The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) is proud to announce that The Shine King, a 2025 UAPB TV documentary, has been officially selected for screening at the Denton Black Film Festival (DBFF). The film will screen on Friday, January 30, 2026, at 1:05 p.m. at the historic Campus Theatre in Denton, Texas.
Directed by UAPB Fall 2025 graduate Mari’Neisha Hardick, The Shine King marks her directorial debut and highlights a powerful slice of the Pine Bluff community. The documentary celebrates professional shoe-shining by Mr. Larry Ellis, a longtime local resident whose decades of dedication to the craft have made him a beloved figure in the Pine Bluff community. The film celebrates Ellis’s legacy while also recognizing shoe shining as a potentially dying art—one rooted in pride, discipline, and personal connection. Through intimate storytelling, the film honors tradition, perseverance, and community pride.
The documentary was created in collaboration with the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff’s Multimedia Communications Department and Hardick, who served as UAPB student director. The project was also featured during UAPB Homecoming 2025, offering alumni, students, and the campus community an early opportunity to experience the film and celebrate its local roots.
According to its website, the DBFF is a dynamic hybrid festival that brings together filmmakers, industry leaders, emerging artists, and film enthusiasts to celebrate Black storytelling in all its forms. The 2026 festival theme, “Hope and Courage,” reflects the power of hope to dream and envision what’s possible, paired with the courage to take action and bring those visions to life.
The in-person festival will take place January 28 through February 1, 2026, followed by extended virtual screenings from February 1 through February 8, 2026, allowing audiences worldwide to engage with selected films.
Hardick’s work continues to reach and inspire others. When asked what advice she would offer future filmmakers, she shared:
“Take advantage of our resources and the Multimedia Communications Department! They are always willing to help you grow as a filmmaker and a student. I enjoyed the projects I had the chance to lead; seeing the end results is always the most precious part. Learn all you can and be proud of the work that you do. I am excited to see what more is to come with the film club and the department as a whole.”
The Shine King will be presented as a college short and as part of the “Becoming Ourselves Shorts” showcase. The screening will take place at the Campus Theatre, a Texas State Historical Landmark located in downtown Denton at 214 W. Hickory St., Denton, TX 76201.
