After postponing its original date from July to October in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic the 24th annual American Black Film Festival (ABFF) will now take place online August 21-30 on abff.com. ABFF Ventures LLC. announced today that ABFF Online Edition will continue the tradition of the live festival, featuring the best of independent black cinema, studio premieres, conversations and panels, the business of entertainment seminars, along with virtual networking events.
In addition, the fest, which is going forward with the theme Community First!, will use its platform for social change in response to the scourge of racial injustice in our country, as well as educate and support its community in an effort to help in its recovery from the coronavirus.
Earlier this year, ABFF Ventures CEO Jeff Friday spoke to Deadline about persevering the festival in the amid the health crisis “If we found that the festival was not going to happen this year because of circumstances beyond our control, we’re going to be ready to launch. So, this won’t wait until October. If we haven’t fixed stuff, we’re going to launch our online festival and our buyers’ platform, too. Then we’ll have a chance to be seen by people who love black content, and also a chance for these shows to be viewed by potential distributors and buyers of diverse content.”
Along with today’s announcement, Friday stated, “While we will surely miss being with our ABFF community in Miami Beach this year and connecting in person, what truly binds us together is our shared commitment to ensure inclusion in Hollywood and sustaining a place of inspiration for diverse storytellers. We will persevere through this year and end up a stronger community on the other side of this crisis.”
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