The 7th Texas Black Film Festival plays through Sunday in Dallas. It’ll feature the usual combination of shorts and features, documentaries and narratives. But its director, David Small, told us that people unfamiliar with the event might be surprised by the ground it covers.

“I remember when we very first started it, it seemed to be kind of a unique thing for the city of Dallas. And people expected – when you say ‘a black film festival’ – they’re expecting to see Big Mama’s House. It’s the total opposite of the museum-type approach and the level of intellect we want to bring to the discussion,” he says. “But the people who have come to the festival and seen what it is that we’re doing realize it is about the inclusion of the culture and how it impacts everyone else.”

Small talks to us this week about his approach to programming – and the current state of black film – in this week’s Big Screen.

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