DOCUMENTARIES

Now more than ever it’s so important to lift up and amplify black artists and creators, which is why a new film festival was created to do just that. The inaugural Black Life Film Fest will take place Sept. 5, and luckily for people who are interested in watching the selected films, the film festival will happen virtually, from the comfort of your home. Swirl Films and Mansa Productions are producing the festival, and the people there are asking for short film submissions that fit any kind of category. From documentaries and comedies to drama or animation -- as long as the film shows the black experience, it is eligible for submission. To find out more information about how you can submit your short film, or just general details pertaining to the new festival, you can visit the website here.

Will anything ever compare to the antics of Joe Exotic, Doc Antle or Carole Baskin, of “Tiger King” fame? But we have to assume you’ve finished the show by now, which leads us to this next question: What will you watch next? The following five recommendations seem to be just as crazy as “Tiger King” -- not necessarily the same brand of crazy, but on par when it comes to unbelievability, like, “How can this possibly be real?”(OK, and from the sounds of it, No. 5 miiiiight be the same genre as “Tiger King.”)Anyway, to compile this list, we asked around and brainstormed ourselves. I’ll never get those two hours back.”Those weren’t exactly ringing endorsements, but we thought it was worth a mention.