The 20th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival (www.urbanworld.org), presented by REVOLT with founding sponsor HBO, ran from September 21-25. One of the largest competitive film festivals designed to advance the presence and impact of diverse content creators screened over 68 films and will took place at Manhattan's AMC Empire 25 on 234 West 42nd Street.
Here is what we saw and heard at Urbanworld 2016, from the red carpet:
Mira Nair, Director of Disney’s “Queen Of Katwe”
“This film is very much, left & center, is the UrbanWorld, except set in Africa, my other home in Kampala, Uganda. So welcome to Queen of Katwe.”
David Oyelowo, star of Disney’s “Queen Of Katwe”
“This film is significant, because intolerance is something that’s very much at the front at thsi moment. And the way you breakdown intolerance is through understanding. If you can relate to a young black girl in Uganda, who goes through a journey that’s akin to yours, that breaks down prejudice.”
Gina Prince-Bythewood, co-creator of FOX’s new show “Shots Fired”
“I have 2 boys and this issue is so urgent, I mean, every month there seems like there’s another hashtag. We just wanted to be part of the conversation, and try and spark change, because change is absolutely urgent right now.”
Reggie Rock Bythewood, co-creator of FOX’s new show “Shots Fired”
“My son was with me, when a cop pulled us over and it was very awkward situation. But it was also an opportunity for him to see how dad handles it. Shortly afterwards, George Zimmerman verdict came out. And few years later, we put together Shots Fired, and here we are.”
Issa Rae, creator and star of HBO’s new show “Insecure”
"HBO pretty much left me alone when I was creating my series, and that's a great feeling.”
Prentice Penny, Executive Producer of HBO’s new show “Insecure”
"I can confirm that when it comes to casting her show, it's easy. She's like 'no, my home girl has this role; yo, my other homegirl has the role. Wait, I know the actor for this part. He's my homeboy."
Taunt Chopra, director and Sunkrish Bala, actor from "Chee and T"
"As brown or Indian people, we need to be able to tell our true stories."
icky Judy, star of Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black"
"It's wonderful working with all my friends. It's a great group of people, and that's something I'm very grateful for."