On September 21st, the 16th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival presented by BET Networks continued with an exciting day of screenings including Won’t Back Down, which was attended by Rosie Perez, Lance Reddick and Dante Brown; Doin’ It in the Park, attended by co-directors Bobbito Garcia and Kevin Couliau, Angie Martinez, former NBA player Larry Johnson, Fab 5 Freddy, Pee Wee Kirkland, Corey “Homicide” Williams; Barbasol, a short film attended by director Ralph Scott and lead actor Stephen Hill; An Oversimplification of Her Beauty, attended by director Terence Nance; and Tunnel Vision, attended by director Delilah Vallot, actors Ion Overman and Cristos. “Basketball Wives” Tami Roman was also in attendance to support the film Wolf, by Yake.
Urbanworld opened on Thursday night at AMC 34th Street with the BET Premiere Cinema film ‘Being Mary Jane,’ an original made for television movie and pilot. On hand to celebrate this world premiere was the film’s lead star Gabrielle Union along with cast members Tika Sumpter and Richard Brooks and writer/director powerhouse couple Salim and Mara Brock Akil. BET top execs Debra Lee (Chairman and CEO), Loretha Jones (President of Original Programming), Jeanine Liburd (Exec Pres. of Corporate Communications) and Connie Orlando (VP, Original Programming) were also in the house to present the film, which was met with rave reviews following the screening. ESSENCE entertainment director Cori Murray moderated the cast Q&A afterward.
Additional attendees included: Jacque Reid, Harriette Cole, Twinkie Byrd (casting director, “Being Mary Jane”), Susan Fales-Hill, Jennifer Williams (VH1, “Basketball Wives”), Karen Gravano (VH1, “Mobb Wives”), Taimak (actor, The Last Dragon), Stacy Spikes (founder, Urbanworld), and Gabrielle Glore (executive producer, Urbanworld). Urbanworld closed with the film Middle of Nowhere, directed by Ava DuVernay, winner of this year’s Sundance award for “Best Director.”
the 16th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival, presented by BET Networks, has announced the winners of the narrative feature, documentary feature, narrative short, screenplay, teleplay and audience award categories. The five-day festival was held September 19-23 and concluded Sunday with an awards reception at Tribeca Grill Loft, sponsored by Warner Bros. Pictures and HBO® and hosted by actors Stephen Hill (Barbasol) and Tracy Heggins (The Last / First Kiss, Cherry Waves).
Urbanworld, which screened 49 films this year (including 17 world premieres), is the largest internationally competitive festival dedicated to the exhibition of independent cinema by and about people of color.
Check out all the pics!!
Photo credits: Christian Hernandez and Terrance Jennings
The 16th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival winners are:
Best Narrative Feature
FOUR
Directed by Joshua Sanchez
Honorable Mention:
Wolf – Directed by Ya’Ke Smith
Best Narrative Short
RECORD/PLAY
Directed by Jesse Atlas
Honorable Mention:
“Forever In Hiatus” – Directed by Andy Nguyen
Best Documentary Feature
SOUL FOOD JUNKIES
Directed by Byron Hurt
Honorable Mention:
Jake Shimabukuro: Life on 4 Strings – Directed by Tadashi Nakamura
Best Screenplay
“AGENT 12 & THE MESSIAH STONE”
Written by Peter Lord
Honorable Mention:
Escaping Bushwick – Written by Javier Ortiz 2
Best Teleplay
“NALA’S HEART”
Written by Pauline Gray
Audience Award
BARBASOL – Best Short
Directed by Ralph Scott
DOIN’ IT IN THE PARK – Best Feature
Co-Directed by Kevin Couliau & Bobbito Garcia
The 16th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival Jurors are:
NARRATIVE FEATURES JURORS
Dori Begley, Senior Vice President of Acquisitions, Magnolia Pictures
Nikkole Denson-Randolph, Vice President, Specialty & Alternative Content, AMC Theatres
Lisa Cortes, Producer, Cortes Films
Rashaad Ernesto Green, Writer/Director, Mi Alma Films
James Lopez, Senior Vice President, Production, Screen Gems / Sony Pictures Entertainment
NARRATIVE SHORTS JURORS
Artel Great, Award Winning Filmmaker & Film Historian
Nick Hall, Vice President, HBO Entertainment
Niija Kuykendall, Vice President of Production, Warner Bros. Pictures
Tambay Obenson, Chief Editor, Shadow & Act
Frida Torresblanco, Producer, Braven Film
DOCUMENTARY FEATURED JURORS
Michael Eric Dyson, Author, Professor, & Cultural Critic
Jackie Glover, Vice President, Documentary Films, HBO
Carleen L. Hsu, Producer, The Kitchen Sync Group, Inc.
SCREENPLAY JURORS
Franklin Leonard, Vice President, Creative Affairs, Overbrook Entertainment
Connie Orlando, Vice President, Original Programming, BET Networks
TELEPLAY JURORS
Jacque Edmonds Coffer, Executive Producer, Let’s Stay Together, BET
Jocelyn Freid, Vice President, Original Programming, BET Networks
Erica Montolfo, Executive Producer, The Game, BET
For more information on the Urbanworld Film Festival, visit www.urbanworld.org.
ABOUT URBANWORLD
The Urbanworld® Film Festival, founded in 1997 by Stacy Spikes, is the largest internationally competitive festival of its kind. The five-day festival includes narrative features, documentaries, and short films, as well as panel discussions, live staged screenplay readings, and the Urbanworld® Digital track focused on digital and social media. Over the last fifteen years, Hollywood studios, indie film distributors, and established and emerging filmmakers have consistently chosen Urbanworld® to premiere box office and award-winning hits. Urbanworld® has also provided a platform for some of today’s leading brands seeking to reach key influencers across the industry and within the consumer marketplace. The Urbanworld® Film Festival is an initiative of the Urbanworld® Foundation Inc., a nonprofit organization that endeavors to consistently manifest its mission of redefining and advancing the roles of multicultural constituents in contemporary filmed entertainment. By implementing initiatives that actively support and develop content creators of color, Urbanworld significantly contributes to the evolution of the media and entertainment landscape and the diversity that it reflects. Gabrielle Glore serves as Executive Producer & Head of Programming for the Urbanworld Film Festival. The festival website is www.urbanworld.org.
