BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions with Kahlil Joseph and Special Guests

Conceived as a cinematic experience that mirrors the sonic textures of a record album, BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions (2025) is a genre-bending documentary adapted from Kahlil Joseph’s renowned video art installation. The film’s unique soundscape is mastered in stereo, with featured guest artists interwoven across its 21 tracks, each adding their distinct perspective.

Following the screening, a panel including Joseph and collaborators will discuss the filmmaking process and editorial power of BLKNWS.

About the Film

Committed to the portrayal of Black brilliance in all its chaotic, symphonic permutations, BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions gives what co-screenwriter Saidiya Hartman describes as “the everyday anarchy of Black lives.” Blink between frames and you’ll miss the film warping ahead, techno thumping as the audience is sped through moving image representations of the pages of Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African-American Experience, as notable Black figures, movements, countries, activities, animals of the continent flash across the screen. The visuals seamlessly switch between moving and still images, black and white and color, quiet and loud, past, present, and future.

This program is co-presented with Rich Spirit.