ABFF 2011 Recap

If you are a director, producer, actor, or simply a person wanting to break into the film industry, the American Black Film Festival was the place to be. Starting July 6 and ending July 9, people from all over the world enjoyed four days of classes, screenings, networking, and fun!  Tons of celebs like Robert Townsend, Bill Duke, and Michael Elliot came out to support not only by walking the red carpet for premiers, but by teaching and answering plenty of Q&A's through their masterclasses and symposiums.  The festival’s main venue was at the Ritz Carlton on South Beach, but movie screenings took place at the Colony Theater, the Fillmore and the Jackie Gleason Theater. 

In the Hive opened the 15th Annual American Black Film Festival at the Colony Theater this year. The movie stars Micheal Clarke Duncan, Loretta Devine, Vivica A. Fox and Jonathan "Lil J" McDaniel (from That's So Raven). The movie is based on the true story of Vivian Saunders and the real life experiences of those who attended and taught at a special school in North Carolina.  Saunders started an alternative school for teenage gang bangers, drug dealers, and young fathers 14-15 years old to provide a safe place for troubled boys.  In addition, ABFF Founder Jeff Friday and In the Hive Producer Robert Townsend, Bill Duke, Reagan Gomez, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Mekhi Phifer and many more came out to the screening.  Later on that night ABFF attendees partied the night away at club Play which was sponsored by NBC's  new show, "The Playboy Club."

Day two of the festival opened up with 2011 NAACP Image Award winner for 'Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture,' Michael Elliot. On July 7, students obtained priceless knowledge from Elliot's "From Script to Screen" master class, presented by the Writers Guild of America, West. In his class, Elliot taught amateurs as well as seasoned writers the business side of developing and promoting a screenplay. Elliot also revealed his "7 Secrets to creating interesting real, and multi- dimensional characters" and provided invaluable tactics to launching careers in screenwriting in addition to de- mystifying the industry's standard 3-Act structure for movie scripts.  

Elliot's writing credits include the films: MTV's Hip-Hopera: Carmen (2001) staring Beyonce, Like Mike (2002) staring rapper Bow Wow,  Brown Sugar (2002) staring Taye Diggs and Sanaa Lathan, and Just Wright (2010) staring Queen Latifah, Common, and Paula Patton. Since his first script sale in 1998, he has sold over 25 projects to studios and networks. 

Later that day there was a screening of the twenty-seven minute long documentary, "The Enduring Significance of Boyz n the Hood." Afterwards the film's Oscar nominated writer/ director John Singleton had a Q&A session which was moderated by Trina Robinson of NBC Miami. This year marks the movie's 20th anniversary. Singleton  not only spoke about the significance of his movie 20 years later, he gave amateur screen writers helpful advice.

"When writing your script, articulate your script in a different way. You must know how to write. If you don't know, learn. No one can tell your story like you can. That's why Boyz N The Hood was so successful. It was so specific, everyone could relate."

Singleton revealed during the Q&A that he was merely a collage student when he wrote Boyz N The Hood in a computer room of USC School of Cinematic Arts.

"I just wrote about my surroundings, my friends, and how Los Angeles was in the 80s and 90s. While it was new to Hollywood, it was definitely something people growing up in any hood could relate to." 

The movie stars Cuba Gooding Jr., Ice Cube, Morris Chestnut, and Lawrence Fishburne  and  will be re-released in Blu-ray on July 19th. 

Actor/director/writer Bill Duke's actor's boot camp, sponsored by the Film Life Foundation also started on the second day of ABFF. The 3- session "Actors Boot Camp," July 7-9, led by Duke was one of the highlights of this year's festival. Throughout the session, Duke taught the craft of acting and offered insightful tips on building a career in the field. During the course there was an actual role play exercise whereby select attendees received an opportunity to perform a prepared monologue or scene (reading material provided by ABFF) before the class under the direction of Duke. Bill Duke has helped shape other A-list actors such as Taraji P. Henson, Anthony Anderson, and Shemar Moore. Duke first broke into TV in the early 80s directing episodes of well known TV shows (Miami Vice, Cagney & Lacey and Hill Street Blues) and went on to divide his time between appearing in front and behind the camera in the films, Predator, A Rage in Harlem, Deep Cover, and Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit.    

Shortly after Bill Duke's boot camp, five finalist got to screen their films for "The 14th Annual HBO Short Film Competition" at the Colony Theater. The finalist include: "Fig" by Ryan Coogler, "For Flow" by Jason Camp, "Page 36" by Nelsan Ellis, "Salvation Road" by Ka'ramuu Kush, and "The Turtle & the Nightingale" by Gershon Hinkson. All finalists had the opportunity to compete for the $20,000 sponsored by HBO. Other film awards presented include: Grand Jury Prize for Best Film, Grand Jury Prize for Best Actor, Grand Jury Prize for Best Director, Grand Jury Prize for Best Screenplay, Best Documentary, and a special presentation by American Airlines.  

The ABBF held its 15th Anniversary Party at LIV nightclub. It was put on by Team Sizzle and familiar faces like Chef G. Garvin, Melyssa Ford, Terrell Suggins of the Baltimore Ravens were spotted. 

Melanie Fiona provided entertainment for the evening by performed hits like "Give it to me right" and "And It Kills Me" and her newest single "The Time."

