{"id":4659,"date":"2012-05-15T16:12:58","date_gmt":"2012-05-15T20:12:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.abff.com\/?p=4659"},"modified":"2016-04-08T16:28:13","modified_gmt":"2016-04-08T20:28:13","slug":"kimberly-elise-isaiah-washington-common-s-epatha-merkerson-are-among-the-stellar-list-of-grand-jury-nods-from-film-lifes-16th-annual-abff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abff.com\/archive\/2018\/kimberly-elise-isaiah-washington-common-s-epatha-merkerson-are-among-the-stellar-list-of-grand-jury-nods-from-film-lifes-16th-annual-abff\/","title":{"rendered":"Kimberly Elise, Isaiah Washington, Common & S. Epatha Merkerson are among the stellar list of Grand Jury nods from Film Life’s 16th Annual American Black Film Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"NEW YORK, May 15, 2012<\/span><\/em> – Film Life Inc., today announced the Narrative Features Competition selections and Grand Jury Award nominees for the 16th Annual American Black Film Festival (ABFF) taking place in South Beach Miami, FL, June 20th – 23rd. Kimberly Elise<\/strong>, Isaiah Washington<\/strong>, Common<\/strong> and S. Epatha Merkerson<\/strong> are among the stellar list of thespians nominated to receive the Grand Jury prize for their work.\r\n\r\nThe films in ABFF’s 2012 Narrative Features section reflect a creative multiplicity which can be seen, felt and heard in controversy through rhythmic Jamaican patois (Better Mus’ Come<\/em>) to a young Parisian woman’s search for her father (Elza<\/em>). Struggle and disappointment between generations is candidly explored (LUV<\/em>) and two men of the cloth face consequences (The Undershepherd<\/em>).\r\n\r\nEach film in the narrative features section must be directed by a person of African descent, tell a story of the Black experience or feature a person of African descent in a leading role. Films that are submitted for consideration are reviewed by a team of film industry professionals, which comprises the ABFF’s screening committee. Each film is graded on artistic merit and impactful subject matter. As this year’s Grand Jury President, Actor, Mekhi Phifer<\/strong> (“Lie to Me,” “ER”), will serve as a judge and will present prizes in front of the festival audience at The Winners Circle awards presentation<\/em> on the closing day of the festival.\r\n\r\nThe complete list of the 2012 Narrative Feature films is as follows:<\/strong>\r\n\r\nBETTER MUS’ COME<\/em><\/strong>\r\nWritten and directed by Storm Saulter, produced by Paul Bucknor\r\n\r\nCAST: <\/strong>Sheldon Shepherd, Nicole ‘Sky’ Grey, Everaldo Creary, Ricardo Orgill and Roger Guenveur Smith\r\n\r\nSYNOPSIS: <\/strong>The film follows warring political factions in 1970s Jamaica as they enlist the support of gangs to enforce their policies, and advanced their political agenda.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nTHE DARK PARTY<\/em><\/strong>\r\nWritten by William Wells, Kadeem Hardison, Salenta Baisden and Terry Wilkerson, produced by Terry Wilkerson, Deji LaRay, Salenta Baisden and William Wells, directed by Kadeem Hardison\r\n\r\nCAST: <\/strong>Kadeem Hardison, Marcus Patrick and Tiffany Hines\r\n\r\nSYNOPSIS: <\/strong>When two best friends want to find true love, a radio talk psychologist helps them throw the ultimate blind date party and serous social experiment.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nTHE LAST FALL<\/em><\/strong>\r\nWritten and directed by Matthew Cherry, produced by Ellis Hobbs, Monique Hobbs, Nikki Love and Scott Hebert\r\n\r\nCAST: <\/strong>Lance Gross, Nicole Behari, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Obba Babatund\u00e9, Darrin DeWitt Henson, Michael Moss, Harry Lennix, Keith David\r\n\r\nSYNOPSIS: <\/strong>An NFL journeyman struggles to deal with life’s complexities after his professional career is over at twenty-five.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nLUV<\/em><\/strong>\r\nWritten and directed by Sheldon Candis and Justin Wilson, produced by Jason Berman, Datari Turner, W. Michael Jenson, Gordon Bijelonic, Joel Newton, James Rosenthal, Common and Derek Dudley\r\n\r\nCAST: <\/strong>Common, Michael Rainey Jr., Dennis Haysbert, Danny Glover, Charles S. Dutton, Michael Kenneth Williams and Meagan Good\r\n\r\nSYNOPSIS: <\/strong>An orphaned eleven-year-old boy is forced to face an unpleasant truth about his beloved uncle during one harrowing day in the streets of Baltimore.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nELZA<\/em><\/strong>\r\nWritten and directed by Mariette MonPierre and Mama Keita, produced by Mariette MonPierre, Gerard LaCroix, Eric Basset\r\n\r\nCAST: <\/strong>Stana Roumillac, Vincent Byrd Le Sage, Christophe Cherki, Sophie Berger\r\n\r\nSYNOPSIS: <\/strong>A young Parisian woman of Caribbean descent returns to her native island of Guadeloupe in search of the father she has never known.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nTHE UNDERSHEPHERD<\/em><\/strong>\r\nProduced and directed by Russ Parr, produced by Russ Parr, Eric Tomosunas, Scott Aronson and Isaiah Washington\r\n\r\nCAST: <\/strong>Isaiah Washington, Louis Gossett Jr., Lamman Rucker, Malinda Williams, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Elise Neal, Robinne Lee, Clifton Powell, Keith David and John Wesley\r\n\r\nSYNOPSIS: <\/strong>Two minister’s opposing decisions destroy their friendship as the ascension of evil verses the struggle of an honest church impact the entire community.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nFilm awards presented include: Grand Jury Prize for Best Screenplay, sponsored by Ciroc<\/strong>; Grand Jury Prize for Best Director, sponsored by Cadillac<\/strong>; Grand Jury Prize for Best Actor, sponsored by Gold Peak Tea<\/strong>; Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature, sponsored by BET Networks<\/strong>; and Best Documentary sponsored by CNN<\/strong>. Prizes will be presented at ABFF’s culminating ceremony, The Winners Circle on June 23.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nThe four films in the narrative features category compete for ABFF’s Grand Jury Prizes for:<\/strong>\r\n\r\nBest Screenplay<\/strong>, presented by Ciroc\r\nBest Director<\/strong>, presented by Cadillac\r\nBest Actor<\/strong>, presented by Gold Peak Tea\r\nBest Narrative Feature<\/strong>, presented by BET Networks\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nThe specific nominees are as follows:<\/strong>\r\n\r\nGrand Jury Prize for Best Screenplay, presented by Ciroc <\/strong>\r\nStorm Saulter – BETTER MUS’ COME<\/em>\r\nMatthew Cherry – THE LAST FALL <\/em>\r\nMariettte MonPierre and Mama Keita – ELZA<\/em>\r\nRuss Parr – THE UNDERSHEPHERD<\/em>\r\n\r\nGrand Jury Prize for Best Director, presented by Cadillac <\/strong>\r\nSheldon Candis – LUV <\/em>\r\nMatthew Cherry – THE LAST FALL <\/em>\r\nRuss Parr – THE UNDERSHEPHERD<\/em>\r\nStorm Saulter – BETTER MUS’ COME<\/em>\r\n\r\nGrand Jury Prize Best Performance by an Actor (Male or Female), presented by Gold Peak Tea<\/strong>\r\nCommon – LUV <\/em>\r\nLance Gross – THE LAST FALL<\/em>\r\nSheldon Sheppard – BETTER MUS’ COME<\/em>\r\nIsaiah Washington – THE UNDERSHEPHERD<\/em>\r\n\r\nNicole Behari – THE LAST FALL<\/em>\r\nKimberly Elise – TIES THAT BIND<\/em>\r\nMalinda Williams – THE UNDERSHEPHERD<\/em>\r\n\r\nGrand Jury Prize for Narrative Feature, presented by BET Networks<\/strong>\r\nTHE LAST FALL\r\nELZA\r\nLUV\r\nTHE UNDERSHEPHERD<\/em>\r\n\r\nGrand Jury Prize for Documentary, presented by CNN<\/strong>\r\nTHE CONTRADICTIONS OF FAIR HOPE<\/em>, co-directed by S. Epatha Merkerson and Rockell Metcalf FORCE M.D.s RELIVED<\/em>, directed by Frazier Prince THINK NFL, LOVE DAD (The DeSean Jackson Story)<\/em>, co-directed by Byron Jackson and Kern Konwiser SOUL FOOD JUNKIES<\/em>, directed by Byron Hurt\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nFull pass and ticket information for the 2012 ABFF can be found at abff.com<\/a>\r\n

