This subseries consists of administrative documents and application materials related to the BFHFI's Black Filmworks film festival and its annual Independent Film, Video & Screenplay Competition.

In its earliest years, the competition was called the "Independent Black Filmmakers Film Competition." Although it appears to have started in 1975 as part of the BFHFI's second Black History Month Celebration, the first winners were not announced in the souvenir program until 1976, nor were winners regularly announced in the program until 1989. Based on available entry logs, the competition began to expand around this time and by 1992 it was receiving well over 100 moving image and screenplay submissions a year with additional prizes awarded in several categories such as "Community," "Cross-cultural," "PSA/Commercial," "Feature," "Animation," "Experimental," and "Education." In many cases the videocassettes and screenplays were returned to participants following the end of the competition, so the BFCA does not hold a full run of submitted entries. It does, however, hold the majority of the entries from the following years: 1990, 1992, 1994—2003. In some years the complete listing of submitted titles is unknown. A full list of known overall competition winners has been provided below. Honorable mention and category winners are frequently listed in the souvenir program and/or Black Filmworks programs. Winners of the screenplay portion of the competition are less frequently noted and it is unclear if screenplays were regularly accepted as part of the competition, particularly after 1993.

In addition to the application packets, videos, and scripts, the BFCA also received two boxes of correspondence with participants and judges, planning documents, committee documents connected strictly to the competition, judges' packets, and production materials.

In 1990 the BFHFI hired Cheryl Fabio-Bradford as its first full-time staff member to head its education and outreach activities. One of her first initiatives was to start the Black Filmworks film festival as a means of screening the winning entries as well as other films such as Bounce and Ralph J. Bunche: An American Odyssey. Initially the winners of the competition were announced as part of the Oscar Micheaux Awards Ceremony weekend in February while the film festival took place in April. Following the end of the awards ceremony, the competition and festival were combined and the dates became more variable. The final competition and festival were hosted in 2003.

The Black Filmworks administrative documents include planning documents; Filmworks steering committee documents, correspondence with participants, vendors, and host venues; and occasional scripts used by the presenters during the event.

The items listed under "Subseries 4.5. Miscellaneous Films and Videocassettes" are presumed to have been submitted to the film competition and/or the film festival at least as unsolicited review copies, but the specific relation is unclear.

See "Subseries 1. Publicity Materials" for items promoting and covering the festival and competition. See "Subseries 6. Miscellaneous BFHFI Events" for information on the Living Room Festival (which broadcast several competition winners in the mid-1990s) and additional screenings hosted by the BFHFI. Footage of the competition and festival is listed under "Subseries 7. BFHFI Event Recordings."