From September 29 - October 3, the Urbanworld Film Festival returned to New York City for their 25th Anniversary. The festival was a hybrid of both live and virtual screenings showcasing narrative and documentary features, short films, music videos, and web originals. The DGA has been a sponsor of Urbanworld since 2000.
As part of the Guild's outreach efforts aimed at independent filmmakers, the DGA hosted a virtual luncheon on October 1 for Directors with entries in this year's festival as well as prize winners from last year's all virtual festival. Filmmakers were welcomed by DGA Assistant Executive Director Mary Hatch, who gave a brief overview of the Guild’s mission to protect the creative and economic rights of directors and members of the directorial team. Hatch then introduced DGA Director-member and Urbanworld alum Thembi Banks (Insecure; Work in Progress), who spoke to the attendees about what it means to be a part of the DGA filmmaking community and the advantages of having the Guild behind you when filming. Urbanworld Film Festival Producer and Programming Lead Ashley Mui was also on hand to give tips about how to make the most of the opportunities provided by the festival.
DGA members with projects spotlighted during the festival included Directors Ava Duvernay (Colin In Black & White), Reinaldo Marcus Green (King Richard), Rob Greenlea (Horror Noire), Rob Hardy (Power Book III: Raising Kanan), and Lisbon Okafor (Ten-Cent Daisy).
About the Festival
Founded in 1997 by Stacy Spikes, the Urbanworld Film Festival is a five-day event that also includes panel discussions, 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.