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The 2019 “Best Of ABFF” Awards Nominess Announced For The 23rd American Black Film Festival

BET, Cadillac, Prudential and AT&T will be presenting sponsors for select awards at the festival which takes place June 12 – 16 in Miami Beach

Los Angeles, CA, (June, 2019) – The 23rd Annual American Black Film Festival (ABFF) will celebrate the winners in the competitive films categories and talent pipeline programs categories for their outstanding achievement in cinema, during the “Best of ABFF” Awards Presentation. The closing ceremony is presented by AT&T|Dream in Black, on the evening of Saturday, June 15th at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel.

The “Best of ABFF” Awards focuses on identifying distinguished projects in the following categories: Audience Award – Best Narrative (presented by BET Networks), Jury Award -Best Narrative Feature (presented by Prudential Financial), Jury Award – Best Director (presented by Cadillac), Jury Award – Best Lead Talent (presented by AT&T|Dream in Black) and Jury Award – Best Screenplay, Best Documentary and Best Web Series. Additionally, the ceremony will also celebrate winners of the following Talent Pipeline programs: ABFF Star Project, NBC Hosting Workshop, Best of ABFF truTV Comedy Competition, Best of ABFF Turner TV Writing Contest, Best Web-Series, Best Documentary Feature film, and the HBO Short Film Competition.

The event will be hosted by actress Erica Ash (Uncle Drew, Survivor’s Remorse) and feature a musical performance by singer and actor Jacob Latimore (The Chi).

The complete list of nominees for the “Best of ABFF” Awards at the 23rd Annual American Black Film Festival are:

Audience Award – Best Narrative Feature (presented by BET Networks)
#Truth
All In
His, Hers & The Truth
If Not Now, When?
Jezebel
Justine
Love Dot Com – The Social Experiment
Perfectly Single
Princess of the Row
Same Difference
Strive
Una Great Movie

Jury Award – Best Narrative Feature (presented by Prudential Financial)
If Not Now, When?
Jezebel

Justine
Same Difference
Princess of the Row

Jury Award – Best Director (presented by Cadillac)
Ibrahim Yilla, All In
Max Carlson, Princess of the Row
Derege Harding Same Difference
Numa Perrier, Jezebel
Tamara Bass & Meagan Good, If Not Now, When?

Jury Award – Best Screenplay (presented by ABFF)
If Not Now, When?, Tamara Bass
Jezebel, Numa Perrier
Justine, Stephanie Turner
Princess of the Row, A. Shawn Austin and Max Carlson
Strive, Piper Dellums and Sha-Risse Smith

Jury Award – Best Performance By a Lead Actor (presented by AT&T|Dream in Black)
Essence Atkins, Same Difference
Tayler Buck, Princess of the Row
Meagan Good, If Not Now, When?
Niatia “Lil Mama” Kirkland, All In
Dorian Missick, #Truth
Tiffany Tenille, Jezebel

Jury Award – Best Web Series (presented by Verizon Media)
Black Girls Guide to Fertility
King Ester
Little Apple
Otis
Platonic
Tales from the Big Apple

Jury Award – Best Documentary (presented by ABFF)
Buckjumping
Chicago at the Crossroad
One Child Left Behind: The Untold Atlanta Cheating Scandal
The Takeover
Vision Portraits

For a full listing of panels and screenings coming to the 2019 American Black Film Festival, please continue to go to the website and also download the American Black Film Festival app TODAY on Apple and Google Play for festival updates.

ABFF remains committed to introducing emerging content creators of African descent to the industry at large and is recognized as one of the leading film festivals in the world. Passes and tickets for screenings and events are on sale at www.abff.com All questions regarding registration may be directed to [email protected].

The Sponsors for the 2019 American Black Film Festival are: HBO® (Founding & Presenting); BET, Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, Cadillac, Comcast NBCUniversal (Presenting Sponsors); Dream in Black | AT&T, Capital One Spark Business, Hilton, Prudential Financial, WarnerMedia (Premier Sponsors); AMC, American Airlines, Crown Royal, Motion Picture Association of American (MPAA), Netflix, Sony, TV One (Official Sponsors); Accenture, AspireTV, Facebook, FX, Gentleman Jack, Miami Beach Vistors & Convention Authority, OWN, Spotify, truTV, UMC, Verizon Media, Warner Bros. (Supporting Sponsors); ABC, BLACC and Intiative of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Film & Entertainment, Arrington & Phillip’s – Attorney at Law, Creative Artists Agency (CAA), DC Office of Cable Television, Film, Music & Entertainment, Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC, IFC, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Morris Yorn Barnes Levine Krintzman Rubenstein Kohner & Gellman Law Firm, SAGindie, Walter Kaitz Foundation, Walt Disney (Industry Partners); Black Enterprise, Blackfilm.com, Essence Magazine, theGrio.com and Invest Atlanta (Media Partners).

ABFF Social Media Platforms:

ABOUT ABFF:
The American Black Film Festival (ABFF) is an annual event dedicated to empowering black artists and showcasing quality film and television content by and about people of African descent. Committed to the belief that diverse artists deserve the same opportunities as their mainstream counterparts, ABFF founder Jeff Friday conceived the festival in 1997 as a vehicle to strengthen the black filmmaking community by encouraging resource sharing, education and artistic collaboration. He ultimately envisioned it as a cornerstone of diversity in Hollywood. ABFF is the pre-eminent pipeline for black artists in front of and behind the camera, and ABFF has significantly expanded the range of talent working in entertainment. For more than two decades the festival has been a platform for emerging black artists — premiering the early work and showcasing the talent of many of today’s most successful actors, producers, writers, directors and stand-up comedians. As “the nation’s largest gathering of black film and television enthusiasts” the festival attracts a broad audience of A-list talent, emerging artists, upscale consumers and industry stakeholders. Approximately 7,000 to 10,000 people travel to Miami Beach each year for the event. The five-day festival opens with the premiere of an upcoming Hollywood release followed by independent film screenings, master classes, panels, celebrity talks, live entertainment, and a variety of networking and hospitality events.

PRESS CONTACT:

Michelle Huff Elliott
Strategic Heights Media
[email protected]
212-634-7176