SLIFF is proud to kick off its 2020 edition with a special event featuring the documentary short “8:46” (U.S., 2020, 28 min.) and a livestreamed Q&A with comedian Dave Chappelle and his co-directors, Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, Oscar winners for last year’s “American Factory.” Documentarian Kamau Bilal, director of “Baby Brother” and assistant teaching professor of film studies at the University of Missouri-Columbia, will moderate the discussion.The film captures a performance by Chappelle on June 6, 2020, at the Wirrig Pavilion in Yellow Springs, Ohio. The title references both the eight minutes and 46 seconds that police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on the neck of George Floyd and Chappelle’s time of birth, which was coincidentally 8:46 AM. Chappelle pointedly addresses Floyd’s murder and the protests it inspired, and discusses the history of violence against African Americans in the U.S. Bognar and Reichert’s other new documentary, “9to5: The Story of a Movement,” will play SLIFF on Friday, Nov. 6. “8:46” is also featured in the free program Doc Shorts: The Black Experience, where it will be available throughout SLIFF’s run. A recording of the Q&A will be available with that program beginning Nov. 6.

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