For 30 years, filmmakers, artists and cinephiles have gathered for the American Black Film Festival, an annual event in Miami Beach known for showcasing the early work of filmmakers such as Ryan Coogler, Issa Rae and Ava DuVernay.
Now, the festival is headed to Washington.
Starting Friday, ABFF will make its D.C. debut with a three-day lineup featuring 11 filmmakers, along with feature-length and short film screenings, celebrity conversations and master classes at Angelika Pop-Up at Union Market. (The flagship festival continues to be held in Miami Beach, with this year’s main event taking place in May.)
Jeff Friday, a film producer and Howard University graduate, came up with the idea for a Black film festival in 1997. Originally called the Acapulco Black Film Festival, the event was held in Mexico City before Friday and his wife, Nicole, expanded their live entertainment company, Nice Crowd, and eventually brought it to the United States under its current name.
Nearly three decades later, the Fridays are bringing ABFF to the city where they attended Howard.
“There’s a huge arts and culture feeling and energy that is already in Washington, D.C.,” Nicole Friday says. “There’s so many things that happen here, and this is just adding to what already exists, whether it’s music or art or film or television.”
The festival is also giving Silver Spring native Tia A. Smith — the only local filmmaker in the lineup — a chance to screen her award-winning short film “The Heir” in her community. Focused on a young woman who inherits her grandmother’s house, the D.C.-set film takes on gentrification while weaving in cultural touchstones of the city — from go-go music to former mayor Marion Barry.
For Smith, the film grew out of a love for the tapestry of the nation’s capital, plus a desire to reach people who might find themselves in a family dispute over an inheritance.
“Six out of 10 African American families are in probate right now, because there was not a will in place, or families were not talking about what to do with the loved one’s legacy,” Smith says. “And with that comes, again, a lot of family splinters and emotional strife.”
Smith hopes the film encourages families to have uncomfortable conversations before they are forced to make decisions under difficult circumstances. But she also sees filmmaking as a personal practice, one that can be therapeutic for her — and, she hopes, for the audience.
“I write, produce and direct stories because therapy is expensive and stories last longer because there’s a truth. There is a vulnerability,” Smith says. “I hope that this story is the beginning of someone looking at their life and saying, ‘You know what? I need to talk to my family.’”
The decision to bring ABFF to new cities was partly influenced by the enthusiastic feedback Nice Crowd received from attendees, Nicole Friday says. Amid political strife in the nation’s capital, the time felt right to celebrate D.C.’s deep cultural scene.
“We have our own music, we have our own culture, we have our own food, we have incredible people with a huge rich history,” Smith says. “I’m glad that’ll be highlighted for those that didn’t know. And for those of us that do know, we’re going to celebrate it.”
Friday through Sunday at Angelika Pop-Up at Union Market. Tickets are required for individual screenings and range from $15 to $20.
The post American Black Film Festival arrives to celebrate D.C. culture scene appeared first on Washington Post.
