The American Black Film Festival (ABFF) continued its stellar line-up of events on day two of the festival where attendees got the opportunity to gain some amazing knowledge and key gems by prominent members of the entertainment industry, view exclusive screenings of new films, and cap the night off with an exhilarating white party at Nikki Beach club.
The “ABFF Talks” series presented two events on the second day of the festival. The first, “NBC Universal First Look Panels,” consisted of a two-part discussion that was led by panelists Y’lan Noel, Lex Scott Davis, and Gerard McMurray of upcoming film, The First Purge, and Sherri Shepherd, Essence Atkins, Bresha Webb, and Diallo Riddle of NBC shows Marlon and Trial & Error. Audiences were treated to an inside look by cast-members at all of the intricacies that go into these well-known productions. The second “ABFF Talks” event of the day, titled “Black Love: Clips & Conversations,” featured the creators of OWN’s BLACK LOVE docuseries, along with Michael Jai White, Gillian Waters, Devale Ellis, and Khadeen Ellis as they discussed love and marriage in the Black community.
HBO also held it’s 21st annual Short Film Competition yesterday at the festival. Five short films screened in competition for the HBO Short Film Award and a $10,000 cash prize. The event was hosted by Bevy Smith, host of Page Six TV and Bevelations on Sirius XM.
ABFF attendees also had the chance to view several exclusive screenings of new films yesterday. Down For Whatever was the winner of last year’s TV One Screenplay competition and was followed by a Q&A with the film’s writer/director Tim Folsome, cast members LeToya Luckett, Hosea Chanchez, Bre-Z, Imani Hakim, and producer Eric Tomosunas of Swirl Films. Also screened was The Six Day Race, a seven-minute documentary style tribute film exploring the story of track cyclist Marshall ‘Major’ Taylor, Whitney, a compelling in-depth look at the life and music of the late Whitney Houston, and the newest addition and prequel to the Purge film series, The First Purge. The First Purge’s screening was followed by a Q&A with cast members Y’lan Noel and Lex Scott Davis.
For more information on the American Black Film Festival, click here.
