Some of Hollywood’s best and brightest talent descended upon Miami this week for the annual American Black Film Festival (ABFF), all in celebration of Black creative excellence.
ABFF, which encourages and rewards artistic excellence, providing a platform for more than 1,000 narrative feature films, documentaries, shorts and Web originals, boasts a long history of incredible talent, including Will Packer and Ryan Coogler. The festival is always a highlight for both aspiring and veteran lovers of cinema.
To kick things off, Cadillac – which returned as a partner of ABFF for the eighth consecutive year –held an exclusive luncheon Wednesday called the Cadillac Welcome Luncheon At ABFF: Black Hollywood Now. During the event, actors LeToya Luckett and Tristan “Mack” Wilds participated in a panel conversation about the importance of ABFF and its impact on Black creatives in the film industry. Moderated by Allison McGevna, VP of Women’s Lifestyle at iOne, the event also featured a performance by Jade Novah.
Guests of the exclusive event, which included celebs like Jay Ellis and Bevy Smith, had the chance to see the first-ever Cadillac XT4, an all-new compact crossover that will be available in dealerships this fall.
Wilds and Luckett both spoke with candor about the day’s topic of Black Hollywood Now, sharing how important being a member of the Black film industry is to both of them at this time.
“Being here and having ABFF as a young Black man — it’s a place that I feel comfortable lending my story,” Wilds said. “It’s a place that I can come to hear my stories, to see how we should be portrayed on film versus the way that they chose to portray us. It’s the amalgamation of it all. It is what we are — what we’re supposed to be.”
Echoing his sentiments, Luckett said, “The fact that ABFF took it upon themselves to create, not just a weekend, because it’s more than that, but kind of find a way for us to come together, share our projects, create platforms for new artists, that wasn’t around before.”
Check out the highlights from the event in the video above, and follow our ABFF coverage all week.
