Join us for a film screening and discussion of A Chocolate Lens, a documentary chronicling Steven Cummings’s photographic journey through a disappearing Black Washington. His approach was simple: use the camera lens to find the power amidst the storm. His images are a love letter to Black people across America. Director Gabriel Veras, and Photographer Steven Cummings, will join us.

Steven M. Cummings is a photographer and documentarian with a studio in Northeast Washington, DC. He was born in Okinawa, Japan, 1965 and traveled through Europe with his military family as a child. Cummings depicts black life in Washington, DC, and shoots almost exclusively in black and white. He captures people as they are, outside the studio, in natural light, and going about the business of living. He graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2010 with an M.F.A. in Photographic and Electronic Media.

Gabriel Veras is an award-winning Dominican American filmmaker with over a decade of experience. His expertise in cinematography and post-production has been instrumental in creating bold visual content for renowned brands like Nike, UFC, National Geographic, and many more. He currently serves on the creative team at Shine Creative in Washington, D.C.

The event is in partnership with WETA and the Anacostia Coordinating Council.