Kahlil Joseph: BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions

Adapted from Kahlil Joseph’s renowned video art installation, BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions is a distinctive cinematic experience that mirrors the sonic textures of a record album, weaving fiction and history in an immersive journey where the fictionalized figures of W. E. B Du Bois and Marcus Garvey join artists, musicians, Joseph’s family, and even Twitter chats, in a vision for black consciousness.

Director
Kahlil Joseph

Screenwriters
Kahlil Joseph, Onye Anyanwu, Saidiya Hartman, Kristen Adele Calhoun, Irvin Hunt, Christina Sharpe, Madebo Fatunde

With
Shaunette Renée Wilson, Hope Giselle, Zora Casebere

USA 2025. 113min

Courtesy of
Rich Spirit

Language
English

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Director’s Statement

BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions is a film conceived with the fluidity and creativity of an album. This approach allowed me to think beyond traditional boundaries, embracing a process that seamlessly incorporates the contributions of other directors, artists, and collaborators. Poets, writers, editors, designers, musicians, scholars, and more have all left their mark on this project, enriching its texture and expanding its scope.

The film draws inspiration from a range of cultural and artistic touchstones: BLKNWS itself, the improvisational brilliance
of Kind of Blue, the late works of Jean-Luc Godard, and the critical fabulations of Saidiya Hartman. It is shaped by conversations with Fred Moten, David Hammons, and Malik Sayeed, as well as the grounding influence of Cristina Sharpe, Dionne Brand, and the spiritual traditions of Ifá and West African cosmologies. At its heart is a profound belief in myself, my voice, and the love of my family and ancestors.

BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions brings together every format of the moving image I’ve engaged with—cinema, video art, music video, social media, and documentary. It is a layered, multi-dimensional exploration of what the moving image can achieve, both as an artistic medium and as a tool for cultural critique.

Sunday 12 October 2025 15:15 BFI Southbank, NFT1 + a special Q&A with Kahlil Joseph

Monday 13 October 2025 18:10 ICA, Screen 1

Sunday 19 October 2025 15:00 Curzon Soho Cinema, Screen 2

Sunday 19 October 2025 15:15 Curzon Soho Cinema, Screen 3

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