and maintains a film submission platform for filmmaker participation. The 28th Anniversary Celebration is scheduled for October 25-26, 2025.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival The annual film festival featuring hybrid in-person and virtual film screenings, award ceremonies, and industry programming for women filmmakers of the African diaspora. Festival passes sold via Universe.com.
• Reel Sisters Fellowship A fellowship program supporting emerging women filmmakers with mentorship, resources, and industry opportunities; applications submitted online.
• Tea & Cinema Series
• New Orleans Screenwriting Retreat

Quantifiable outcome

• 28 years of continuous festival operation, making it one of the oldest festivals of its kind devoted to women filmmakers.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• African Voices Communications Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAfrican Voices Communications Inc. is the parent organization of Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival. The festival is housed under African Voices, which also publishes African Voices Magazine. Reel Sisters is listed as an initiative/program under African Voices' organizational umbrella, sharing staff, address (325 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn), and cross-promotional resources including the African Voices mailing list and media channels.
• 651 ArtscoreGTM or Marketing Partner651 Arts is a partner venue for Reel Sisters' 2025 in-person programming, hosting 1-Day Pass screenings on October 25, 2025. The venue serves as the physical location for the festival's Brooklyn-based audience experience.
• Center For FictioncoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCenter For Fiction is a partner venue for Reel Sisters' 2025 in-person programming, hosting 1-Day Pass screenings on October 26, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY.
• BRICminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBRIC is a Brooklyn cultural institution that partners with Reel Sisters to co-present the 'Reel Sisters + BRIC's Master Scriptwriting Class,' a collaborative workshop offering professional development for filmmakers in the community.
• Universe.comcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUniverse.com serves as the primary ticketing and pass distribution platform for the festival, selling All Access Virtual Passes, All Access Passes, and 1-Day Passes for the 2025 festival season.
• EventbriteminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEventbrite is used for ticketing individual Reel Sisters community events, such as the Black Girl Screening, providing self-serve ticketing for community programming beyond the main festival passes.
• BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerBAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) is referenced as a venue partner for the Women History Month program, indicating an ongoing venue relationship for community programming beyond the main festival.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• DOC NYC: New York's largest documentary festival, featuring hundreds of docs alongside industry programming and Academy-qualifying status. Comparable in being an Academy-qualifying documentary-friendly NYC festival, though without the diaspora women-focused niche.
• Tribeca Film Festival: Major New York-based independent film festival with a broad independent and diaspora programming slate, offering industry programs and Academy-qualifying status. Operates in the same NYC indie festival ecosystem but at far greater scale and broader genre focus.
• Hamptons International Film Festival: Long-running New York-area independent film festival featuring narrative and documentary competition sections, industry panels, and filmmaker programs. Comparable East Coast indie festival operating model and Academy-qualifying status, though broader in focus and higher in ticket pricing tier.

Direct peers

• Urbanworld Film Festival: New York-based festival focused on films from the African diaspora and other communities of color, featuring narrative, documentary, and short films with industry panels. Directly overlaps with Reel Sisters in target audience and NYC venue model.
• Pan African Film Festival: Los Angeles-based festival billed as the largest Black film festival in the U.S., showcasing Black films from the African diaspora with extensive industry programming. Comparable to Reel Sisters in serving the diaspora filmmaking community, though at significantly larger scale.
• CAAMFest: San Francisco-based annual festival from the Center for Asian American Media showcasing Asian and Asian American cinema with filmmaker programs and workshops. Comparable niche-ethnicity festival operating model with filmmaker development components.
• Athena Film Festival: Barnard College-hosted festival dedicated to films about and by women, featuring screenings, panels, and a filmmaker mentorship program. Directly comparable to Reel Sisters' women-centered mission, though with a broader women-focused rather than diaspora-specific scope.
• BlackStar Film Festival: Philadelphia-based annual festival centered on Black, African, and African diaspora cinema, featuring narrative, documentary, and short films alongside industry programming. Closely comparable in mission focus and in offering filmmaker development components alongside a flagship screening event.
• African Diaspora Film Festival: New York-based annual festival also dedicated to films of the African diaspora, screening work by independent and established filmmakers across multiple venues. Directly competes with Reel Sisters for the same diaspora filmmaking community and Brooklyn/NYC audience base.

Emerging players

• Sisters in Cinema: Chicago-based organization focused on supporting women of color filmmakers through screenings, workshops, and an annual film festival. Smaller-scope but mission-aligned peer addressing an overlapping women-of-color filmmaker community.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/reelsisters
• Facebookfacebook.com/reelsistersfilmfestival
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/reel-sisters-of-the-diaspora-film-festival
• Instagraminstagram.com/reelsistersfilmfest

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival