Tag: American Black Film Festival

Phels High


Release Date:  6/17/23 – American Black Film Festival; 6/20/23 – VOD
Genre:  Drama
Rating:  NR
Running Time:  85 mins.
Director:  Kevin J. Nelson
Studio(s):  1804 Films, Prowrite Productions

Cast:  Omari Hardwick (Principal Floyd), Elise Neal (Tina Lloyd), Michael Hyatt (Captain Bailey), T.J. Atoms (Beef), Allen Maldonado (Meat), Marc John Jefferies (Melvin).

Story:  The film is about a bond between four friends which gets destroyed when one of the boys, who gets bullied, takes matters into his own hands by taking the life of the kid that bullied him. The school’s peace is shattered by gunfire and the boys end up barricaded, trying to devise a plan. Beef (the shooter) figures he may have a chance of having a future if he takes the life of his best friend to come out on top of his messed-up situation. He plots to look like a hero instead of the villain that he is, but his plan falls short and an innocent life is taken due to his choices.  Source:  Variety.com.

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Summer of Violence

Release Date: 6/16/23; American Black Film Festival
Genre: Drama
Rating: NR
Running Time: 104 mins.
Director: Nicki Micheaux
Studio(s): Three60 Films
Cast: Kasey Inez (Naomi), Damon Gupton (Thomas), Jahking Guillory (Frank), Madhulika Krishnan (Pamela), Shon Wilson (Eleanor Bradford).

Story: It was the summer of 1993. Denver was hit with a spike in gang violence, which woke up the typically sleepy state of Colorado. That summer forever changed the laws and the state began to charge 14-year-olds as adults, while others passed the Three Strikes Law. But, our hero, Naomi didn’t know much about it. She’d spent four years in college in Boulder and getting to Denver to pursue her poetry was the first step to living her life on her own terms. Cut off from her father’s money, this suburbanite finds herself living in the middle of a gang infested neighborhood. She pushes to get her poetry published and find her way in this community. But she finds that living with violence has a cost, even if you are not the one hurt. Proximity to the epidemic of violence impacts how she sees herself and her ability to find her own voice. In this new community, she and her best friend Pam, young and wide-eyed, with a belief in their invincibility, do everything they can to pay rent, be artists, and follow the love in their hearts. These are simple things so many of us take for granted, but are monumental in communities stricken by violence. Naomi has to find her identity for herself and learn how she fits in her community. Ultimately, she must decide if following her dreams is worth the costs. Sources: official site, summerofviolence.com; abff.com.

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Murder City

Release Date:  6/16/23; American Black Film Festival
Genre:  Thriller
Rating:   NR
Running Time:  85 mins.
Director:  Michael D. Olmos
Studio(s):  HBK F.C., Village Roadshow Pictures
Cast:  Mike Colter (Neil), Antonio Fargas (Graham), Stephanie Sigman (Ash), Medina Senghore (Molly), James Udom (Laz).

Story:  After losing his job on the police force, Neil is forced to work with a ruthless female narcotics trafficker to settle the debts of his estranged, deadbeat father and protect his wife and son.  Murder City is the second movie filmed under Village Roadshow Pictures’ Black Noir Cinema franchise, co-founded by NBA great Kevin Garnett.  Inspired by classics like Shaft,” Super Fly and Cleopatra Jones, Black Noir Cinema, aims to adapt and redefine the Blaxploitation genre and translate its spirit of empowerment to a new generation of Black audiences.  Source:  Variety.com.  Photo Source:  abff.com

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The Available Wife

Release Date:  12/17/20 UMC (Original Release – 8/22/20; American Black Film Festival)
Genre:  Drama
Rating:  NR
Director:  Jamal Hill
Studio(s):  Available Wife, Luna Ray Films, MegaMind Media, BondIt Media Capital
Running Time:  100 mins.

Cast:  KJ Smith (Nicole), Roger Guenveur Smith (Walter), Clifton Powell (Mitchell), Anwan Glover (Soshi), Terayle Hill (Kingston), Angel Love (Alecia), Brave Williams (Maxine), Mark McKinnon (Drew).

Story:  When money, affairs, power and lies collide, a beautiful and successful music CEO’s life is about to crumble in front of her.  When Nicole Wright leaves her husband and son, the lies that have built her music empire threaten to tear her down. While having an affair with Kingston, the sexy artist on the rise who promises her everything, Nicole learns the hard way that looks can be deceiving and his motives are as dark as the secrets she keeps.  Source(s):  abff.com/2020; IMDB.

Trailer:

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The Birth Of Deceit

Release Date:  8/21/20 – 8/30/20; American Black Film Festival (Virtual) (Original Release – 2019)

Genre:  Thriller

Rating:  NR

Director:  Yaw Agyapong

Studio(s):  Agyapong Films

Running Time:  85 mins.

Cast:  Vanessa Noel, Terrence Keene, Jennifer Silverstein, Devin Richardson, Dennis Scarfeo.

Story:  A young black woman goes on a search for answers about her parents’ deaths. In the midst, she befriends a lady that knows more about their fate than she’s willing to let on. She and her friends will have to fight for their lives to uncover the truth.  Source(s):  agyapongfilms.com; abff.com/2020; IMDB

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Asunder, One Flesh Divided

Release Date:  8/21/20 – 8/30/20; American Black Film Festival (Virtual)
Genre:  Drama
Rating:  NR
Director:  Alana Barrett-Adkins
Studio(s):  Rock Alari Studios
Running Time: 100 mins.
Cast:  Alana Barrett-Adkins, N’fa Thomas, Christian “C King” King, Justin Crowley

Story:  Asunder focuses on the life of a successful, prosperous, yet distant married couple who are thrust into the den of conflict and potential divorce after an incident changes their relationship forever.  Sources:  abff.com; IMDB.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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