Documentaries exploring human experience and the natural world took center stage on screens at the Boston Public Library, Emerson Paramount Center and Rockport Music Shalin Liu Performance Center for the 41st annual Boston Film Festival from Sept. 18-22.

The short film collection "Our Right to Gaze: Black Film Identities" aims to highlight the work of Black filmmakers in a time where only 13 percent of directors in the Hollywood industry are people of color.