25th AAWIC FF Festival Programs May 17, 2025

Moderator:  Princess A. Hairston

Princess A. Hairston--is a director and Emmy-nominated editor in New York City. Princess has produced and directed films such as BREAKING THE NEWS a feature-length documentary distributed on PBS and LADIES FIRST: a story of Women in Hip Hop on Netflix. She has edited many films such as the SXSW 2024 Visions Audience Award winning documentary Songs from the Hole, and This World Is Not My Own which premiered at SXSW in 2023, the highly ranked 2021 Amazon doc series LulaRich, the 2021 Truer Than Fiction Award winning documentary Pier Kids, FRESH DRESSED, an official 2015 Sundance Film Festival selection and the Emmy-nominated series Capture with Mark Seliger. In 2020, Princess was selected as one of 25 filmmaker nominees for the 2020 Lynn Shelton Of A Certain Age grant. She is a 2018 recipient of the Karen Schmeer Editing Fellowship and a 2018 Winner of the NYTVF + WEtv Producer Pitch which led to a development deal. Her work has been recognized with nominations and awards from the Emmys, The Webbys, and many film festivals.  

The Politics of Black Women in Film Keynote Panel in Partnership with ImageNation

Join us for an insightful and empowering panel discussion that delves into the complexities and challenges faced by Black women in the film industry today. The Politics of Black Women in Film will bring together some of the leading

voices in film, alongside influential industry professionals, to explore the unique struggles and triumphs that women—particularly Black women—encounter in a traditionally male-dominated field.

This thought-provoking conversation will cover a wide range of topics, including the underrepresentation of Black women in various film roles, the barriers to entry in both front-of-house and behind-the-scenes positions, and the

systemic issues that impact women of color in Hollywood. Our panelists will share their personal experiences, discuss the importance of amplifying Black women's voices in film, and highlight the efforts being made to challenge and

change the status quo.

The panel will take place at the LaGuardia Community College 

located at 31-10 Thomson avenue, Queens NY 11101 

(entrance on Van Dam Street between Thomson avenue and 47th avenue). 

*Please note, the event will take place at the LaGuardia Community College Room E111 on the First Floor. 

Keynote Panelist: Lamonia Deanne Brown

Through the Gilchrist Group, Lamonia is the Festival Director for the Essence Film Festival (powered by Essence Studios), which she created at the request of Richelieu Dennis in 2019.  Previously as a Consulting Content Strategist and Creative Development Executive at WarnerMedia OneFifty (a Warner Bros. Discovery brand under the Corporate Social Responsibility department), Lamonia managed the content development and strategy.

Keynote Panelist: B. Monet

B. Monét is a distinguished writer and director. In 2019, she became the first African American woman to direct and star in a Cadillac commercial. Additionally, she directed a branded short film, "She’s Revolutionary,” on the #MeToo founder Tarana Burke for Levi’s and Girlgaze. Differently, Monét was chosen as one of the winners of the Queen Collective in partnership with Queen Latifah, Tribeca, and P&G. Her short film Ballet After Dark is exclusively streaming on BET. 

Keynote Panelist: Dawne Langford

Dawne Langford is an independent documentary filmmaker. Recently, she produced THE BODY POLITIC, which aired nationally on POV/PBS in November 2024; and is currently developing a new slate of projects. Previously, Dawne worked on projects for CNN Films, CGTN, Discovery Channel, and Moxie Pictures. She was a 2023 Sundance Producers Lab Fellow cohort member and the 2024 Sundance + Adobe Women to Watch Fellow.