DETROIT, MI - Autumn Sun is set to host their inaugural in-person HBCU Film Invitational in Detroit. Supported by Executive Partners, The PepsiCo Foundation, DTE Energy, Walker-Miller Energy Services, and Bedrock, the festival will honor the student filmmakers behind 20 short films from the 2024-2025 submission program, each vying for the $25,000 Jury Award.
“DTE is proud to support the HBCU Film Festival and celebrate the creativity, culture and powerful storytelling emerging from these historic institutions. Events like this not only showcase rising talent but also honor the legacy of Black excellence in the arts."
-Rodney Cole, President, DTE Foundation.
"The Walker-Miller Energy Services team is honored to support the Detroit HBCU Network's 2025 HBCU Film Invitational. As many of our team members are proud graduates of a number of illustrious Historically Black Colleges and Universities across the country, we know firsthand how valuable an experience an HBCU truly is; academically, socially and emotionally and perhaps most importantly, the community an HBCU provides. HBCUs continue to be a stellar example of how excellence prevails, no matter the circumstances."
Carla Walker-Miller, Founder & CEO, Walker-Miller Energy Services
The festival’s highly anticipated Invitational Awards Presentation will take place at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History on Saturday, November 22, 2025, celebrating exceptional films, vision, and creativity from students representing more than a dozen HBCUs.
Finalists Poised for the Spotlight
The festival will feature the following finalists, whose work spans narrative, documentary, animation, dance, and experimental film formats:
- A’Jah Canty, North Carolina A&T State University (2025)
- Akiva Bell, Florida A&M University(2025)
- Arnold Cadayona, Alabama A&M University (2025)
- D’Mani Washington, Bowie State University (2025)
- Elisabeth Walton, Howard University (2025)
- Jala Bennett, Howard University (2025)
- Julia Washington, North Carolina Central University (2026)
- Kenaji Blevins, Morehouse College (2025)
- Kennedy Jones, North Carolina Central University (2025)
- Kiara Mangum, Howard University (2025)
- Mason Brown, Howard University (2025)
- Morgan Lewis, Morgan State University (2025)
- Nyhle Wilson, Dillard University (2025)
- Shane Cameron, Howard University (2025)
- Suuna McKitty, Morehouse College (2026)
- Ysabella Lopez, Spelman College (2025)
- Zachary Ramseur, Hampton University (2028)
- Zion Murphy, Howard University (2026)
- Orchesis Dance Company, Grambling State University
Stay tuned for details regarding the upcoming festival including hosts, special guests, entertainment and registration for events.
