$20,000 Grand Prize to Be Awarded to One Winner At Festival’s Closing Ceremonies

New York, NY (June 2 , 2003) – Home Box Office will showcase the works of five aspiring filmmakers at Film Life’s American Black Film Festival (ABFF) in South Beach, Florida, June 18-22. During the five-day retreat and international film market, film industry representatives and the general public will get a chance to preview the competing films at a special screening. Film Life, Inc. and AOL Time Warner, with HBO as founding sponsor, will present the festival.

“This year we had the largest number of entries in the history of the HBO Short Film Award,” said Olivia Smashum, senior vice president, subscriber marketing and business development at HBO. “This response underscores all our efforts on behalf of new talent and we look forward to presenting the next generation of filmmakers at the festival.”

The HBO Short Film Award, first given out at the 1998 ABFF, was created to celebrate the writing and directing talents of up-and-coming black filmmakers. A panel of distinguished African American directors and HBO executives will judge the final round of competition in South Beach. One filmmaker will be awarded the $20,000 grand prize during the festival’s Film Life Black Movie Awards ceremony on closing night, with the four runners up receiving $5,000 each.

This year’s nominees are:

• A-Alike, written and directed by Randall Dottin, about two brothers from opposite sides of the social spectrum who struggle to reconcile their estrangement. A graduate of Dartmouth College, Dottin has combined his love for the arts with teaching and activism. He is currently pursuing an MFA in film directing at Columbia University, while teaching filmmaking, acting, leadership and creative writing to young people through the Impact programs in New York City. He has several projects in development, including a play, a documentary and feature screenplay.
• Quiet, directed by Sylvain White, is the story of a man struggling to keep his sanity while dealing with a badgering wife, the grind of work and the loss of his son. Winner of numerous short film awards, White has also received accolades for a variety of commercials and music videos he’s directed and for his work with directors like Michel Gendry, Spike Jonze and July Dash. He received a scholarship to La Sorbonne University in France, his birthplace, and Pomona College in California, where he graduated with honors in media studies and film production.
• Short on Sugar, written and executive produced by Lynn A. Henderson (who also stars) and directed by Joe Anaya, follows the antics of a young coffeehouse owner as she devises ways to “accidentally” run into the man of her dreams. Henderson has a multi-faceted career in writing, producing and acting. Her film and TV credits include roles on “ER,” “Friends,” “Seinfeld,” “Will and Grace,” “King of Queens” and the theatrical release “The Relic.” Anaya most recently co-created, produced and wrote the VH1 series “Strange Frequency.” He studied film and video production at San Francisco State University and premiered his short “A Hollow Place” at the Sundance Film Festival in 1998.
• Swallow, written and directed by Frank E. Flowers, tells the story of a high school senior who, in looking for a way to make money for college, takes on an unusual internship as a drug mule and learns the art of the “swallow.” A native of the Caribbean, Flowers holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California’s Film School, where acclaimed director John Singleton mentored him. He is currently working on his feature film debut, a thriller titled “Haven.”
• Welcome to Life, written and directed by Jowan Carbin, about a 6th grader who makes a pact of everlasting friendship with his best buddy, only to have the private moment turned into a nightmare by the appearance of a school bully. Carbin studied acting at the University of Southern California and received his BA in Theatre in 1999, with a minor in film. He left California that same year to attend Columbia University’s MFA Film program. His acting background has proven to be an enormous asset in honing his writing and directing skills as well as given him insight into actors’ needs.

Last year, HBO presented the grand prize to writer/executive producer Ben Watkins for his film “Quest to Ref,” the story of an aspiring basketball ref who tries to bring fairness to an inner-city court game.

Author: MOSAEC