American Black Film Festival Returns to Highlight Black Creators

From June 14 to 18, the American Black Film Festival lands in Miami Beach and Miami with a robust lineup of film screenings, industry panels, and networking opportunities. Celebrating its 27th edition, the festival is spread across multiple venues, including the Miami Beach Convention Center, New World Center, and Lyric Theater, with a wide array of programming and a litany of industry powerhouses sharing their work and advice.

Driven by the mission to empower Black artists and “showcase a wide range of entertainment content made by and about people of African descent,” the American Black Film Festival remains a significant event for Miami’s arts and culture and the Black community.

On Wednesday night, ABFF Ventures president Nicole Friday and 2023 festival ambassador Lena Waithe launch this year’s festival with a premiere screening of the Netflix film They Cloned Tyrone, starring John Boyega, Teyonah Parris, and Oscar winner Jamie Foxx. The festival’s Legendary White Party closes the night at M2 Miami with Terrence J as host. As this year’s ambassador, Waithe returns to the New World Center on Thursday for “The Lena Waithe Effect,” in which the Award-winning writer, creator, producer, and actor will discuss her career and commitment to supporting diverse voices and create art that defies the status quo.

In addition to They Cloned Tryone, the ABFF is bringing several hotly anticipated films and television series to Miami’s screens. The Blackening, a meta-horror comedy, subverts horror film tropes concerning race when a group of friends finds themselves in peril during a Juneteenth getaway. If horror is not your thing, Gabrielle Union stars as a woman trying to balance work and love in The Perfect Find.

One of the festival’s most daring and provocative projects is Boots Riley's follow-up to his incendiary film Sorry to Bother You with the surreal Prime Video series I’m a Virgo, starring Moonlight’s Jharrel Jerome as a 13-foot-tall young Black man living in Oakland, California. The festival closes with a first look at the awards-season contender The Color Purple before its end-of-year release. As an added treat, the ABFF has secured A-list talent to discuss the work that went into each of these entertaining projects.
Beyond the marquee titles, the ABFF continues to distinguish itself with a series of talks ranging from artistic to financial advice for Black creators. Partnering with leading entertainment companies, the festival continues to craft an impressive array of programming to develop the next generation of Black storytellers. These carefully curated events remain one of the festival's greatest attributes.

While focused on the future of Black storytelling, there is also a fascinating look back into the history of Black representation through media with a few documentary projects. Donyale Luna: Supermodel, from HBO Documentary Films, explores the legacy of Luna as a pioneer of Black beauty and one of the first Black supermodels. Meanwhile, Time of Essence is a five-part documentary series that explores Essence's creation and continued impact, with each episode focused on a different decade in the magazine's history. This year coincides with the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, and there will be clips and conversations from the series Hip House, which explores the impact of hip-hop and house music on the culture.

As always, the American Black Film Festival promises an experience like no other and fits an astounding amount of programming into its five-day run. It's a daunting and inspiring program full of screenings, panel discussions, parties, and networking.

While most of the events are reserved for passholders, check out Sunday's programming, which includes free screenings of the second season of Rap Sh!t! by Issa Rae and Syretta Singleton and Oscar winner Matthew A. Cherry's new series, Young Love.

American Black Film Festival. Wednesday, June 14 through Sunday, June 18, at various locations; abff.com. Ticket prices vary.