For a second year, the American Black Film Festival (ABFF), in a partnership with McDonald’s, invite emerging filmmakers to enter McDonald’s "My Community" Video Competition.
Filmmakers are challenged to create one 90-second video that illustrates McDonald’s 365Black mantra, "Deeply Rooted in Your Community." The "My Community" Video Competition and ABFF’s vision to promote diversity in the film and television industry align with McDonald’s 365Black platform – an initiative that celebrates the pride, heritage and achievements of African Americans year round.
Submissions are due by 11:59 p.m. EDT April 15, 2016, for a chance to win the grand prize – a film equipment package valued at $2,500 and an opportunity to have your video featured on prominent websites, including McDonald’s 365Black.com and other media entities.
Three finalists will be selected to attend the 20th annual American Black Film Festival in Miami, June 15 – 19, and have an exclusive opportunity to be mentored by director Malcolm D. Lee, who will provide finalists with invaluable film industry tips and advice.
More information about the competition can be found at www.abff.com.
To get you warmed up as you work on your video submissions, this Sunday night, March 20th, from 8pm-8:30pm EST, Shadow & Act will host a Twitter conversation with director Malcolm D. Lee during which we will discuss a variety of topics relevant to Black filmmakers. Your participation is more than encouraged. In fact, if you’re a filmmaker and you have any questions about filmmaking or the business in general that you’d like us to address during the Twitter conversation, please post them in the comments section below, or you can email me at obensont@gmail.com, or (between now and Sunday night’s event) send them to the Shadow & Act Twitter account – @shadowandact – using the hashtag #365BlackFilm to ensure that they are seen and collected.
"We are proud to partner with McDonald’s on bringing this opportunity to emerging content creators. Without a doubt, this competition is a catalyst for introducing undiscovered talent to the industry-at-large," said Jeff Friday, ABFF founder and CEO.
"I look forward to returning as mentor to the finalists in the McDonald’s ‘My Community’ Video Competition," said Malcolm D. Lee. "There is so much great talent out there in the film industry and it’s always inspiring to connect with them and hopefully do my part to support the next generation of great filmmakers."
McDonald’s 365Black mantra, "Deeply Rooted in Your Community," will inspire what the brand does in 2016, extending to this video competition. By focusing on ‘my community’, the campaign provides an opportunity to showcase various communities and allow consumers to celebrate the communities that they are part of. Not confined to just the neighborhood in which they live, "my community" includes shared passions, hobbies, interests, churches and social organizations.
McDonald’s encourages those interested in the competition to follow @365Black on Twitter and join the conversation using #365BlackFilm. To learn more about the 365Black initiative, visit www.365Black.com.
Last year’s winner, Richard T. Fields, won the competition with his short video "Puppy Love" (watch it below).
