Nothing is impossible when the BronzeLens Film Festival celebrates the magic of film

His clothes have been worn by Beyoncé, Zendaya, Miley Cyrus, Madonna, Grace Jones and the legendary Bette Davis, but Patrick Kelly is largely unknown to many outside the world of fashion.

Love, Patrick: Nothing Is Impossible, a 90-minute documentary exploring the life and rise of the one-time Atlanta powerhouse designer, aims to fix that.

Later this month, it will be the opening film for the 2026 BronzeLens Film Festival, the annual event that showcases the city as a film mecca for people of color and a developer of the next generation of filmmakers.

Produced and directed as a celebration of the brilliance, joy and audacity Kelly brought as a gay, Black, Mississippi-born artist who conquered 1980s fashion from his perch in Paris, Love, Patrick is one of more than 150 films that are part of the two-week Festival, now in its 17^th year.

“He was all about love,” said Ray Cornelius, who, along with Jessica Manning, executive produced the film, which was directed by the Atlanta-based Horne Brothers — Tyson, Byron and Ryon.

“His whole mantra was love,” Cornelius said. “That’s why he infused hearts and things of that nature into his clothes. Love was the main thread in all the fashions he designed.”

Films entered in this year’s Festival cover a broad range of topics, including car drifting, gun violence, content creation, aging, ghosts and the birth of trap music. The selected films hail from all over the world, including Australia, Canada, Guadeloupe, France, Germany, Ghana, Saint Kitts, Peru, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The selections were filmed either by filmmakers of color or feature casts made up predominantly of people of color. That includes Emmy Award-winning actress Loretta Devine in director Laura Colbert’s Black Seeds Continue to Grow, Golden Globe-nominated actor Blair Underwood in Joslyn Rose’s The Listeners, and metro Atlanta resident, rapper T.I., in The Birth of Trap Music, directed by Christopher Scholar. 

“We believe the true magic of film happens both on the screen and in the conversations it inspires,” Kathleen Bertrand, founder and executive producer of the Festival, said in a release.

“Our mission is to champion outstanding filmmaking while creating dynamic opportunities for filmmakers, creators, talent and audiences to engage, connect and help shape the future of storytelling,” Bertrand said.

Director Jared Leaf brings his award-winning 13-minute film Spilled Milk to the Festival. The horror short, backed by Director Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions, flips the narrative of Black fathers being absent from their families. Instead of Black men walking out, the film suggests they may be the victims of foul play by a mysterious milk man.   

“There’s a thing called the father wound that a lot of people experience when they don’t have their father growing up,” Leaf said in explaining the idea for the short. “And it’s like, no matter what you do in life, no matter how well you’re doing, you always have this deep wound inside of you that’s unhealed.

“The film is really exploring how that can manifest itself and, if you’re not careful, be your downfall,” said Leaf, who pulled together a star-studded cast for the short film, which includes J. Alphonse Nicholson, Jerry O’Connell, Brandon Perea and Kid Cudi, who composed the score.

Leaf said bringing the film to Atlanta was a must.

“There are certain places where the story resonates more with the audience,” he said. “Atlanta is definitely one of those places.”

The Ebony Canal, another award-winning short film, brings with it its own star power. Oscar winner Viola Davis narrates the film by six-time Emmy Award-winning Director Emmai Alaquiva. It follows four Black mothers on their journey from pregnancy, loss and a child’s first birthday.

Along the way, the film looks at the disparities in healthcare for Black mothers and the crisis of Black infant mortality.

“Me, as a Black man, I can’t give birth physically,” Alaquiva said. “But I can give birth to a story that will change generations after we are long gone.”

The film has received the support of former Vice President Kamala Harris, actor Lamman Rucker and fashion designer Tina Knowles, the mother of singer Beyoncé.

But Alaquiva, who counts Nina Simone’s Four Women as an inspiration for the film, said it’s not about celebrity names; it’s about bringing to light the stories of Black women that are often overlooked.

“That goes beyond just a film,” Alaquiva said. “We’re talking about education now. We’re talking about policy change now. We’re talking about advocacy and allyship.

“This is more than a movie,” he said. “This is a generational movement.”

That sentiment mirrors that of the team behind Love, Patrick.

Kelly was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, in 1954, and lived in Atlanta from 1972 to 1978, before moving on to New York and later Paris. His fashions included whimsy, with mismatched buttons and bows and a penchant for form-fitting Lycra. He was the first American and first Black designer admitted to the prestigious Chambre Syndicale du Prêt-à-Porter trade association. He died in 1990 from complications related to AIDS. He was 35.

Executive Producer Ray Cornelius said the film introduces a giant who should not be lost to time.

“There is a generation of young people that have no idea about the contributions of people who have come before them, in particular, those that succumb to HIV AIDS,” he said. “It literally wiped out an entire generation of creatives in television, film, theater, dance, fashion and art.”

Fellow Love, Patrick: Nothing is Impossible Executive Producer Jessica Manning agreed. She said Kelly achieved so much in so little time that failing to celebrate his contributions feels like an injustice.

“He was able to accomplish some things that most people don’t throughout their entire career, especially as a designer of color,” she said. “To make it to a level where he was recognized among other names like Yves Saint Laurent, Sonia Rykiel and Thierry Mugler — that is someone we should never forget.”

For the Horne Brothers, the BronzeLens feels like home, having had several of their films screened at the Festival. Still, they didn’t take this year’s entry for granted.

“It’s never guaranteed that you’re going to get into any festival, and when you do, you’re very grateful,” Ryon Horne said. “And to be the opening film for the Festival is a new thing for us and really a huge honor.”

Where and when

The BronzeLens Film Festival opens August 21 and continues through August 30. Three venues will host the activities: The Tara Atlanta, Louise Watley Library at Southeast Atlanta and the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center on the campus of Morehouse College.

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Leon Stafford is an award-winning journalist with more than 30 years of experience at various newspapers, including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Lexington Herald-Leader and the Knoxville News-Sentinel. He has covered municipal government, business, education, hospitality and the arts during his career.