OTO Film Festival

The OTO Film Festival is an annual celebration hosted by On the Outside Films dedicated to showcasing films that challenge perspectives, inspire conversations, and highlight the creativity of Black filmmakers and storytellers.

Through screenings, conversations, networking opportunities, and community engagement, OTO Film Festival creates a space where filmmakers and audiences can connect and celebrate the future of cinema.

Festival Experience

  • Experience a curated selection of films from emerging filmmakers and storytellers pushing the boundaries of cinema. While the OTO Film Festival primarily highlights short-form storytelling to create space for more filmmakers to share their work and connect with audiences, we also welcome feature films that showcase bold perspectives and impactful storytelling. Our screenings celebrate the creativity, innovation, and diverse voices shaping the future of film.

  • Connect with Black filmmakers, industry professionals, and rising creatives through engaging conversations centered around storytelling, filmmaking, and the future of cinema. Each year, the OTO Film Festival brings together established voices in the industry and emerging filmmakers within Chicago’s creative community for panels, discussions, and opportunities to exchange knowledge, experiences, and perspectives. These conversations create space for learning, collaboration, and meaningful connections between the next generation of storytellers and the filmmakers shaping the industry today.

  • Each year, the OTO Film Festival brings a new theme, unique experiences, and curated activations designed to celebrate Black creativity and community. Attendees and filmmakers have the opportunity to connect with Black-owned businesses, explore filmmaking resources, engage with industry professionals, and build meaningful relationships across the creative community. With exciting guests, collaborators, and immersive experiences each year, the festival creates a space where storytelling, connection, and culture come together.

  • The OTO Film Festival celebrates stories that showcase the full range of Black creativity and experiences. We believe Black filmmakers deserve the opportunity to tell stories in every genre, format, and artistic style, from drama and comedy to experimental, documentary, animation, horror, and beyond. Representation is not limited to one type of story; it is about creating space for Black artists to explore, innovate, and exist across the entire landscape of cinema.

2026 Featured Panelists

Sienna Pinderhughes

Sienna Pinderhughes is a New Orleans-based Camera Assistant with more than a decade of experience in the film and television industries. Since 2012, she has worked across feature films, television, and documentaries, contributing to notable productions including: SINNERS, Where the Crawdads Sing, One Night in Miami, Queen & Slim, and NCIS: New Orleans to name a few.

Sienna began her career as a Production Assistant on the documentaries Marvin Gaye: What's Going On and Through a Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People. She was fortunate to have her first narrative film experience as an intern on the set of Spike Lee’s 2013 rendition of Old Boy and she has been advancing through the Camera Department ever since.

Alongside her work on-set, Sienna has shot and directed several short films, and is currently in development on a documentary that explores familial legacy and spiritual inheritance.

Sharon Samuels

Sharon Samuels is a Chicago-based Creative Professional. Her work spans many disciplines, including architecture, film, and photography. After nearly twenty years practicing architecture on projects ranging from residential to large-scale mixed-use developments, she transitioned into the film industry, where she now works primarily as an Art Director on film and television productions nationwide.

Sharon has held roles throughout the Art Department, including Set Designer, Assistant Art Director, and Art Director, contributing to numerous projects filmed in Chicago and beyond. In 2017, she produced her first short film, Inside the Box: The Story of Boxville, a finalist in the AIA’s I Look Up Film Festival.

In 2024, she established blprint359 Productions to create original content across film, television, and print. The first project, 15 Lines, is a short film loosely based on her experience working in architecture.

Nicole Rogers

Emmy Nominated Makeup Artist, Licensed Hair Stylist, and I.A.T.S.E 476 member Nicole Rogers has been enhancing looks through her makeup and hair techniques since 2005. Skilled in TV/film and commercial work, she is known for her clean makeup application and hair styling.

Nicole boasts a myriad of former clients, including Disney, Essence Magazine, Parade Magazine, OWN Network, MTV, CBS, HGTV, HBO MAX, and a host of others. Prior to following her passion for beauty and fashion, Nicole attended Northern Illinois University, where she studied Biological Science.

While balancing both family and school, she managed to find time to fulfill her artistic fervor—applying and implementing innovative ways to wear makeup. Her talent for making people from all ethnicities and backgrounds look their best is why Nicole continues to be sought-after by those who seek top-notch artistry.

Tickets on Sale Now

Join the FOREGROUND

Across two days, experience a dynamic lineup of short films and experiences that challenge perspectives and bring the people behind the final frame into focus.

Come into the Foreground and experience a festival like never before.

Tickets are now on sale.

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