The Luminal Theater

06/19/2026

Outdoors this Saturday night and in celebration of Juneteenth and liberation, join us for the new documentary TCB: THE TONI CADE BAMBARA SCHOOL OF ORGANIZING, on the groundbreaking writer, filmmaker, cultural worker, and a warrior for social justice who helped define Black Arts and feminist movements through the present day.

We open the screening with an extra-special video introduction by lauded Columbia, SC poet & TCB mentee, the one and only Nikky Finney (who is is also featured in the documentary) and a pre-screening conversation with Dr. Todd Shaw, Associate Professor and Interim Chair, Dept. of African American Studies - Univ. of South Carolina on Bambara’s legacy of cultural grassroots activism.

Tickets are still available so we hope you can join us for this special event underneath the stars.

Go to our Facebook event page or https://www.luminaltheater.org/events

06/18/2026

We are hyped to present Sharayna Ashanti’s A BIRTH OF REMEMBRANCE as the preceding film to tonight’s VOICES OF THE GODS 2k restoration screening in Baltimore.

Sharayna Ashanti Christmas () is a mother , womanist , abolitionist and cultural worker who creates at the center of who she is. As a dancer , producer , filmmaker and assemblage artist, her work explores the movement in relation to how our bodies connect with the subconscious to tell stories of our past , present and unseen.Trained in ballet at the Dance Theatre of Harlem from the age of three, she has performed works by Ulysses Dove, Robert Garland, and Geoffrey Holder, grounding her performance practice in over 25 years of embodied study.

In 2004, Christmas founded Muse 360, a youth development organization that has shaped two decades of intergenerational cultural work through Rayn Fall Dance Studio, New Generation Scholars Institute, and the Spark of Genius program. Expanding her vision in 2017, she launched Necessary Tomorrows, a platform supporting Black and POC artists through advocacy, curation, and funding. Both initiatives reflect her commitment to cultivating spaces that bridge history and futurity while nurturing collective imagination.

Her work has been recognized nationally and internationally, and she continues to create from a place rooted in womanist practice, abolitionist values, and cultural regeneration. Christmas holds a degree in Finance and Business from Morgan State University.

06/16/2026

It'll be a grand night of culture at our VOICES OF THE GODS screening this Thurs 6/18 in Baltimore, made extra special with our main guest Al Santana, the director of “Voices…” (tix still available at https://snfparkway.org/)

Over the past 40+ years, Al Santana has worked as a visual artist, independent filmmaker, cinematographer, and still photographer on numerous award-winning documentaries, public affairs films and videos including In The Spirit of Peace (2002) Military Option (2005), One People (2007), Blues People (2007), and Salty Dog Blues (2012).

His feature documentary “Voices of The Gods” (1985) premiered at the 1985 Margaret Mead International Film Festival and went on to screen at festivals in France, Italy, Burkina Faso, Canada, and is currently housed in the permanent collection of the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Research Center in Black Culture and numerous colleges, universities and museums.

Al holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the CUNY BA program in Sociology and Film, and a Master of Fine Arts degree from National University in Digital Cinema. Alongside his wife, the illustrious photographer Marilyn Nance - whose work also appears in “Voices…” he has also raised two talented artistic children whose work is experimental, eclectic and fun. We featured the entire family in our 2023 program Kindred Conversations: THE SANTANA PROJECT.

06/12/2026

Join us Sat. June 20 for "TCB - The Toni Cade Bambara School of Organizing", the new documentary that explores the life and legacy of writer and cultural worker Toni Cade Bambara.

Her groundbreaking literary works, including The Black Woman (1970), Gorilla, My Love (1972), and The Salt Eaters (1980), helped define Black Arts and feminist movements through the present day.

The documentary film is structured as a series of lessons on cultural organizing, gleaned from Bambara's life through archival footage and shared by her friends, colleagues and students through personal testimonies.

