From October 29 - November 2, the Urbanworld Film Festival returned to New York City for their 29th year. 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 luncheon on October 31 for Directors with entries in this year’s 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 Mark E. Swinton, whose film Route 187 had its world premiere at the festival.

Swinton 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 Festival Filmmaker Liaison Louisa Brown and Festival Producer Jessica Chong also gave tips about how to make the most of the opportunities provided by the festival.

Other DGA members with projects at this year’s Urbanworld include Kathryn Bigelow with her new feature, A House of Dynamite.

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.

• For more information visit http://urbanworld.org.