20th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival PreviewPosted by Wilson Morales
September 21, 2016
The 20th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival (www.urbanworld.org), presented by REVOLT with founding sponsor HBO, will take place September 21-25, 2016 at Manhattan’s AMC Empire 25 on 234 West 42nd Street.
One of the largest competitive film festivals designed to advance the presence and impact of diverse content creators will screen over 68 films.
Critically acclaimed filmmaker Ava DuVernay and one of Hollywood’s most sought after actors, David Oyelowo, will serve as the ambassadors for Urbanworld Film Festival’s 20th anniversary.
“It’s an absolute honor to have festival alumni Ava DuVernay and David Oyelowo serve as co-ambassadors for Urbanworld’s 20th Anniversary Film Festival,” said Gabrielle Glore, Festival Director & Head of Programming, Urbanworld Film Festival.” Ava has a long and layered history with Urbanworld evolving from her tenure as festival publicist in the early years to her directorial debut with her first short film, to showcasing various narrative and documentary projects at the festival, to being the award-winning and glass shattering filmmaker she is today. David joined the Urbanworld family when attending to support Middle of Nowhere and then returned for a First Look Clips and Conversation event with Ava to launch Selma.
Disney’s Queen of Katwe will be featured on Thursday, September 22 at 7:45 p.m. The film is based on the vibrant true story of a young girl from the streets of rural Uganda whose world rapidly changes when she is introduced to the game of chess, and, as a result of the support she receives from her family and community, is instilled with the confidence and determination she needs to pursue her dream of becoming an international chess champion. Directed by Mira Nair, the film stars Golden Globe nominee David Oyelowo, Tony nominee and Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o and newcomer Madina Nalwanga. A Q&A with Oyelowo, recently announced as one of Urbanworld’s 2016 festival ambassadors, and Nair will immediately follow the screening of the film.
Also playing at the festival is an exclusive first look at BET Network’s “The New Edition Story” on Saturday, September 24, 2016 at 9:00 p.m. at Manhattan’s AMC Empire 25 on 234 West 42nd Street.
Following the exclusive look at clips from the film will be a Q&A with New Edition’s Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins and Ronnie DeVoe, along with the film’s stars Elijah Kelley (Bell in the film), Bryshere Y. Gray (Bivins in the film), Keith Powers (DeVoe in the film), Luke James (Johnny Gill in the film) and Woody McClain (Bobby Brown in the film), as well as Executive Producer Jesse Collins and Director Chris Robinson.
Written by Abdul Williams (Lottery Ticket) and executive produced by Jesse Collins (Real Husbands of Hollywood) for JCE Films, a division of Jesse Collins Entertainment, the three-night miniseries event is scheduled to premiere on BET in 2017. Principal photography is currently underway in Los Angeles.
The miniseries will be directed by Chris Robinson (ATL) with Brooke Payne, Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Ronnie DeVoe, Johnny Gill, Ralph Tresvant and Bobby Brown serving on as co-producers for the film.
Empire’s Bryshere Gray will play Michael Bivins as an adult and Dante Hoagland will play Michael as a child. Elijah Kelley will play Ricky Bell as an adult and Caleb McLaughlin will play Ricky as a child. Luke James will play Johnny Gill. Algee Smith will play Ralph Tresvant as an adult and Jahi Winston will play Ralph as a child. Keith Powers will play Ronnie Devoe as an adult and Myles Truitt will play Ronnie as a child. Woody McClain will play Bobby Brown as an adult and Tyler Williams will play Bobby as a child.
Tickets and passes for the festival are on sale now. For additional announcements in September, go to www.urbanworld.org. Follow @UWFilmFest and use #UW20 to join the conversation about Urbanworld on social media.
URBANWORLD 2016 FILM SLATE
SPOTLIGHT PRESENTATIONS
Queen of Katwe – Directed by Mira Nair, Presented by Disney
Mira Nair’s new movie QUEEN OF KATWE stars Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o, David Oyelowo and newcomer Madina Nalwanga.
QUEEN OF KATWE is based on the vibrant true story of Phiona Mutesi, a young girl from the streets of rural Uganda who is introduced to the game of chess by Robert Katende, a former missionary and soccer coach, and goes on to become an international chess champion.
For 10-year-old Phiona Mutesi (Nalwanga) and her family, life in the impoverished slum of Katwe in Kampala, Uganda, is a constant struggle. Her mother, Harriet (Nyong’o), is fiercely determined to take care of her family and works tirelessly selling vegetables in the market to make sure her children are fed and have a roof over their heads. When Phiona meets Robert Katende (Oyelowo), a soccer player turned missionary who teaches local children chess, she is captivated. Chess requires a good deal of concentration, strategic thinking and risk taking, all skills which are applicable in everyday life, and Katende hopes to empower youth with the game.
Class Divide – Directed by Marc Levin, Presented by HBO Documentary Films
Class Divide highlights the recent effects of gentrification in New York City’s West Chelsea neighborhood, focusing on an intersection where a private school sits directly across from public housing.
