Another year, another Urbanworld Film Festival wrapped! This year marked the 24th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival and this year’s theme was, “A Brave New (Virtual) World.”
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This year’s Urbanworld festival ambassador was show creator and director Justin Simien (Dear White People, Bad Hair), and this five-day virtual event featured other major names such as Stacey Abrams, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Ava DuVernay, David Oyelewo, Rosario Dawson, Lena Waithe, Luis A. Miranda, Jr., Nia DaCosta, Teyonah Parris, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Kelly Rowland, Robert Townsend, Alice Smith, Radha Blank, David E. Talbert, Jahi Di’Allo Winston, Will Catlett, DeRay McKesson, Chino Braxton, Pearl Thusi, Amy Schumer, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Chief Operating Officer Christine Simmons and MGM’s Orion Pictures President Alana Mayo.
Notable films screened at the fest include David Oyelowo’s feature directorial debut, The Water Man, which was the big opener. All-In: The Fight for Democracy also screened for virtual audiences. The fest also screened films that premiered at other fests such as Charm City Kings, Bad Hair and The Forty-Year-Old Version.
Now, as with any competitive film festival, we have some winners!
The winners of the 24th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival are:
BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE (U.S. CINEMA) – The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain – Directed by David Midell
THE JURY:David Wolkis, SVP & Head, Production, TBS, TNT & TruTVMark R. Wright, Director, Development, MACROMercedes Cooper, Director, Programming, ARRAYTamir Muhammad, Founder, Populace
BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE (WORLD CINEMA) – Salvation –Directed by Carmen SangionHonorable Mention - Hoy - Directed by Ricardo B’atz’
THE JURY:Amy Andrieux, Executive Director, MoCADAJeniffer Kim, SVP, International Originals, HBO MaxStacy Spikes, Founder, Urbanworld and Founder, PreShowTed Hope, Producer
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE – The Donut King – Directed by Alice Gu
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT - My Father The Mover - Directed by Julia Jansch
THE JURY:Erika Alexander, Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer, Color Farm MediaJackie Glover, Head, News & Documentary, ABCLizzie Fox, SVP, Non-Fiction Programming, HBO MaxSara Rodriguez, SVP, Documentary Programming, HBO
BEST YOUNG CREATOR – Nahjum – Directed by Sebastian Torres Greene & Manuel Del Valle
THE JURY:Eugene Ashe, Writer/Director, Amazon Studios’ Sylvie’s LoveKesila Childers, VP, Development, PowderkegLinda Lowy, EVP, Casting, HBO Max, TBS, TNT & TruTVSidra Smith, Head, Essence Studios
BEST NARRATIVE SHORT – White Eye – Directed by Tomer ShushanPresented by WarnerMedia—$5,000 PrizeHonorable Mention – Elephant – Directed by Gladys San Juan
THE JURY:Axel Caballero, Head, WarnerMedia’s 150Brenda Gilbert, Co-Founder & President, BRON Media CorporationMarta Fernandez, President, MACRO Television Studios
BEST ANIMATION SHORT – Windup – Directed by Yibing Jiang
THE JURY:Billy Wee, SVP, Animation Originals, HBO MaxJeremiah Loeb, Creative Executive, Sony AnimationTaylor K. Shaw, CEO, BWA Studios
BEST WEB ORIGINAL – East of LaBrea – Directed by Sam Bailey
THE JURY:D’Angela Proctor, CEO, Wayfarer EntertainmentGreta Talia Fuentes, Director, Development, MACROKevin Parker, Talent Manager, Artists FirstMaurice “Mo” Marable, Director & Executive Producer, Hulu’s WokeSam Linsky, SVP & Co-Head, Scripted Original Programming, TNT, TBS & TruTV
BEST MUSIC VIDEO – Rapsody Feat. Leikeli 47 “Oprah” – Directed by Farah X
THE JURY:Juliette Jones, EVP, Urban Promotions, Atlantic RecordsTrenton Pratt, Music Programmer, BET NetworksXiaolong Liu, Cinematographer
BEST SCREENPLAY – If You Seek Britney – Written by Ama QuaoPresented by BET Networks—$5,000 Prize
THE JURY:Connie Orlando, EVP & Head, Specials, Music Programming & Music Strategy, BETJoshua Sanchez, Writer/Director and WGAE MemberTracey Moore, Host, iHeartRadio’s The Spirited Actor Podcast and Celebrity Acting Coach
VIMEO STAFF PICK – Eagle – Directed by Jose AcevedoPresented by Vimeo—$2,500 Prize and inclusion on Vimeo Staff Pick list
THE JURY:Ian Durkin, Lead Curator, VimeoIna Pira, Curator, VimeoJeffrey Bowers, Senior Curator, Vimeo
If you missed the Spotlight Conversations (which includes Robert Townsend interviewing The Forty-Year-Old Version director Radha Blank, Urbanworld Founder, Stacy Spikes in conversation with David Oyelowo and Keira Chansa and more) and would like to view them, you’re in luck! They’re all currently available on Urbanworld’s Vimeo page.
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