Berklee College of Music and Boston Conservatory at Berklee Students Earn Dedicated Section at Raindance Film Festival in London

Five documentary short films by students at Berklee College of Music and Boston Conservatory at Berklee were featured today at the 34th Raindance Film Festival in London, with the festival dedicating an entire section of its program to their work.

The films were produced as final capstone projects for the Take Me to the River course in the Africana Studies Department, taught by Grammy–winning producer, filmmaker, and assistant professor Martin Shore. Each film explores the influence of the African diaspora through dance and music. Four of the five films made their world premieres at this year’s festival. Two of the student filmmakers, Samuel Apoutou and Honor Minors, attended the festival to present their work and participate in a panel discussion. Dr. Mike Mason, chair of the Africana Studies Department, and Shore were also in attendance.

This is the second consecutive year that student work from the Take Me to the River course has been featured at Raindance. Last year, Boston Conservatory composition alum Chloe Clarke Smith (BM '25) premiered her film Kindness, which also screened as part of this year’s dedicated program.

The five films featured in the Berklee College of Music Senior Films for Africana Studies, Presented by Award Winning Filmmaker and Professor Martin Shore are:

• Kindness (2025, 12 min.) — Directed, written, and produced by Chloe Clarke Smith (BM '25), the film explores the influence of the African diaspora through dance and music.

• Out of the Dark (2026, 10 min.) — World Premiere. Directed, written, and produced by Rianne Thomas, the film examines the African diaspora through movement and sound.

• Côte d'Ivoire (2026, 11 min.) — World Premiere. Directed, written, produced, and scored by Samuel Apoutou, the film explores Afrodiasporic identity through music and dance.

• The Cycle of Kinship: A Portrait of Community (2026, 13 min.) — World Premiere. Directed, written, and produced by Maxwell Pauls, the film investigates community and connection through the lens of the African diaspora.

• To Dance, and to Speak (2026, 13 min.) — World Premiere. Directed, written, produced, scored, and shot by Honor Minors, the film explores expression and identity through movement.

The Take Me to the River capstone course, taught by Shore since 2018, synthesizes students’ Africana studies coursework into an applied, artistic final project expressed through the medium of film. Shore, whose debut feature documentary of the same name won Best Film at Raindance and the Audience Award at SXSW, brings that filmmaking lineage directly into the classroom.

Now in its 34th year, Raindance is the largest independent film festival in the UK, running June 17–26 in central London. This year’s program includes 85 narrative and documentary features and 112 short films, with more than half of the feature selection from first-time directors. The festival is officially recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, BAFTA, and the British Independent Film Awards, and selected shorts qualify for Oscar and BAFTA consideration.

The full festival schedule is available at raindance.org.