Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Harry Eaddy. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Harry, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

Starting DBFF is one of the most meaningful efforts I have ever undertaken. I am not a Creative in the sense most people think of someone that is a visual artist or musician. My life was spent in high tech working with engineers, scientists and researchers. I always spent most of my leisure time being involved in the arts and being a supporter financially and volunteering my time.

DBFF does 2 things 1. shares Black culture 2. builds community and these 2 things are very important to us. We allow filmmakers and creatives to showcase their stories and we put them on center stage so they have a platform and brand that is aligned with their values. Culturally our stories have not been told by us and DBFF allows creatives that opportunity so there is no misrepresentation. Usually it is a very joyful and celebrative story and even if it is about pain there is an audience that understands it.

At the heart of what we do and value aligns with our values of integrity, compassion, commitment and excellence!

Harry, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I spent my time in the corporate world providing solutions for large fortune 500 companies but in my spare time I worked with several arts organizations and a scholarship organization. My wife and I are avid moviegoers and while at a film festival 8 years ago I thought about the fact that there was very little black cinema. We started the festival to highlight an underserved community and to showcase black cinema. DBFF has been described as a “Cultural Festival” and we are also a multidisciplinary platform that offers Film, Music, Art, Spoken Word, Comedy and workshops and Panels through our Institute. We believe attendees can have a wonderful experience over 5+ days immersed in offerings. It is a gathering place for filmmakers, creatives and community.

Over the years we have grown in showcasing 100+ films, National/Internally recognized musicians like Kirk Whalum and Jazzmeia Horn and Mononeon in April of 2022. We offer some of the best spoken word performers in our poetry Slam and in comedy, art, etc. We strive for excellence in our operations and programming. Every year we change or add compelling content so attendees can be assured they will have a meaningful experience at DBFF. Our goal is to curate the best content and events we can offer to festival goers.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Our goal is to offer excellence in content, programming and operations. We believe people are very interested in having an experience and we strive to create and curate a number of them throughout festival season. Our tagline is Entertain, Educate and Inspire and that is our guiding principle.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

We had the most successful in person festival in January 2020 reaching 9000 attendees prior to COVID. In mid summer 2020 we realized we needed to pivot to virtual only and create a compelling platform which included film, music, art, etc. Also, distribution for filmmakers was evolving and we had to be very creative in finding compelling content along with creating events that would attract an online audience. This was one of the most difficult things to do and all creatives and organizations are struggling with the same problem. We just completed our second year of virtual only programming and we have produced over 65 productions in the last 2 years. We are a volunteer only organization so being able to pivot and get your volunteers committed is challenging.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.dentonbff.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dentonbff/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DentonBlackFilmFestival/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/DentonBFF
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/DentonBFF
• Other: Volunteers – [email protected]
• Image Credits

Beatrice McBride