The thought-provoking documentary is a timely look at the widening divide between the “haves” and “have nots,” the root of so many controversies in this year’s presidential election. Young people on both sides of the gap offer unique and honest insights that challenge common perceptions about inequality today. In a film about economic forces affecting ordinary people, from director Marc Levin and producing partner Daphne Pinkerson, this moving chronicle bears witness to the effects of rising inequality and stagnant class mobility.
Black – Directed by Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah, Presented by Saboteur Media.
Black transports the classic Romeo and Juliet tale by taking it to the hard streets of present-day Brussels.
The cast includes Martha Canga Antonio, Aboubakr Bensaihi, Emmanuel Tahon, Theo Kabeya, Natascha Boyamba, Glodie Lombi, Axel Massudi, Brandon Masuid, Jeremie Zagba, and Soufiane Chilah.
Worlds collide when Mavela (Martha Canga Antonio), a teenage girl with ties to Brussels’ Black Bronx gang, meets Marwan (Aboubakr Bensaihi), a member of a rival Moroccan gang, at a police station. Keenly aware of the consequences of getting involved with someone from another gang, they at first resist their attraction to one another, but they can only resist for so long. Just when they’ve started to imagine a different life for themselves, a terrifying incident reminds Mavela where she belongs — and, more precisely, to whom. In order to break free, Mavela and Marwan will have to betray the very loyalties on which their gangs are founded. And they know what lies ahead for them if they don’t.
Honeytrap – Directed by Rebecca Johnson, Presented by ARRAY
HONEYTRAP is the harrowing rite-of-passage drama inspired by a real-life crime of love, betrayal and murder in 2009. Featuring an international cast, the movie stars Jessica Sula (Skins, ABC Family’s Recovery Road) Lucien Laviscount (Fox’s Scream Queens), Naomi Ryan (GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY) and Ntonga Mwanza (LEAVE TO REMAIN).
Yearning for love and status, fifteen-year-old Layla is swept into a whirlwind romance with self-styled gang leader/rapper Troy – and then spat out the other side. Desperate to win Troy back, Layla offers to set up the boy who’s in love with her to be killed… When the forces she sets in motion start to collide, Layla must choose: between two boys, between desire and friendship, between power and connection to another human being. We have not seen a character like Layla take centre stage before and it is time her story was told.
TITLE VII: First Look Clips & Conversation – Directed by Nicole Franklin.
Title VII Film, a presentation of EPIPHANY Inc. and Stuart Films in collaboration with FDUFilm and Co-Produced by Lisa Durden, focuses on same-race discrimination, a prevalent, yet rarely discussed issue in the workplace. This multicultural production, screenplay by Nicole Franklin and Craig T. Williams and adapted from the novel Within The Walls by Daisy M. Jenkins, was shot in just eight days on a micro-budget. The film was staffed by women production professionals, lead by director Nicole Franklin and director of photography Cybel Martin, and assisted by the FDUFilm student crew.
The film focuses on the powerful black, female CEO of an IT consulting firm with no black employees, covering a single day. It starts with an incident that reminds the CEO of her “place” in our racially-charged society, details problems with a pending account that could make or break the firm, and includes the appearance of a mystery man determined to turn her life upside down.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned employment discrimination based on sex, race, color and national origin. Yet, discrimination is still part of US corporate culture 52 years later.
THE REVOLT YOUNG FILMMAKERS SHOWCASE
Also featured in this year’s festival is the highly anticipated REVOLT Young Filmmakers Showcase, which celebrates up and coming content creators and provides emerging young filmmakers with a larger platform to share their stories. Via Urbanworld Film Festival’s partnership with the 2nd Annual REVOLT Film Festival, three filmmakers and their films will be selected as finalists to attend the REVOLT Music Conference in Miami, October 13 – 16, 2016.
Loved Like This – Directed by Christopher Lewis Dawkins (U.S. Premiere)
Madaran – Directed by Rayka Zehtabchi (East Coast Premiere)
Hush – Directed by Whitney Clinkscales (New York Premiere)
AMERIKKKA – Directed by Sheila Wilson (New York Premiere)
The Bench – Directed by Cameron Burnett
A Silent Night – Directed by Gino Ricardo Green (World Premiere)
Andre Harrell, Sarah Snedeker, and Bille Woodruff will serve as jurors for the REVOLT Young Filmmakers Showcase, taking place on Saturday, September 24, at 5pm, at AMC Empire on 42nd Street, during the Urbanworld Film Festival’s 20th Anniversary.
