
The 14th Annual Urbanworld film festival opens tomorrow in New York City. Presented by BET Networks, the legendary film festival highlights independent African-American filmmakers. This year,
Kerry Washington
is the ambassador with her film,
Night Catches Us
, as the opening night film.
I Will Follow
, directed by
Ava DuVernay
, is the closing night film.
Urbanworld is open to the public and I encourage everyone to support Black films by purchasing a ticket. There are over 70 films to choose from -- below are my recommendations.
* HBO’s
Boardwalk Empire
, a 1920s-era drama set in Atlantic City at the dawn of Prohibition (series premiere) from Terence Winter, Emmy Award-winning writer of The Sopranos and Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese
* BET’s
My Mic Sounds Nice
, a documentary exploring the role of female rappers in hip-hop (directed by Ava DuVernay and featuring interviews by Missy Elliott, EVE, Trina, Rah Digga, MC Lyte, Yo Yo and more)
*
One Night in Vegas
, part of ESPN’s “30 for 30? documentary series, this film details the evening of 1996 when Tupac Shakur was shot (directed by Reggie Rock Bythewood; starring Mike Tyson)
*
Kid Capri Presents: The Lionz Den
, a short film about an underground rap battle in Harlem (directed by Kid Capri and Loaded Lux, starring Big Daddy Kane, KRS-One, and Rakim)
*
Sus
, a based-on-a-true-story drama centering on the controversial British “sus” laws and their inherent racism (directed by Robert Heath; starring Ralph Brown, Clint Dyer)
*
Africa Rising
, a documentary portraying the grassroots movement to end female genital mutilation (directed by Paula Heredia)
Click here for more info on Urbanworld
.
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