The B-Side The Future is Past

In the early 1900s rural South, a young Black girl named Catherine grows up in a town still haunted by the shadow of slavery and the terror of night riders. But when mysterious alien ships begin to appear in the sky, life in her community changes. The ships protect the townsfolk from violence, shade the fields during scorching days, and sweeten the well water at night. While the elders whisper in church that these visitors may be false prophets or devils, Catherine sees something different: patterns, kindness, and a presence that feels strangely familiar. One night, as riders draw near again, Catherine dares to watch from her window. What she sees in the blinding beam of light will leave her questioning not only who the ships are, but what they mean for her people. Told through Catherine’s voice and perspective, the film blends history, Afrofuturism, and suspense in a haunting Twilight Zone–like parable about trust, fear, and identity. The past and the future collapse into one, leaving only a chilling question: if salvation arrived in the sky, would we recognize it? Director - Kimberly Offord