ABFF Launches New Comedy Festival With Kenya Barris Serving As Ambassador
ABFF Ventures LLC., announced the launch of ABFF Comedy Festival, a new event dedicated to supporting emerging Black and Brown comedians and comedy writers. Kenya Barris (“Black-ish,” “Grown-ish,” Black AF”) will serve as the ABFF Comedy Festival event Ambassador.
A spin off of the American Black Film Festival (ABFF), which will celebrate its 25th anniversary this year, ABFF Comedy Festival’s mission is to be a global stage for the multicultural comedy community and to help propel new generations of diverse artists to stardom by introducing them to the industry-at-large. It is a natural extension of the ABFF comedy sidebar which has given visibility to the biggest names in comedy including Kevin Hart, Cedric The Entertainer, Mike Epps, Rickey Smiley, Craig Robinson, JB Smoove and more, who performed at the film festival early in their careers.
Virtual for its first year, the five-day Comedy Festival will stream live and pre-recorded content on ABFF Play streaming service June 2-6, 2021. Highlights will include four national competitions; one for stand-up comics and the other three for writers of comedic short films, webisodes and podcasts as well as live stand-up comedy performances, panels, conversations and master classes, plus digital screenings of studio and network films and television content in the comedy genre. The festival will culminate with “Black Comedy Live,” a global pay-per-view special featuring top headline comics. Early bird passes on sale February 1, visit https://www.abff.com/comedyfest/
“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,” says Jeff Friday, ABFF Ventures CEO.
“I’m thrilled to be partnering with American Black Film Festival on their very first ABFF Comedy Festival. Jeff and Nicole have built a long legacy of identifying new Black talent over the past 25 years, and as someone who shares their passion for championing and amplifying Black and Brown voices, I am excited to see them expand the ABFF imprint in this way. 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 and I’m honored to lend my support,” says Kenya Barris, writer, producer, actor.
The festival will feature four competitions - Stand-Up Performance, Comedy Web Series, Comedy Shorts, and Comedy Podcasts - designed to discover and reward emerging black and brown comedic talent, creators, and performing artists. Entrees for the four categories are due no later than March 8, 2021. Contestants must be age 21 or older, of African descent, or who identify as Latinx, or Native American, who reside, and are eligible to work, in the U.S. For additional information, please visit https://www.abff.com/comedyfest/