Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival: 2026 Guide

Originally published August 2026. Updated October 11, 2026.

The Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival (MVAAFF) is an annual film festival in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts, founded in 2002 by Floyd Rance and Stephanie Tavares-Rance, and it is an Oscar-qualifying festival in the short film category. The 24th edition ran August 7 to 15, 2026 at the Martha's Vineyard Performing Arts Center with more than 60 films, more than 50 corporate sponsors, daily panels and brand activations. The 25th edition is planned for 2027, with dates not yet confirmed.

This guide covers what MVAAFF is, what the 2026 festival looked like, why brands invest in it, and what to know about 2027. It is updated as new information is published.

What is the Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival?

MVAAFF is a nine-day festival of feature, documentary and short films by and about Black filmmakers, held each August in Oak Bluffs on Martha's Vineyard. Floyd Rance and Stephanie Tavares-Rance held the first festival in 2002. The Vineyard Gazette reported that it began as a small event screening 10 films on VHS and has grown into a festival that screened more than 60 films in 2026. Stephanie Tavares-Rance told Variety in 2025 that the couple originally planned a festival in Barbados before moving the idea to the Vineyard, and that the festival has become a major draw for the island's summer economy. That figure, a 40 percent rise in tourism during festival week, is her claim and EPR has not independently verified it.

The festival is an Oscar-qualifying festival in the short film category, according to the Martha's Vineyard tourism calendar and the festival's own announcements. Most screenings and events take place at the Martha's Vineyard Performing Arts Center (MVPAC) and the adjacent Vineyard Lounge, at 100 Edgartown Vineyard Haven Road in Oak Bluffs. Information is at mvaaff.com.

MVAAFF 2026 at a glance

What was in the 2026 film lineup?

The 2026 lineup mixed major studio presentations with independent documentaries, narrative features and shorts.

Opening night began with Paramount's Children of Blood and Bone clips and conversation, featuring director Gina Prince-Bythewood and star Thuso Mbedu, moderated by Sunny Hostin of ABC's The View. Paramount's announcement said the screening was one of the film's first public presentations ahead of its January 15, 2027 release.

Henry Louis Gates Jr. moderated a screening of Soul Patrol, a documentary about the first Black special ops team in Vietnam, alongside former Secretary of State John Kerry. Netflix presented a double feature: the documentary short The Baddest Speechwriter of All and the feature documentary Jean-Michel Basquiat. ESPN 30 for 30 brought The Brittney Griner Story and Boo-Yah: A Portrait of Stuart Scott. Amazon MGM Studios and Prime Video premiered Go Deep: The DeSean Jackson Story, and Roku presented Gamechangers: Mother/Athlete with WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes and director Christine Turner. HBO and Max closed the festival with Lanterns Episode 1, paired with Warner Bros. Discovery's Earth, Wind & Fire documentary.

Independent entries included Full Circle: The First All Black Everest Ascent, W.E.B. Du Bois: Rebel With A Cause (with Courtney B. Vance on the panel), Black is Beautiful: The Kwame Brathwaite Story, and the narrative feature Girl Dad, with costume designer Ruth E. Carter as moderator.

What is the Color of Conversations series?

Color of Conversations is MVAAFF's signature panel series of post-screening and standalone discussions. The 2026 lineup included a career retrospective with Cynthia Erivo, a talk by Google VP Dr. Marian Rogers Croak on her path from VoIP to responsible AI research, a W.K. Kellogg Foundation panel on film, culture and social change with Laverne Cox, an illustrated creative talk by Ruth E. Carter on costume design, and a panel for Andscape's They Fight anchored by Wendell Pierce. Moderators included journalists from The Cut, Variety, Black Enterprise, EBONY, Extra and CNBC.

Which brands sponsored MVAAFF 2026?

More than 50 sponsors supported the 2026 festival, spanning entertainment, consumer brands, technology, healthcare, travel and philanthropy. ESPN 30 for 30 was the presenting sponsor and The Cut was the official media sponsor.

• Entertainment and media: Netflix, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Warner Bros. Television Group, HBO/Max, Amazon MGM Studios, Prime Video, Roku, OWN, Paramount/Skydance, Andscape, Sony Pictures, NEON, Screenvision.
• Consumer and luxury: Nike, Lincoln, Cartier, L'Oréal, Creme of Nature (with KeKe Palmer), Tom Ford Beauty, Tiffany & Co., McDonald's, Target, Johnnie Walker, Diageo.
• Technology and professional services: Google, McKinsey & Company, Autodesk, Ernst & Young.
• Healthcare and pharma: Pfizer, Bristol Myers Squibb, American Heart Association, Planned Parenthood.
• Travel and hospitality: Delta Air Lines, AmaWaterways, Jamaica Tourist Board, Massport.
• Philanthropy, education and civic: W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Ford Foundation (Just Films), GLAAD, AARP, ACLU, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, College Board, Library of Congress, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Norfolk State University, Prairie View A&M University, Huston-Tillotson University, Camelback Ventures, NJ Economic Development Authority.

Getty Images was the official photographer, and Medase was the official beverage sponsor. For brands, the pattern is worth noting: sponsors from very different categories used the same festival to reach one audience, and the strongest activations delivered programming rather than only a logo. EPR's guide to event marketing and PR across A, B and C-tier events covers how brands structure that kind of presence.

What happened in the Vineyard Lounge?

The Vineyard Lounge is a dedicated activation space on the Performing Arts Center grounds that ran daily programming from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. during the festival. Announced programming included:

• Lincoln: "Joy, Uninterrupted," moderated by The Cut editor-in-chief Lindsay Peoples.
• Google: Dr. Marian Rogers Croak on her path from VoIP to responsible AI.
• L'Oréal: a documentary produced with The New York Times' T Brand Studio, followed by a curated reception.
• McKinsey: programming on Black maternal health and economic mobility, moderated by CNBC anchor Frank Holland.
• Target: a documentary about the Black National Anthem.
• Bristol Myers Squibb: a brain health and well-being conversation.
• Creme of Nature: a two-day brand activation headlined by KeKe Palmer.
• Also: the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture on preserving Black film, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's 50th anniversary documentary, a luxury travel panel with AmaWaterways and the Jamaica Tourist Board, and Norfolk State University on HBCU storytelling.

What else is part of MVAAFF?

The festival's social calendar includes the Summer White Party, an Opening Night Party and Reception, the Bonds of Brotherhood luncheon at the Harbor View Hotel hosted by Floyd A.B. Rance, and the Celebration of Cinema and Culture at the Martha's Vineyard Museum. The festival closes with a Bon Voyage Party.

C-Suite Summit. MVAAFF also produces a separate, multi-day leadership program for Black and Brown women executives. The festival announced that the third annual summit would be held at the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort in Carlsbad, California, October 15 to 18, 2026. Earlier editions were held in Los Angeles, Denver and Atlanta.

5W at MVAAFF.