HBO (Founding and Premier Sponsor); Gold Peak Tea (Premier); gmc Television Network, American Airlines, Cadillac and CNN (Official Sponsors); Grab Media, NBCUniversal, Nickelodeon, smartwater, Nielsen, BET Networks, Stella Artois and Wells Fargo (Supporting Sponsors); The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, Miami Beach Visitor & Convention Authority and Miami Community Redevelopment Agency (Host Sponsors) and SAGIndie, One Village Entertainment, Miami Film Month, thirdREEL (Promotional Partners); Media Sponsors include: Black Enterprise, Uptown (Official Level); Jones Magazine and Precious Times (Supporting Level).<\/p>\r\n

Established in 1997, the core mission of the ABFF is to promote cultural diversity within the motion picture industry. Through its film showcases and special contests, it annually introduces the top echelon of emerging artists to the film and television industry.<\/p>\r\n

The ABFF is a property of Film Life, Inc., a New York-based event marketing, production and film distribution company founded in 2000 by Jeff Friday (CEO). For full details on this year’s festival, please visit abff.com<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n

For media inquiries, contact Lisa Sorensen at 646-330-5458 or Lisa@ls-pr.com<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK, May 15, 2012 – Film Life Inc., today announced the Narrative Features Competition selections and Grand Jury Award nominees for the 16th Annual American Black Film Festival (ABFF) taking place in South Beach Miami, FL, June 20th – 23rd. Kimberly Elise, Isaiah Washington, Common and S. Epatha Merkerson are among the stellar list […]","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[103,36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-releases-2012","category-press-releases"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abff.com\/archive\/2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abff.com\/archive\/2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abff.com\/archive\/2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abff.com\/archive\/2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abff.com\/archive\/2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4659"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/abff.com\/archive\/2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4659\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5954,"href":"https:\/\/abff.com\/archive\/2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4659\/revisions\/5954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abff.com\/archive\/2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abff.com\/archive\/2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abff.com\/archive\/2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}