'Songs of Black Folk' to Premiere at 2025 Tribeca Festival

 'Songs of Black Folk' to Premiere at 2025 

Tribeca Festival

Documentary short celebrates Black artistry and Juneteenth through powerful Pacific Northwest performance

The 2025 Tribeca Festival will host the world premiere of Songs of Black Folk, a 26-minute documentary short that captures the largest annual gathering of Black musical talent in the Pacific Northwest. This moving tribute to tradition, artistry, and resilience will screen as part of Tribeca’s Shorts: Embrace the Music program on June 7, 13, and 15.

Directed by Haley Watson and Justin Emeka, Songs of Black Folk centers on a powerful Juneteenth musical event led by Ramón Bryant Braxton and his uncle, Rev. Dr. Leslie Braxton. The film interweaves performance, personal history, and community with an emotional force that honors both legacy and innovation.

At its core, the documentary is a love letter to Black music and its ability to heal, inspire, and unite. Set against the backdrop of Juneteenth—the celebration of the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States—the film captures the emergence of a new cultural tradition in a region not always seen at the forefront of Black artistic life.

“I want these artists and audiences to be able to walk with their heads held high,” says Ramón Bryant Braxton, whose journey as Artistic Director forms the emotional spine of the film. His voice and vision drive the program and the story, blending ancestral reverence with contemporary Black expression.

The film is a deeply personal exploration of heritage, loss, creativity, and the importance of space—physical, emotional, and cultural—for Black artists to thrive. Through Braxton's leadership and Emeka and Watson’s lyrical direction, Songs of Black Folk elevates a regional celebration into a universal anthem.

World Premiere Screenings at Tribeca:

• Saturday, June 7 at 2:30 PM – Shorts Theater at Spring Studios

• Friday, June 13 at 9:00 PM – Shorts Theater at Spring Studios

• Sunday, June 15 at 3:15 PM – AMC 19th St. East 6

The film will screen alongside four other musical shorts as part of the festival’s Embrace the Music collection. More details can be found at Tribeca Film Festival's official page.

The Directors

Haley Watson, known for her Tribeca 2024 short Motorcycle Mary (executive produced by Lewis Hamilton and acquired by ESPN’s 30 for 30), brings a documentarian’s clarity and warmth to the screen. She also served as cinematographer on this project.

Justin Emeka, an award-winning filmmaker and tenured professor at Oberlin College, is recognized for his poetic approach to Black stories. His work blends his deep roots in theater with cinematic storytelling that emphasizes spiritual strength and community.

Together, Watson and Emeka craft a visually rich and emotionally resonant piece that doesn’t just document a performance—it preserves a moment of cultural awakening.

Key Credits

• Featuring: Ramón Bryant Braxton, Rev. Dr. Leslie Braxton

• Directed by: Haley Watson, Justin Emeka

• Produced by: Haley Watson

• Co-Producer: Khari Johnson

• Executive Producers: Micheal Beartly, Joseph Todd

• Editor: David Faddis

• Cinematography: Haley Watson

• Sound Design: Sean Higgins

• Color: Jacob Fisher

• Original Score: Katya Richardson

With Songs of Black Folk, the Pacific Northwest’s vibrant Black musical community takes center stage, where it’s always belonged.