2nd Annual American Black Film Festival’s (ABFF) Partners’ Dinner

Last night, ABFF Ventures held their 2nd annual American Black Film Festival’s Partners’ Dinner at Mr. C in Beverly Hills. This event is an exclusive Awards Season gathering to celebrate the company’s partnerships within the entertainment and corporate communities. Partners include HBO®, Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, Comcast NBCUniversal, Capital One, Hilton, Turner, AMC, American Airlines, MPAA, TV One, Accenture, truTV and Warner Bros.

Attendees included Robert Townsend, Chris Spencer, Datari Turner, Logan Browning, Salli Richardson Whitfield, Dondre Whitfield, Charles King, Steven Caple, Jr., Brian Dobbins and Tai Beauchamp.

Nicole Friday, General Manager of ABFF Ventures, welcomed guests and the program included the presentation of the Alumni Achievement Award to Steven Caple Jr., presented by Jeff Friday, CEO and Founder of ABFF Ventures. Steven was the 2013 HBO Short Film Award recipient at the American Black Film Festival and directed “Creed II,” in 2018. This past year, we have seen the release of more films directed by African Americans than at any other time in recent history—starting with the record-breaking film, “Black Panther” and the momentum continued throughout the year with major releases such as “Blackkklansman,” “The Hate U Give,” “If Beale Street Could Talk,” among others. These films show the diversity and complexity of the African American experience and Steven Caple, Jr. epitomizes the amazing talent ABFF supports and discovers.

Steven gave an emotional acceptance speech and recalled his ABFF journey and experience attending the festival for the past several years. “I have met friends at ABFF who have now become family and a circle of creatives who continue to support each other in Hollywood,” says Steven.

John Gibson, Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Director of Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives at the Motion Picture Association of American (MPAA), announced that at the 2019 American Black Film Festival (ABFF), along with the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the Festival will acknowledge the films of MPAA member studios —Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Paramount Pictures Corporation, Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Universal City Studios LLC, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and Netflix—which can be credited with making 2018 a banner year for black cinema.

ABFF Ventures LLC (ABFFV) is a multifaceted entertainment company specializing in the production of live events, television and film focused on African American culture. Headquartered in Los Angeles, ABFFV was formed in 2014 and acquired the American Black Film Festival to widen the global footprint of the brand and stimulate business growth through expansion into other events and content production. The company is a joint venture between The Friday Company (formerly Film Life) and Black Enterprise, two prominent media and event companies, each with legacies of showcasing the best of African American culture and achievement.