“Black-ish” creator Kenya Barris will serve as the Ambassador to the inaugural American Black Film Festival Comedy Festival. This new event is a spin-off of the successful ABFF and will feature emerging Black and Brown comedians and comedy writers. The virtual five-day event will stream live and pre-recorded content on ABFF’s Play streaming service from June 2-6.
“I’m thrilled to be partnering with American Black Film Festival on their very first ABFF Comedy Festival,” said Barris in a statement to Deadline. To be a part of something that will provide greater exposure, access, and opportunities to these comedians and comedy writers while also giving our community a reason to laugh together … this was a no-brainer. I’m honored to lend my support.”
Jeff Friday, ABFF Ventures CEO, added in the statement, “We are proud to expand our legacy of supporting Black talent in the early stages of their careers with the launch of the ABFF Comedy Festival. I’m very appreciative and excited to have Kenya Barris serve as our inaugural Ambassador. He is one of my favorite writers and sits amongst the most prolific content creators in the comedy arena.”
The ABFF Comedy Festival will consist of four competitions — Stand-Up Performance, Comedy Web Series, Comedy Shorts, and Comedy Podcasts. Submissions for the four categories are now open and are due no later than March 8. Participants must be over the age of 21, and of African descent, or who identify as Latinx, or Native American. More information can be found at www.abff.com.
The festival will feature live stand-up comedy performances, panels and masterclasses. It will also include digital screenings of studio and network films and television content in the comedy genre as well as Black Comedy Live, a global pay-per-view special featuring top headline comics.
