‘BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions’ Review: Kahlil Joseph’s Feature Debut Is a Kinetic Tribute to Black Experimentalists

‘BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions’ Review: Kahlil Joseph’s Feature Debut Is a Kinetic Tribute to Black Experimentalists

Premiering at Sundance, the 'Lemonade' director's film blends a fictional Afro-futurist narrative, archival research, multimedia work and personal history.

‘BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions’ Review: Kahlil Joseph’s Brilliant Essay Film Pushes Filmmaking Forward

The premiere of the genre-blurring feature “BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions” at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival is a drama in and of itself: just days before it was scheduled to screen, the rights-holder to the film pulled it from the festival. Then, a few days into the festival, a surprise sale of the rights to a new owner cleared the way for the film to screen after all. Neither Kahlil Joseph, the artist and filmmaker who directed the film, nor Sha…

“More Than a Production, It Was a Communion” | Kahlil Joseph, BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions - Filmmaker Magazine

Films are made over many days, but some days are more memorable, and important, than others. Imagine yourself in ten years looking back on this production. What day from your film’s development, production or post do you think you’ll view as the most significant and why? We filmed in Accra, Ghana for Track 16. Reflection Eternal, which is about W.E.B Du Bois in his later years. It was late November when we arrived, and the humid air was thick wi…