Hollywood Black Film Festival | Los Angeles, CA

Showcasing both feature and short films made by prominent as well as up-and-coming African-American filmmakers, the Hollywood Black Film Festival (HBFF) was founded in 1998 by its executive director, Tanya Kersey, in order to enhance the careers of emerging and established black filmmakers through a public exhibition and competition program. The festival’s goal is to play an integral role in discovering and launching independent films and filmmakers by bringing them to the attention of the industry, press and public.

One of the Los Angeles’s largest and most prominent film festivals, the annual week long celebration of black cinema draws together established filmmakers, popular film and TV stars, writers, directors, industry executives, emerging artists and diverse audiences from Hollywood and around the world. Attracting such stars and industry insiders as Academy Award winners Forest Whitaker and Sidney Poitier, John Singleton, Spike Lee, George Tillman, Tina Andrews, Reuben Cannon, Anthony Anderson, Blair Underwood, Sanaa Lathan, Bill Duke, Sheryl Underwood and Vanessa Williams, the festival has become a hotbed for the Black Hollywood creative community.

In addition to screening 102 films unspooling at this year’s 10th anniversary of the Hollywood Black Film Festival, the adjunct Infotainment Conference features dozens of informational seminars, panels and workshops covering a wide variety of topics which range from film production, distribution and marketing to pitching, writing for television and film, in addition to specific programs of interest to actors. Conference highlights include:

1) HBFF Filmmaker & Storyteller Awards, honoring the achievements of the most promising black filmmakers and screenwriters. Films that screen during the festival compete for the following jury awards: Best Feature, Best Documentary, Best Short, Best Student Film, and the HBFF Audience Choice Award. A separate HBFF Storyteller Competition awards scribes for their excellence in screenwriting.

2) BFF Entertainment Industry Marketplace, offering an array of businesses and organizations displaying the latest in equipment and services of interest to the entertainment industry. Attendees include filmmakers, festival registrants, and local consumers.

3) A Conversation With…” Series of up-close-and-personal candid conversations with some of the industry’s hottest movers and shakers. HBFF has been honored to have directors John Singeton (”2 Fast 2 Furious,” “Baby Boy,” “Shaft,” “Boyz N The Hood”), George Tillman (”Soul Food, Barbershop”) and St. Clair Bourne (”The Life and Works of Gordon Parks,” “John Henrick Clarke: A Great and Mighty Walk”) and scribe Tina Andrews (”Why Do Fools Fall in Love?”) participate in these enlightening and informative discussions.

4) HBFF Pitchathon has become a MUST ATTEND for filmmakers and storytellers hoping to sell their idea, story, book or screenplay to Hollywood buyers. Participants get to pitch their story ideas to entertainment industry executives and talent agents who will critique their concept/idea to examine its commercial potential in the today’s film marketplace.

For the full festival schedule, a complete list of films, screening tickets, and more information about the Hollywood Black Film Festival, visit them online at HBFF.org.