Hollywood Black Film Festival
Now in its 8th year: June 5-10, 2007

Spectacular Celebrity-Studded Opening and Closing Night Galas
100+ Film Screenings (features, shorts, student, documentary, animation, music video)
Industry networking receptions and parties
Infotainment Conference with 20+ workshops, panel and roundtable discussions and 100 industry speakers
Entertainment Industry Marketplace
Storyteller Competition Live Staged Reading
Filmmaker and Storyteller Awards Luncheon

HBFF Overview

The Hollywood Black Film Festival (HBFF) is an annual 6-day celebration of black cinema drawing 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, Kasi Lemmons, Vondie Curtis Hall, Tisha Campbell and Nicole Ari Parker, the festival has become a hotbed for the Black Hollywood creative community.

The 2007 festival will be held June 5-10, 2007 in Beverly Hills, California, and will showcase the artistic expression of more than one-hundred black filmmakers from around the world.

In 2007, HBFF will continue to expand its film program with the addition of a wireless entertainment competition and diverse talent search, while developing technology-based programs including the HBFF V-Cast.

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, media and public.

Since its inception in 1999, HBFF has screened a total of 470 independent films including 70 features, 254 shorts, 74 documentaries, 55 student films, 10 animated films and 4 music videos, from all across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and the Caribbean. It has held 203 world premieres, 9 U.S. premieres, 65 West Coast premieres and 43 Los Angeles premieres. Over 37,000 people have attended and enjoyed the diversity of black cinema through the festival.

Past festival features in the invitational program have included director John Singleton's box office blockbuster "2 Fast 2 Furious," the critically-acclaimed "The Hurricane" (starring Academy Award™ winner Denzel Washington), director Kasi Lemmons' "The Caveman's Valentine" (starring Samuel L. Jackson), and director Reggie Rock Bythewood's "Dancing In September."

"The festival [HBFF] has become a staple in the Hollywood community and fills a void that hasn't been tapped until now in Hollywood… Black cinema! It is both an honor and privilege to screen 'Gas' before this highly targeted and coveted audience. Thanks HBFF for supporting Black filmmaking and adding a voice to the community."

- Ralph Farquhar
Highly acclaimed television producer and writer

"I look forward to this event [HBFF] every year. It's a significant contribution to the community, and the rich aesthetics of filmmaking."

- Karl Gibson
The Hollywood Reporter

Past sponsors of the Hollywood Black Film Festival have included 20th Century Fox, ABC Entertainment, American Express, Black Entertainment Television, The Black Family Channel (formerly MBC Network), Charles Schwab & Co., Daily Variety, Directors Guild of America (DGA), Eastman Kodak Company, Fox Entertainment Group, Fuji Film, E.J. Gallo, Grand Marnier, HBO Family Channel, Hollywood Creative Directory, Hollywood Film Institute, L.A. Film School, IFP/West, KKBT "The Beat," L.A. Film Office/EIDC, LA Independent News, Los Angeles Sentinel, Los Angeles Wave Newspaper Group, New Line Cinema, Panavision, Pepsi-Cola, Screen Actors Guild (SAG), Showtime Networks, Sony Pictures Entertainment, TBS Superstation, Universal Pictures, Upscale Magazine, Writers Guild of America (WGA), Barnholtz Entertainment, Black Arts Collaborative, Black Hollywood Education & Resource Center, Black Talent News, Carolina Pinnacle Studios, Covenant Security & Patrol, Crest National, Christy's Film & Video Supply, Discmakers, Dr. Rawstock, EURweb.com, Film Finders, Filmworks, Film Profit, Final Draft, JR Post, KA Designs, , the Margarita King, Maverick Entertainment, New Millennium Studios, New York Film Academy, Organization of Black Screenwriters, Pinnacle Media & Entertainment, Rainey Script Consulting, Red Bull, Rolling Out Urbanstyle Weekly, Screenplay Systems, Studio Film & Tape, UrbanWorld Wireless, Virginia Film Office, Writers Boot Camp, Xenon Entertainment.

Finally, more than 100 media outlets have provided extensive coverage of the Hollywood Black Film Festival, including the All News Channel, American Urban Radio Networks, AOL Digital City, Associated Press (AP), BackStage West, BRE Magazine, British Sky Broadcasting, Channel 5 Morning News Los Angeles, CHOU Radio & Print (Canada), Daily Variety, "E! News Weekend" (E! Entertainment), Entertainment Weekly, EURweb.com, Filmmaker Magazine, FilmThreat.com, Indiewire.com, "Good Day Arizona" KTVK-TV (Channel 3 Phoenix,) "Good Day Atlanta" WAGA-TV (Fox Channel 5 Atlanta), KJLH-102.3 FM, "KUSI Morning News" (UPN Channel 51 San Diego), Los Angeles Times, "Peachtree Morning" WXIA-TV (NBC Channel 11 Atlanta), People Magazine, Reuters, Rolling Out Urbanstyle Weekly, Sister 2 Sister Magazine, "The Steve Harvey Morning Show" - KKBT-100.3 "The Beat, The Hollywood Reporter, The Source Magazine, TV Tokyo/Japanese TV, UPI News, Upscale Magazine, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal and Yahoo! Travel.

In addition to screening feature, short, student, documentary, animation and music video film projects, HBFF's Infotainment Conference features dozens of informational seminars, panels and workshops covering a wide variety of topics including: film production, distribution and marketing, the winning pitching, writing for television and film, as well as specific programs designed to inform and educate actors. Each year, more than 100 top film and television executives, filmmakers, producers, directors, writers, agents, attorneys, business managers and actors participate in the talk-show style panels, roundtable discussions and workshops.

A highlight of the Infotainment Conference is "A Conversation With…" a series of up-close-and-personal candid conversations with some of the industry's hottest movers and shakers. HBFF has been honored to have director's John Singleton ("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, just to name some.

The HBFF Pitchathon, among the most popular Infotainment Conference events, 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 (film directors and producers, acquisitions, development, production and distribution executives), talent agents and key personnel who have the power to greenlight desired projects. Pitchathon panelists critique submitted works from filmmakers examining content, concepts and story ideas to determine and examine its commercial potential in the today's film marketplace.

The juried HBFF Filmmaker & Storyteller Awards Lunch honors 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. Closing Night is highlighted by the announcement of the crowd-favorite HBFF Audience Choice Award, which is selected by audience vote.

• Clarity Theatre (100 N. Crescent Drive -- NE corner of Wilshire & Crescent Dr., Beverly Hills, California)

• Fine Arts Theatre (8556 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90211)
  
• Laemmle Music Hall 3(9036 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90211)