The powerful short film Hard, starring acclaimed actress Lauren E. Banks (City on a Hill, Lawmen: Bass Reeves), will screen at Atlanta’s BronzeLens Film Festival this month. Read more about the award-winning short film inside.
On August 21, 2025, audiences can catch the emotionally resonant piece at 7:00 p.m. in the “Eddie” Screening Room at Tara Atlanta Theater for Atlanta’s BronzeLens Film Festival.
Hard is written and directed by award-winning filmmaker Eboni Price. It explores the raw coming-of-age journey of a 12-year-old Black girl grappling with puberty, grief, and violence, while trying to navigate the unspoken survival codes of her inner-city neighborhood. Price describes the short as an effort to “humanize the hood” and delve into the hardened exterior society often demands of Black girls.
“We wanted to go deep and explore a prevalent attitude that is forced upon a lot of Black women at a young age while creating multi-dimensional characters,” Price told us in a statement. “I hope that this film sparks a much-needed conversation.”
Since its 2024 premiere in New York, Hard has made an impressive mark on the festival circuit, garnering the Audience Award at Los Angeles’ Anthology Film Festival, Best Short at Georgia’s Urban MediaMakers Film Festival, and an international screening at the Rapport Film Festival in London. The film was also supported by the inaugural Reel Sisters Film Festival Micro-Budget Grant, further validating its bold storytelling and cultural impact.
BronzeLens is now in its 16th year and it remains as one of the country’s most respected platforms for filmmakers of color and is one of only 38 Oscar-qualifying festivals in the U.S. The festival’s inclusion of Hard adds to its legacy of championing groundbreaking Black cinema.
In addition to Banks’ standout performance as Renesha, Hard features Kenya Stiger as Javonte, Jermaine Alvarez Martin as Jordan, and Tiffany Smith as Martinika. It is produced by Banks alongside WillFilm4Food Entertainment, Dot Saint-Fleur, Kristofer Cross, and Musau Onwubiko.
Eboni Price is an alum of Howard University and Netflix’s Series Director Program. The acclaimed filmmaker continues her mission to amplify the voices and stories of Black women through compelling, multidimensional storytelling. With over 80 projects to her name, Hard is yet another testament to her undeniable impact on independent filmmaking.
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