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Established in 2012, the BlackStar Film Festival is a four-day festival that celebrates the work of underrepresented filmmakers and showcases the visual and storytelling traditions of African diaspora and of global indigenous traditions. The Festival is organized by BlackStar, a non-profit organization dedicated to celebrating the visual and storytelling tradition of artists and communities of color.
In 2019, ESI was commissioned by BlackStar Film Festival to quantify the economic impact of its annual operations, as well as to identify the spending footprint of its annual attendees. Beyond the quantitative aspects of the impacts associated with the Festival, the report will also outline the social and qualitative benefits the Festival offers to the region through the strengthening of the local cultural economy by providing a venue for filmmakers of color to present their work to a broad and inclusive audience.
In addition to being a globally recognized cultural institution, the BlackStar Film Festival is a significant economic engine due to its operational activity and the visitor spending it attracts to the region. The Festival’s direct economic footprint creates a ripple effect of additional economic activity, supporting businesses and jobs throughout the state. The spending and spillover activity attributable to operations and visitors also generates additional tax revenues to the City of Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
