Film Life's 12th annual American Black Film Festival (ABFF) will take place August 7-10, 2008, in Los Angeles, CA, with Exploring Black Romance and Sexuality in American Cinema as its theme.
"The majority of American films, from PG to R have romance and sexuality either prominently featured or as the subtext. Black romance and sexuality are rarely part of the storyline in these films and realistic portrayals of how and whom we love are few and far between. We intend to explore the question 'is Black romance taboo or too hot to handle?'" said Jeff Friday, CEO of Film Life, Inc. and founder and producer of the American Black Film Festival. "When you look at the leading actors or actresses in those films you will discover a disturbing fact, the story line rarely involves people of color. An internet search on IMDB found that of the roughly 350 films earning more than $100 million at the box office 50 of them had love scenes but not one of those scenes involved a person of color," added Friday.
In its 12 years, the ABFF has screened over 500 independent films, with seventy per cent having gone on to secure theatrical or DVD distribution. Festival alumni include director Sylvain White (Stomp the Yard) and producers Rob Hardy and Will Packer (This Christmas and Stomp the Yard), producer Roger M. Bobb (Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married and Daddy's Little Girls) and writer/director Frank E. Flowers (Haven). The ABFF was born out of the need to generate distribution opportunities for independent Black films and promote cultural diversity within the motion picture industry. Festival attendance is expected to exceed 5,000 people.
In keeping with its theme, the festival will screen several classic films with romance and sexuality at their core, culminating with a panel discussion entitled: Can We Get Some Love? Exploring Black Romance and Sexuality in American Cinema. The panel will take place on Friday, August 8th at 6pm at the WGA Theatre. "There was a more than 20 year gap where there were no major films exploring black love and romance," said Reggie Scott, festival executive director. "We left off with Claudine and Mahogany in the 70's and picked up with Waiting to Exhale and Love Jones in the 90s," he added.
Festival activities will be centered in West Hollywood and Beverly Hills and Allstate(R) has signed on as the 2008 Presenting Sponsor. HBO(R), the festival's Founding Sponsor, returns along with Target, BETJ and luxury automaker Lincoln as Premiere Sponsors. Blockbuster and Heineken are Official Sponsors and Nielsen Media Research, One Village Entertainment, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Codeblack Entertainment, Nickelodeon and Fox Entertainment Group are Supporting Sponsors. SAG Indie, Writers Guild of America West, and the Greater Philadelphia Film Office are Industry Sponsors. Black Enterprise, Uptown, Upscale, Black Noir, Heart&Soul, Precious Times, Automotive Rhythms, Toy Box, Monarch, Hope Today Magazine, NV, Save the Date, EUR Web are media sponsors.
2008 ABFF information and registration can be found online at www.abff.com
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