Back to Natural
Back to Natural is a 69-minute documentary film that reveals the shocking truth about hair, politics, and racial identity in Black communities and beyond. Directed by New York City based Clinical Psychologist Gillian Scott-Ward, the film was inspired by the work she was doing in her clinical practice and her own drive to go natural. Back to Natural is a powerful call for healing that takes a grassroots approach to exploring the globalized policing of natural Black hair.
Filmed in New York City, Philadelphia, Paris, And Cape Town, this documentary explores universal aspects of the Black experience and the "New" Natural Hair movement. Join us on this journey of discovery and enlightenment while celebrating our history and natural styles that are taking the world by storm.
How to watch:
♦ For public screenings (without the director), click here for Public Performance and Digital Site Licenses
♦ We are now available on DVD through Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart
♦ We are now available to stream on Amazon and Amazon Prime
♦ To schedule an event with the director, including Healing Workshop and Anti-Bias Training, e-mail connect@BackToNaturalDoc.com. Learn more here
As Featured In:
SCREENINGS
Rowan College at Burlington County
February 21, 2022
900 College Circle Mount Laurel, New Jersey 08054
United Federation of Teachers-Black History Month Film Series
February 13, 2020
52 Broadway, New York, NY 10004
Long Beach Public Library – Public Screening
Saturday, February 15 at 2pm & Thursday, February 27 at 7:30pm
111 West Park Ave., Long Beach, NY 11561
Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society Screening
October 6, 2019
Podell auditorium, 11 Nathan Perlman Place, NYC
New College ‘Visions of the Black Experience’ Film Series
December 7, 2019
Harry Sudakoff Conference Center; 5845 General Dougher Place Sarasota, FL 34243
World Television Premiere – RevoltTV
On Demand with Live Showings. CHECK LISTINGS
RevoltTV
Stuart Cinema and Cafe
August 17th- August 20th, 2019
79 West Street | Brooklyn, New York 11222
Greater Cleveland Urban Film Festival
Sunday, September 15th 2019 at 5:30 PM and Monday, September 16th, 2019 at 1:15 PM,
Atlas Cinemas at Shaker Square, 13116 Shaker Square, Cleveland, OH 44120
Barbados Independent Film Festival
Saturday, January 19th, 12 noon
Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination, UWI
The St. Vincent and the Grenadines National Trust
Wednesday, December 19th, 2018 at 4:30 p.m
Carnegie Hall, Old Public Library Building, St. Vincent and the Grenadines
I Will Tell International Film Festival South Florida
Saturday December 8th, at 5:00pm
The Living Room Theatres FAU on 777 Glades Rd, Boca Raton, Florida 33431
The Little Theatre- The Black Cinema Series
Friday, Nov 30th, 6:30pm & Saturday, Dec 8th, 3pm
240 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14604
Peachtree Village International Film Festival
Friday, October 12th, 2018 11:30-12:39 p.m.
Cinema Park Studios, 135 Walton Street Northwest Atlanta, GA 30303
Urban Mediamakers Festival
Monday, October 15th, 2018 4:45pm
Atlanta, Duluth, and Lawrenceville, GA (Details to come)
Received: Best Documentary Feature
University of the West Indies- Public Screening
September 18, 2018
University of the West Indies, Library Multifunctional Room- Kingston, Jamaica
Authenticity and Solidarity Conference on Civic Engagement
Saturday, September 22, 2018 2:45pm
Princeton University
I Will Tell Film Festival
Saturday, September 8th, 2018 13:00 – 15:00 BST
ELIM, Leytonstone Hainault Road London E11 1EL (nearest tube station, Leytonstone on the Central Line)
Capital City Black Film Festival
Saturday, September 1st, 2018
Screen 4, Austin Convention Center, 500 E Cesar Chavez St, Austin, TX 78701
Urban Film Festival
September 1st 2018- 12pm-4:15pm block
Overtown Performing Arts Center, Miami, FL
Black Star International Film Festival
Saturday, August 11, 2018, 7:30pm
Silverbird Cinema in Accra Mall, Ghana
Received: Yaa Asantewa Best Women in Film Award
African World Festival
Saturday, August 18th 2018. Evening, see website for details.
Charles H. Wright Museum Theatre, 315 E Warren Ave Detroit, MI 48202
Received: Best Feature Film, Runner Up for Best Direction
The Women of African Descent Film Festival
Saturday June 2nd 11:15am
Billie Holiday Theatre 1368 Fulton St, Brooklyn, NY 11216
The People’s Film Festival
June 2nd, 2018 2pm
Maysles Cinema 343 Malcolm X Blvd, New York, NY 10027
Festival International du Film Pan-Africain de Cannes
April 18th to the 22nd, 2018
THEATRE ALEXANDRE III 19 Boulevard Alexandre III Cannes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d
Langston Hughes African American Film Festival
Sunday, April 22, at 3:00 PM
The Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute, 104 17th Avenue S. Seattle, WA 98144
Black Market and Film Festival
Saturday, 5th May, 2018 at 13:30
West Green Learning Centre@ Parkview Academy, West Green Road, London N15 3QR, United Kingdom
New York City Independent Film Festival
May 9, 2018 9:00pm
Producers Club - Theater S, 358 West 44 Street New York, NY 10036
Received: Nominated, Best Documentary Award
RapidLion Film Festival
Monday, 5th March 2018, 16h30
Market Theatre, 56 Margaret Mcingana St, Newtown, Johannesburg, 2001, South Africa
Pan African Film and Art’s Festival
February 15, 17 & 18th, 2018
Cinemark Baldwin Hills Crenshaw 15, 3650 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd, Los Angeles Ca. 90008
Teaneck International Film Festival
Saturday, November 4th at 5:15pm
Puffin Cultural Forum 20 Puffin Way Teaneck, NJ 07666
Da Bounce Urban Film Festival- Amsterdam, The Netherlands
November 4th & 5th
ArenA Boulevard 600 1101 DS Amsterdam-Zuidoost
Pembroke Taparelli Arts and Film Festival- LA
Friday, November 3rd, 7:15pm
Laemmle's Royal Theatre 11523 Santa Monica Boulevard, 1st Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90025
Red Bull Amaphiko Film Festival 2017, South Africa
Friday, October 27th, 2017, 16:00
Johannesburg, South Africa; Braamfontein- Cinema 3
Pembroke Taparelli Arts and Film Festival- New York
Monday, October 30th at 3:30pm
Maysles Documentary Center, 343 Malcolm X Blvd, New York, NY 10027
International Black Film Festival Nashville
October 5th-8th, 2017
555 Marriott Drive, Building 2 Suite 315 Nashville, TN 37214
Received: Best Poster Award, Founders Award
Batimore International Black Film Festival
Friday, October 6th at 4:45pm
Carl J Murphy Fine Arts Center 2201 Argoone Dr Baltimore, MD 21218
British Urban Film Festival:
Thursday, September 7th, 4 PM - 6 PM
BT Tower, 45 Maple Street, London W1T 4JZ
Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival:
Thursday, August 10th, 1pm-2:30pm.
The Martha
Received: Nominee, HBO Documentary Award
Peachtree Village International Film Festival
Back To Natural: A Documentry © Film