We'll be outdoors for this S.C. premiere done at and in conjunction with ; we'll be having a pre-screening discussion on art and activism with locals from both disciplines, as well as an extra-special video intro by one of the notables (a local!) who appears in the film!

This is the perfect way to celebrate Juneteenth this year.

Tix available at LuminalTheater.org/events

06/11/2026

Very important event regarding the future of our media landscape. Voice your concerns and learn more at the Atlanta roundtable.
Only a few tickets left!

Join us for a roundtable discussion where you can learn more about Paramount/WBD merger and what it will do to your job or business.

06/10/2026

On June 18th in Baltimore, join us for VOICES OF THE GODS - presented in remastered 2K - the 1985 documentary that explores the preservation of Yoruba and other West African religious traditions among descendants of enslaved Africans here in the USA. The film focuses on how these belief systems were preserved within the African diaspora despite centuries of suppression and misunderstanding.

A significant portion of the documentary was filmed at Oyotunji African Village, a Yoruba-inspired community in South Carolina that has played an important role in reviving traditional African religious practices in the U.S.

“Voices…” is notable because it presents African spiritual traditions from the perspective of practitioners themselves and critiques how mainstream American media historically portrayed religions such as Vodun, Yoruba religion, and related traditions.

But don’t believe us…get a peek through this trailer and in-person on June 18th at the SNF Parkway Theatre in Baltimore. Tix available at https://snfparkway.org/ (and via our bio link) and director Al Santana will be present alongside some special guests.

Presented by The Luminal Theater alongside the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute () and our venue/screening partners The SNF Parkway Theatre, and preceded by Baltimore filmmaker Sharayna Ashanti’s BIRTH OF REMEMBRANCE.

06/05/2026

We're proud to host the South Carolina premiere of "TCB - The Toni Cade Bambara School of Organizing", a new documentary that explores the life and legacy of writer and cultural worker Toni Cade Bambara.

Our June 20th outdoor screning will be at and in conjunction with ; we'll be having a pre-screening discussion on art and activism with locals from both disciplines, as well as an extra-special video introduction that we'll announce next week!

This is the perfect way to celebrate Juneteenth this year.

Tix available at LuminalTheater.org/events

05/26/2026

This June 18th experience the classic documentary VOICES OF THE GODS in newly-restored 2K resolution!

Join us for a special screening in Baltimore of this seminal 1985 film from filmmaker Al Santana ( - - who will be there in person!) the profiles then contemporary American followers of the Akan and Yoruba religions, two West African traditions that have long been practiced in the United States - and quite heavily in Baltimore - in part as a means to reconnect with ancient histories.

This classic of Black indie cinema is presented by alongside the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute () and our venue/screening partners The SNF Parkway Theatre () and preceded by Baltimore filmmaker Sharayna Ashanti’s BIRTH OF REMEMBRANCE.

Tix available now at https://snfparkway.org/

This is a can’t miss celebration of Black cinema and Juneteenth!

05/19/2026

Happy heavenly birthday to Malcolm X, our, as Ossie Davis eloquently put, "Black shining prince" of knowledge and resistance and inspiration. Malcolm X embodies so much of what The Luminal was founded on - independent mind, thought, and spirit, and using media tools - especially of our own crafting - to do so.

Spike Lee did this skillfully and beautifully in his starring 1992 biopic MALCOLM X. Seeing it, especially on opening day, but anytime after and through various mediums, is a life- altering experience, so enjoy the images you see here, filmed expertly of course by the great Ernest Dickerson.

Angela Bassett shines here as Betty Shabazz, Al Freeman is masterful as Elijah Muhammad, and this is where most of us were introduced to the great Delroy Lindo.

Malcolm, your spirit lives forever!

05/15/2026

Great grant opportunity. Org has to have a minimum $500K budget.

Before you begin, please take a moment to understand what we’re looking for at Unlikely Collaborators.This RFP is designed for organizations creating meaningful shifts in how people interpret their experiences, beliefs, and perspectives. This overview will help you determine whether your work is a...