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ASE-Funded Documentary Wins Best Local Documentary at 2026 Virginia Black Film Festival
The Art & Science Exchange congratulates the team behind 'Displaced from the Birthplace of America' on receiving the Best Local Documentary award at the 2026 Virginia Black Film Festival (VBFF), held February 19–22 at the Kimball Theatre in Colonial Williamsburg.
The film, which premiered as part of the 2025 ASE Showcase, tells the story of Williamsburg’s Historic Triangle Block, a vibrant Black neighborhood erased through “urban renewal” policies in the 1970s, through the testimony of those who lived it and the descendants who carry its memory. Director Jacqueline Bridgeforth Williams and The Village Initiative, a Williamsburg-based grassroots organization working toward equity and justice, developed the project in collaboration with W&M faculty member Dr. Amy Quark. 
Bridgeforth Williams, says: “For the descendant community, this is not simply history that was researched or studied; it is history we inherited. As descendants, we carry these stories with love, honor, and reverence for the ancestors whose shoulders we stand on. This work is rooted in memory, truth, and responsibility to those who came before us. Their lives compel us to speak carefully and faithfully. In many ways, we feel them whispering across generations: tell it, and tell it right.”
The VBFF screening was followed by a descendant-led conversation about displacement, memory, and the power of community storytelling. The full feature documentary is set to release on June 20, 2026.
“This award affirms what we believed from the beginning, that this story deserves to be told, and told by the people who lived it,” said Omiyẹmi (Artisia) Green, Faculty Director of the Art & Science Exchange. “We are proud that the ASE could play a role in bringing it to wider audiences.”