Looking to the enduring cultural connections between New Orleans, the Caribbean and Africa, "We Outside" explores transatlantic masquerade and processional traditions as pathways to collective love and liberation in the face of state, sexual and racial oppression. The people we come to know through these films take their churning emotions and histories and externalize them—loudly, proudly—by taking to the streets en masse, adorning themselves in elaborate costumes, or both.

Curated by P.5 Programming Partner Jason Fitzroy Jeffers of Third Horizon Film Festival and presented in partnership with Prospect.5 and the 32nd annual New Orleans Film Festival, this screening will be followed by a Q&A with Vashni Korin, director of "You Can't Stop Spirit", Shannon Paxton of the Wild Tchoupitoulas Baby Doll Gang, and Cinnamon Black of the Million Dollar Baby Dolls.

Featuring the short films:

Peau De Chagrin / Bleu De Nuit, Director: Baloji

This video by acclaimed Belgian-Congolese rapper and musician Baloji is based on an old Congolese wedding ceremony, in which a couple stands in front of a vegetal installation, a Pygmy tradition.

Here is the Imagination of the Black Radical, Director: Rhea Storr

Junkanoo—a carnival-like form of celebration in the Bahamas is a culture with innovative costume designs. Aesthetic and political intertwine as we follow the Shell Saxon Superstars in the year-long production of costumes. Here is Black radical imagination, a resistance, a uniquely Bahamian identity. Who is archiving Junkanoo for future generations?

Aquí, Director: Carlos Mario

Using recent events in Puerto Rico as its point of departure, Aquí is an intimate and rigorous exploration of political protest as an affective space.

You Can't Stop Spirit, Director: Vashni Korin

Dating back to the 19th Century, the emergence of the Baby Dolls is deeply controversial. Some women associate the tradition with prostitution and the need to create networks of protection and community. For others, the Baby Dolls grew from a tradition of distinguished and highly respected women. In a broad sense, masking culture is an alternative social space where people can express themselves through activities that are normally considered socially unacceptable. On Mardi Gras, Black women experience a new freedom; one in which they are able to reclaim culture, tradition and freedom while challenging society's perception on how Black women are to act and exist in the world.

This event will take place at The Broadside, 600 N Broad St, New Orleans, LA 70119. Advance RSVP is required for admission.