The Newark Black Film Festival, the longest-running Black film festival in the country, celebrates films that appreciate the historic significance of the Black experience in the United States. The Festival features late-night parties, live panel discussions, and exclusive screenings of films created in the last three years.

Since 1974, NBFF has presented the work of young, independent Black filmmakers, showcasing early films by the likes of Spike Lee, Ayoka Chenzira, Warrington Hudlin, Reginald Hudlin, Barry Jenkins, and Ava DuVernay. Past participants include luminaries such as James Earl Jones, Danny Glover, Pam Grier, Donald Bogle, Richard Wesley, Euzhan Palcy, and S. Epatha Merkerson.