Seats are limited! This event is not included in the festival pass; separate tickets must be purchased.

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The Ebony Canal: A Story of Black Infant Mortality
Directed by Emmai Alaquiva (USA, 2024, 51:13 mins).

The Ebony Canal is a documentary film narrated by Academy Award-winning icon, Viola Davis. This masterful cinematic poem directed by Emmai Alaquiva examines the HERstoric portal between the disparities of infant mortality and the current state of maternal health orbiting Black and Brown women.

With collaborative insight of Former VP, Kamala Harris, Lamman Rucker, Kimberly Seal Allers, Charles Johnson and some of the top experts, we reveal the hurt, healing and hope of this voyage. Despite the undercurrents, the mission aims to foster a new wave of solution-driven practices. The vision is to move maternal health forward in the journey to save Black and brown mothers and their babies.

Preceded by:

Teddy
Directed by Lauren Santucci (USA, 2025, 16 mins).

A verité portrait of a male birth doula working to improve birth outcomes for Black womenin Houston, Texas.Q&A to follow.