It is one of the largest black film festivals in the United States.
[2] The festival screens films in the following categories: comedy, drama, documentaries, animation, GLBT, horror, religious, foreign/African Diaspora, shorts, feature films and music videos.
Venues have included United Artists Theatre in the Westfield Horton Plaza mall,[2] the Pacific Gaslamp multiplex, the Reading Grossmont Theater in La Mesa, AMC Fashion Valley Theaters, UltraStar Mission Valley and the Theatre Box downtown.
[3] In 2017 it expanded to three theaters and began developing a Black Film Centre, which will ultimately host the festival as well as housing an archive.
[4][5] Karen Willis is the director of the festival;[2] Robin Givens has hosted it a number of times.