NBFF Shorts (Block 1)

A selection of the best shorts submitted to the Newark Black Film Festival.

We Were Meant To, directed by Tari Wariebi (28 min). Not rated
In a world where Black men have wings and their first flight is a rite of passage, Akil must defy fears, insecurities, and societal barriers while discovering his perfect launch into manhood.
The Love Machine, directed by Jasmine Lynea (10 min). Not rated
Nasir Smith, a teenage scientist, and influencer, desperately wants to challenge intergenerational trauma, by healing his family’s past to welcome back love and compassion in their home. In his family’s basement, Nasir goes Live! presenting his new invention to the world, called The Love Machine.
Burning Rubber, directed by Chris Fequiere (8 min). Not rated
Burning Rubber is an adult action-packed anime that follows the sport of NYC Handball told through the perspective of a Black Brooklyn Native.
The Vacation, directed by Jarreau Carrillo (10 min). Not rated
In Flatbush, Brooklyn, four friends are stuck in their car after it breaks down on the way to the beach on the last day of the summer.

The screenings will be followed by a Q&A with Chris Fequiere, director of Burning Rubber, Dara King, producer & writer of Burning Rubber, Tari Wariebi, director of We Were Meant To, and Jasmine Lynea, director of The Love Machine.

Location: Billy Johnson Auditorium

Get Tickets Purchase Festival Pass Full 2023 NBFF Schedule

Meet the Filmmakers

Jarreau Carrillo

Director, 'The Vacation'

Jarreau is a Brooklyn based writer, director, and actor originally from Seattle, Washington. Jarreau received a BA in Political Philosophy from Morehouse College and a MFA in Directing from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Jarreau’s most recent work is a nine episode web series entitled, “Somewhere in the Meantime” and is available on Youtube. His thesis short film, “Strange Planet” was funded by the Spike Lee Production Fund at NYU, won the Martin E. Segal Award from Lincoln Center. When not writing and directing, Jarreau loves performing improv comedy across the country. He’s been performing for over 10 years. Currently, he’s a member of the house team at The Magnet Theater in Chelsea, Manhattan. His latest on-screen work can be seen in the 2015 SXSW Grand Jury Prize film, “Fort Tilden” by Charles Rogers and Sarah-Violet Bliss.

Chris Fequiere

Director, 'Burning Rubber'

Chris Fequiere (he/him) is an Animator, Director, and Author who has helped create series for DC Comics, Netflix, and other global brands. Born and raised in Coney Island, Chris currently runs a Brooklyn-based animation studio (Reel Black Studios) that he co-founded with his partner and wife Dara. In his “spare time” teaches animation at the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC).

Jasmine Lynea

Director, 'The Love Machine'

Jasmine Lynea is a film director and writer residing in Philadelphia. Her raw and colorful evolving film work aims to redesign familiar worlds with unique possibilities. A radical dreamer, Jasmine chooses to blend fantasy and reality in her black queer narratives to escape limitations that diminish our spiritual existence and power.

After she wrote, directed, and edited the poetically driven short film The Mixtape: Stay Black, Baby in 2016, Jasmine established a new relationship with film, becoming a high-school film teacher at Samuel Fels. There she was awarded the Leeway Art and Change Grant to launch the Root and Branch Arts Festival. During this time she was also awarded the 2020 Philadelphia Media Fund to continue her work as a film director and writer for her experimental short film How to Survive a Mourning, which screened at WWCC 16th Annual Juried Art Exhibition and was granted an Honorable Mention Award in 2021.

Jasmine’s short films have been screened in several film festivals including Seattle Black Film Festival, Hip Hop Film Festival, and San Francisco Black Film Festival. More recently, she wrote, directed, and edited her short fantasy sci-fi– The Love Machine. As a fellow for their year-long Inuagral Filmmaker Lab, the short- film premiered at the BlackStar Film Festival.

Jasmine Lynea, is currently in pre-production of her next short film Della Can Fly! The project is supported by Independent Public Media Foundation.

Tari Wariebi

Director, 'We Were Meant To'

Tari Wariebi is a first-generation Liberian, Nigerian American filmmaker from Philadelphia, PA. He graduated from Syracuse University, where he was a McNair Scholar and found his passion for filmmaking. Instead of turning in a research presentation for his final project, Tari created a feature-length documentary on Urban Renewal and gentrification in Syracuse, NY.

A class of 2020 Directing Fellow at the American Film Institute Conservatory, Tari’s work as a director, writer, and producer has afforded him the opportunities to create original content for various media platforms, such as VEVO, Vice, Goodwill Industries, and Vogue, garnering millions of views for these platforms. Some of Tari’s other writing and directing credits include TV One, BET Centric, Def Jam, and Youtube health and wellness series “Com + Well” starring artist Common.

An award-winning filmmaker, Tari’s work has been screened in over 30 film festivals. Tari is a recipient of the Gary Winnick Scholarship and Jack Larson Scholarship for Directing. As a writer, Tari has been a quarterfinalist at the Slamdance Screenplay Competition, a WeScreenplay finalist, and a Screencraft Film Fund quarterfinalist. Most recently, Tari has been named a finalist for the MTV Entertainment Studio’s First Time Directors Initiative

Most recently, Tari directed the pilot for WarnerMedia entitled Remember, starring Bernard David Jones which was picked up by Berlanti Productions. Currently, Tari is working on a remake of the film Perfect Strangers written by and starring Issa Rae, produced by Spyglass Media.