Trilith proudly honors Black History Month with a free screening event celebrating emerging Black filmmakers whose work is shaping the future of cinema.

The evening features Trilith Institute’s A Mess of Memories, the award-winning feature film by Georgia-based writer and director Ebony Blanding, alongside two compelling short films, Sunhearts and Beyond the Games. 

A Mess of Memories is a deeply human story about family, memory, and healing. When adult siblings return to their childhood home to save their mother from losing everything to hoarding, they discover that the true clutter isn’t just material. Beneath years of accumulated possessions lie unresolved wounds, unspoken secrets, and strained connections. What begins as a rescue mission becomes an unexpected journey of forgiveness, rediscovery, and reconnection.

Blanding brings an authentic and compassionate eye to the film, exploring themes of legacy, mental health, and the emotional courage required to face our past in order to move forward. Developed during her time as Trilith Institute’s first Emerging Creative in Residence, A Mess of Memories is also the first feature film produced with Trilith Institute.

The program also includes:

• Sunhearts: A poignant short film following a misunderstood teen navigating grief and self-discovery, learning to find her voice and inner strength in the absence of a loved one.

• Beyond the Games: Set against the backdrop of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, this short film examines survival, purpose, and systemic neglect as a young man is swept into the city’s efforts to hide its unhoused population from the world.

Together, these films offer powerful perspectives on identity, community, resilience, and storytelling—anchored in place, memory, and lived experience.