The American Black Film Festival (ABFF) and Kevin Hart’s comedy brand/network Laugh Out Loud (LOL) have announced a collaborative fellowship.

They will take submissions for comedic narrative film ideas and scripts that are 5-10 minutes in length and feature diverse casts or have a broad appeal to multicultural audiences, with the top three films to receive a production budget and premiere slot at ABFF.

Submissions will be accepted until March 15. 

“We’re excited about this fellowship program and partnership with Kevin Hart and Lionsgate’s Laugh Out Loud network. We believe that it will unveil some really talented new writer/directors with authentic and keen comedic sensibility,” stated Jeff Friday, ABFF Ventures CEO.

“We’re thrilled to partner with ABFF in an official capacity. With their legacy of supporting talent in front of and behind the camera and our mission to make big bets on undiscovered comedic voices, the filmmaker fellowship will continue those initiatives to give a platform to the next generation of diverse, comedic stories,” ” said Jeff Clanagan, President of Laugh Out Loud.

Once submissions close, 20 semi-finalists will be selected, and then narrowed down to 10 finalists. Those 10 finalists will pitch their submissions to a jury of ABFF/LOL representatives, and then after that, three potential winners will be selected, who will receive  an opportunity to have their project produced by Laugh Out Loud, using a fund of up to $20,000 for each filmmaker, and will then premiere their film at the 22nd annual American Black Film Festival in Miami on June 13-17.

You can find out more information here.