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ABFF's
Seventh Year Stretch
By Ramona Prioleau
Good
things are typically associated with the number seven. And for the
American Black Film Festival, its seventh year was no exception.
Throughout it history, ABFF has enjoyed a healthy slate of widely
recognized corporate backers. This has been due in no small part to
the festival's early association with the advertising agency UniWorld
Group, Inc. and its Executive Director Jeff Friday's background in
event and entertainment marketing.
In addition, Friday's demonstrated insistence on
fostering an environment in which the needs of sponsors are catered to
and generally where sponsors are afforded top-notch bang for their
buck helped engender sponsor loyalty to an event initially located
along the Gulf of Mexico.
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© 2003 RLP Ventures, LLC
Director
Sacha Parisot shows off the Lincoln Filmmaker Trophy for his feature
film Skin Deep
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"Companies like
HBO, Lincoln, ABC, Inc. and Blockbuster are returning to the ABFF year
after year, not only because we present some of the most promising
African American talent, but also because we provide a growing
marketplace of affluent film consumers that are eager to support their
brands" acknowledged Jeff Friday..
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Having
relocated in 2002 to the South Beach resort area of Florida, ABFF
snagged the corporate brass ring when AOL Time Warner signed on as
presenting sponsor in 2003. An entertainment behemoth, AOL has a long
history of promoting diversity in the arts and has supported such
entities as the Apollo Theater and the Alvin Ailey American Dance
Theater.
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In remarking on her
company's sponsorship of the festival, Gerri Warren-Merrick, Vice
President of Corporate Community Relations of AOL, noted that
"AOL is committed to finding and developing the widest possible
diversity of talent."
"The ABFF is a particularly important
opportunity for [AOL] to help bring to light the creative genius of
black filmmakers and to infuse the entire film industry with new
ideas, perspectives and energy," continued Ms. Warren-Merrick.
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© 2003 RLP Ventures, LLC
On
the Scene at ABFF 2003
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While
its corporate parent came fashionably late to the party, AOL's
subsidiary HBO has been a long-term sponsor of the festival and
underwrites as well as produces the HBO Short Film Competition, one of
the most popular offerings during the five-day event.
Where big backers and big bucks are found, the big
time is sure to follow. So 2003 saw ABFF revamp its schedule to
include a number of marquee attractions. To its slate of indie films,
panel discussions, intensive workshops and award show, the festival
added events that created quite a buzz and had Miami residents
wondering how they could get in on the action.
Festivalgoers were generally thrilled during
separate events that featured filmmaker/thespian Laurence Fishburne
and the creator and cast of HBO's The Wire. But, it was the screening
of The Spook Who Sat By the Door and the talkback with Sam Greenlee
the film's firebrand writer/producer that engendered the most
impassioned applause and raucous cries of heartfelt appreciation.
Friday explained that "at Robert Townsend's suggestion, [ABFF]
launched the new event to feature a film of the past, called Classic
Cinema with Robert Townsend." According to Friday, in its current
manifestation, "[ABFF is] committed to reflecting on what has
happened and projecting what's to come."
Townsend, who sits on ABFF's advisory board, has
supported the festival since its inception because it provides a
necessary outlet for diverse voices. "This festival is all about
empowerment. What this film festival is about for filmmakers of color
is really about encouraging them to release their voices. They really
don't have that many places," said Townsend at the festival press
conference.
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© 2003 RLP Ventures, LLC
On
the Scene at ABFF 2003
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Each
year the festival celebrates its own with awards bestowed upon
industry veterans and ingénues. In 2003, special awards were given to
Gabrielle Union (AOL Time Warner Rising Star Award) and Russell
Simmons (AOL Time Warner Innovator Award).
Entrepreneur Russell Simmons, best known for
co-founding Def Jam records, has also made his mark in other
industries, including fashion, advertising television and film.
Remarking on his success at the festival press conference, Simmons
also took the time to comment on the business implications of
marginalizing products that speak to a certain segment of society.
Stating that businesses do so at their financial peril, Simmons
encouraged the community to "continue to push and point out where
problems [of access] exist, develop our talent and hope that the
corporations will catch up with the people."
In addition to awards to established performers,
festival awards also went to indie films and performers in those
projects. Award recipients included:
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Writer/director Frank E. Flowers for Swallow
- HBO Short Film Award ($20,000);
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Director Sacha Parisot for Skin Deep -
Lincoln Filmmaker Trophy award (Two-year lease of a Lincoln
Navigator);
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Writer/director Christine Swanson for All
About You - Blockbuster Audience Award for Best Feature Film
($15,000);
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Janice Richardson for Anne
B. Real - Best Performance by an Actress; and
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Steve White for Skin Deep - Best
Performance by an Actor.
Filmmaker Frank E. Flowers was mindful of the
impact that winning the HBO Short Film Award would have on his career
in particular and Cayman Island cinema generally. "It feels great
that I was able to tell a story that I believed in as well as
something that's close to my heart. To be congratulated like this and
to be honored like this, it really validates the project and all the
hard work."
"[My success at ABFF] is a great stepping
stone in a way validating the stories we want to tell [in the
Caribbean]…It's a great launching pad to begin a career of excellent
work telling stories about our people in the most excellent fashion.
It shows that Caribbeans are making good movies, not good West Indian
movies, not good Black movies, but great movies about our people,
experience and subculture that has yet to be seen," Flowers
added.
The festival awards served also to inspire one of
its special honorees. Aglow after receiving the AOL Rising Star Award,
Gabrielle Union took a moment to praise the skill of the actresses
competing in the festival's Best Actress category. Union noted that
the strong performances of those actresses were motivational and that
"[the competition] helps you stay hungry knowing that you need to
improve and you can't rest on your last performance."
Even with a festival that has grown almost tenfold
in seven years, challenges still exist for ABFF, including securing
additional theater screens at venues during the blockbuster summer
season and managing the growth of the festival. "Our first year,
we had about 300 people and this year we had about 3,000 and one of
the things I remember about those [early] days was the intimacy and I
think that is what made it special. It was an intimate group of the
people and we all got to know each other in those five days,"
Friday recollected at the festival press conference.
"The biggest challenges are maintaining the
intimacy as you get bigger and providing access so people can get to
know each other. My thing is I just want people to build interpersonal
relationships this week and I don't want ever to get so big that that
dynamic goes away," Friday stressed.
With all that ABFF has achieved so far and with the
festival's guiding principles, Friday and his staff are up to the
task. M
June 2003
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