U.S. NARRATIVE FEATURES
72 Hours: A Brooklyn Love Story? – Directed by Raafi Rivero (New York Premiere) Chee & T – Directed by Tanuj Chopra (East Coast Premiere)
Destined – Directed by Qasim Basir (New York Premiere) Lucky – Directed by Bari Kang (World Premiere)
My B.F.F. – Directed by Greg Carter (World Premiere) No Regrets – Directed by Mark Harris (World Premiere)
Sepulveda – Co-Directed by Jena English & Brandon Wilson (World Premiere)
She’s Got A Plan – Co-Directed by Fatima Washington & Corey Johnson (World Premiere)
Steps – Directed by Jay Rodriquez and Rock Davis
WORLD NARRATIVE FEATURES
A Moving Image (UK) – Directed by Shola Amoo (New York Premiere)
Brotherhood (UK) – Directed by Noel Clarke (U.S. Premiere)
Dar Noir (Tanzania) – Directed by Hamadi Mwapachu (U.S. Premiere)
Gidi Blues (Nigeria) – Directed by Femi Odugbemi (U.S. Premiere)
Like Cotton Twines (Ghana) – Directed by Leila Djansi (East Coast Premiere)
The Farm / La Granja (Puerto Rico) – Directed by Angel Manuel Soto Vazquez (New York Premiere)
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
Beatbox Boom Bap Around The World (France/Germany/U.S.) – Directed by Pascal Tessaud (U.S. Premiere)
Daddy Don’t Go (U.S.) – Directed by Emily Abt Jewel’s Catch One (U.S.) – Directed by C. Fitz
Martha & Niki (Sweden) – Directed by Tora Mkandawire Mårtens
The Revival: Woman and the Word (U.S.) – Directed by Sekiya Dorsett (East Coast Premiere)
Until 20 (U.S.) – Directed by Geraldine Moriba Meadows & Jamila Paksima Rowell
SHORT FILMS
[Re]defined – Directed by Danae Grandison (New York Premiere)A Gentleman Always – Directed by Drue Metz (New York Premiere)
A Silent Night – Directed by Gino Ricardo Green (World Premiere)
AMERIKKKA – Directed by Sheila Wilson (New York Premiere)
After The Storm – Directed by Jessica Oyelowo (World Premiere)
And Nothing Happened – Directed by Naima Ramos-
Chapman Balcony – Directed by Toby Fell-Holden
Blessed – Directed by Jennifer Derwingson (East Coast Premiere)
Bird – Directed by Booker T Mattison
Born In Battle – Directed by Yangzom Brauen (New York Premiere)
Buried Deep – Directed by Timothy Naylor (World Premiere)
Chameleon – Directed by Reza Dahya (New York Premiere)
Class 15 – Directed by Dean Leon Anderson (World Premiere)
Flowers – Directed by Yvonne Michelle Shirley, Nikyatu Jusu (New York Premiere)
Hush – Directed by Whitney Clinkscales (New York Premiere)
I Rise – Directed by Yoruba Richen (World Premiere)
Leche – Directed by Gabriella A. Moses (New York Premiere)
Lilly’s Secret – Directed by Emanuele Michetti (World Premiere)
Loved Like This – Directed by Christopher Lewis Dawkins (U.S. Premiere)
Madaran – Directed by Rayka Zehtabchi (East Coast Premiere)
Mast Qalandar – Directed by Divij Roopchand
Mixtape: An Unauthorized Biography – Directed by David F. Mewa – (New York Premiere)
Mrs. Nebile’s Wormhole – Directed by Pinar Yorgancioglu (World Premiere)
Olde E – Directed by Xavier L. Neal-Burgin (East Coast Premiere)
On Time – Directed by Xavier L. Neal-Burgin (East Coast Premiere)
One Per Person – Directed by Nasheet Zaman & Jacquelyn ‘Jac’ Piette (East Coast Premiere)
Peace the Policy – Directed by Kervin Marseille & William Leonard (U.S. Premiere)
Post Life – Directed by Salli Richardson-Whitfield (World Premiere)
Samaria – Directed by Kiel Adrian Scott (World Premiere)
Second Words – Directed by Jake Hull (New York Premiere)
Slumflower – Directed by Tremaine Romeo & Nicole Taylor Roberts (New York Premiere)
Sugar – Directed by Dime Davis (World Premiere)
The Bench – Directed by Cameron Burnett
The Jump – Directed by Jamal Hodge (New York Premiere)
The Suit – Directed by Jarryd Coetsee (U.S. Premiere)
Three Minute Warning – Directed by Iqbal Mohammed (East Coast Premiere)
Univitellin – Directed by Terence Nance (New York Premiere)
Victor XX – Directed by Ian Garrido
SCREENPLAYS
Fried Catfish – Written by Inda Craig-Galván
Generational Curses – Written by Kenya Branch
Take the L – Written by Kim Washington
The Turnpike – Written by Keith Josef Adkins
ABOUT URBANWORLD FILM FESTIVAL
Urbanworld Film Festival was launched in August 1997 by founder Stacy Spikes, a former executive at Miramax and October Films. With estimated attendance reaching over 15,000, the five-day festival includes the anchor film component with narrative features, documentaries, short films, spotlight screenings and live staged screenplay readings; the Urbanworld Digital track focused on digital panels and workshops; and Urbanworld Music franchise, which highlights emerging talent in live performances during festival events. Over the last 19 years, Hollywood studios, indie film distributors and established and emerging filmmakers have consistently chosen Urbanworld to premiere box office and award-winning hits. The Urbanworld Film Festival is an initiative of the Urbanworld Foundation Inc.
