On September 23, the DGA hosted a luncheon for Directors with entries in the 2016 Urbanworld® Film Festival in New York. The event was part of the Guild's outreach efforts aimed at independent filmmakers and was part of the support of the festival for which the DGA has been a sponsor since 2000.
As the filmmakers gathered for the meet and greet in Manhattan, they were welcomed by DGA Special Assignments Executive Mike Ryan, who gave a brief overview of Guild’s mission to protect the creative and economic rights of directors and members of the directorial team. Ryan then introduced DGA Director-member Marc Levin, whose latest documentary Class Divide was featured in this year's Urbanworld lineup. Levin gave the attendees a first-hand account of how careers can develop and how important it is to have an organization like the DGA behind you when filming. Also on hand was Urbanworld's Festival Director and Head of Programming Gabrielle Glore who was available to give tips about the festival.
About the Festival
Founded in 1997 by Stacy Spikes, the Urbanworld® Film Festival is a five-day event that includes narrative features, documentaries, and short films, as well as panel discussions, live staged screenplay readings, and the Urbanworld® Digital track focused on digital and social media. The Festival is an initiative of the Urbanworld® Foundation Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to redefining the role of minorities in contemporary cinema and developing the urban filmmaking community.