FROM GRIEF TO GLORY: HE LOST HIS FATHER. THEN HE MADE A FILM ABOUT IT.

Debut filmmaker Toroes Thomas joins Dr. Nii-Quartelai fresh off the premiere of his narrative feature Sr. at the 2026 American Black Film Festival (ABFF) — and he came to tell the truth. Drawn directly from Toroes's own life and the sudden, shattering loss of his father, Sr. is a film about love, grief, fatherhood, and what it means to find your footing when the person who was supposed to hold it together — couldn't. We go deep on the craft of storytelling, the raw economics of Black independent film, the emotional weight of turning personal pain into public art, and what Toroes wants every young filmmaker watching to hear. This isn't just a conversation about movies. It's a conversation about what we carry, what we create, and how we survive.