Day three of the festival started with Robert Townsend's master class, "The Ultimate Pitch." Designed for those seeking to break through to the next level, acclaimed producer/director Robert Townsend discussed his technique for pitching ideas: from concept to development, through the various stages of re-writes, pitching to executives at studios, and give advice on how to close the deal with clarity, precision, and confidence. As an added bonus, Townsend also listened to pitches from class attendees and helped critique, refine and further developed those presented in session. One lucky attendee will be handpicked to get his or her idea fully developed with Townsend, and then go on to pitch it to a Hollywood studio. 

Later that day there were several film screenings at the Colony Theater, it was day 2 of Bill Duke's acting camp, the Gold Peak Tea Splash Party hosted by Chef G. Garvin, and "A Conversation With Paula Patton moderated by Kevin Frazier.

Kevin Hart's "Laugh at My Pain" also premiered July 8, at the Colony Theater (courtesy of Codeblack Entertainment). Laugh at my Pain, 90 city tour is one of the most successful comedy concerts in history with over $15 million in ticket sales. 

Directly after Kevin Hart's screening, Michael Baisden's "Do Women Know What They Want" was also screened at the same theater. After 18 years of writing books and discussing relationship topics, Baisden takes the conversation from the studio to the streets to find out what women want both inside and outside of the bedroom. 

Day four of the festival kicked off with an examination of Robert Townsend's web series "In the Hive" and NAACP's Bond Project, "Builders of the Next Dream. There were also more screenings, it was the last day of of Bill Duke's actor boot camp and for those inquiring about the inner workings of the reality TV world, they had the opportunity to go to a symposium entitled, "The Business of Reality TV." 

"Trinity Goodheart"  staring Eric Benet and Erica Gluck also premiered on the last day of ABFF. The film centers around a 12 year old girl played by Erica Gluck on a mission to unite her disjointed family. 

The HBO 14th Annual Short Film Competition closed out the festival. ABFF announced the winners of their independent film awards at the Fillmore/ Jackie Gleason Theater on July 9, 2011. The ‘ABFF Honors‘ event was hosted by actors Regina King and Anthony Anderson.

The Grand Jury Prize for Best Film was handed to ‘The Tested,’ directed by Russell Costanzo. The award was presented by actress Jasmine Lewis and Alisa Joseph. VP, Marketing and Communications at Wachovia, A Wells Fargo Company, the winner receives film stock valued at $5000.

Accepting the award for producer Melissa Miller were Miss Black USA 2010 Nigerian beauty/actress Osas Ighodaro and Yolanda Rodgers-Howsie, Co-Chair, Arts and Letters Commission of Delta Sigma Theta.

The Grand Jury Prize for Best Performance by an Actor was a tie with Persia White for her performance in ‘Dysfunctional Friends,‘ and Lonyo Engele for his performance in ‘David is Dying.’  The award was presented by actress Terri J. Vaughn and Mark Pitts, VP and General Manager of Coffee and Tea for Coco-Cola. The prize includes $5000 sponsored by Gold Peak Tea.

The Grand Jury Award for Best Screenplay,sponsored by Team Sizzle Worldwide, was given to Jeta Amata for his film, ‘Black Gold.’ The award was presented by Team Sizzle owner and NFL player Terrell Suggs and actress Elise Neal.

The Grand Jury Prize for Best Director was given to Stephen Lloyd Jackson for his film ‘David is Dying.’ The award was presented by Dave Fitzwater, Regional Sales & Marketing Manager Cadillac SE Region at General Motors, and actor Laz Alonso. 

The HBO Short Film Award was given to ‘FIG,’ which was directed by Ryan Coogler. The $20,000 grand prize award was presented byOlivia Smashum and Lucinda Martinez-Decir of HBO.

In the first ever GMC Faith and Family Screenplay Competition, the winner was David Martyn Conley of St. Louis for his feature film screenplay entitled, ‘Raising Izzie.’ The $5000 Grand Prize award was presented by singer Eric Benet and De Etta West.

This year’s HBO Star Project two grand-prize winners are Tiffany D. Hobbs of Dallas and Sheaun McKinney from Los Angeles. The award was presented by Kendra Carter, Director of Talent Diversity Initiatives, NBC Universal Casting, actor Mekhi Phifer, and Debra Langford, Vice President, Inclusion and Business Diversity, NBC Universal.

The second annual national ‘Rising Icons’ award was given to the talented actress Naturi Naughton. Sponsored by Grey Goose vodka, the award was presented to her by actress Mari Marrow and Grey Goose Brand Manager Chauncey Hamlet.

The award for best documentary was given to ‘Brown Babies,’ directed by Regina Griffin. The award was presented by actor Dennis Smith and a CNN spokesperson.

In celebration of his success, and in recognition of his great talent, producer, director, and actor Keenen Ivory Wayans was honored with the Entertainment Icon Award at ABFF Honors.

Keenen’s credits includes writing and producing films from Eddie Murphy’s RAW, The Five Heartbeats, Scary Movie, and White Chicks. Before they were stars, he also gave comedians like Jim Carey, Jamie Foxx, and David Alan Grier a place to showcase their talent with his skit comedy show In Living Color.

Past honorees have included Spike Lee, Melvin Van Peebles, and Lee Daniels.

Before accepting the award, the audience heard plenty of funny stories and saw clips of his Keenen’s work on from his longtime friend Robert Townsend and his brothers, Damon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, and nephew Damien Wayans. As a surprise, Keenen’s junior high school teacher came on stage and spoke how gifted Keenen was that far back and she knew he would take those talents to greater heights.

For more information go to www.abff.com.