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The Micheaux Film Festival has added Lil Rel Howery (Get Out), stand-up comedian (HBO Special: Fighting Words), and YouTube content creator Kinigra Deon as festival ambassadors for its 2025 edition, which runs from October 23-26 in Los Angeles.

The festival said today that in their roles as ambassadors, Howrey, Rodriguez, and Deon will each play an integral part in this year’s programming at the Culver Theater.

“I’m really excited to be an ambassador for the Micheaux Film Festival and to support all the amazing filmmakers this year,” Howrey said in a statement of his new role at the festival. Howrey, a big and small screen vet, was awarded the festival’s Oscar Micheaux Trailblazer Award last year.

“It felt incredible to be honored last year, and I look forward to not only supporting but also enjoying all the great films this season.”

The festival also announced that its Director of Programming,...

Exclusive: LA’s Micheaux Film Festival has set plans to host a Black History Month mixer to raise money for Altadena families displaced by the LA wildfires.

The event will take place on February 26 at NeueHouse Hollywood and will be held in collaboration with Dr. Self Tape, an LA-based self-tape production outfit.

The fundraising goal will be $25K. The event will be hosted by comedian Aida Rodriguez (Fighting Words), and musician J Young Mdk will DJ the event. It will run from 6 Pm – 9 Pm.

“The Micheaux Film Festival has always been about amplifying stories that matter. At this moment, storytelling fuels action and direct impact,” Noel Braham, co-founder of the Micheaux Film Festival, said in a statement. “By coming together, we’re not just raising funds we’re reaffirming that no one is left behind, especially those of color.”

The Micheaux Film Festival was launched in 2918 by Braham and Courtney L. Branch...

Exclusive: LA’s Micheaux Film Festival will honor Lil Rel Howery, Wendi McLendon-Covey, and Dianne Houston during its 6th edition, which runs October 21 – 27 at The Culver Theater.

Lil Rel Howery, a Chicago native and veteran performer now best known for his scene-stealing turn in Jordan Peele’s Get Out, will receive the festival’s Oscar Micheaux Trailblazer of Excellence Award. The festival said the award honors “Howery’s significant contributions to the entertainment industry as a comedian, actor, writer, and director, celebrating his roots and the influence he continues to have on the Chicago arts scene.”

McLendon-Covey will be recognized with the Alice Guy-Blaché Luminary Award while Dianne Houston will receive the Michael Ajakawe Jr. Pioneer of Influence Award. Both honors celebrate the pair’s “outstanding achievements in film and television, highlighting the diverse voices and talents emerging from Chicago and beyond.”

“We are thrilled to honor Lil Rel Howery,...

Exclusive: A Radical Act: Renee Montgomery, a feature documentary about the life and career of WNBA legend Renee Montgomery from exec producers LeBron James and Maverick Carter will open this year’s Micheaux Film Festival.

Launched by Courtney L. Branch and Noel Braham to honor the legendary Oscar Micheaux, the Micheaux Film Festival celebrates its sixth anniversary this year. The event will run from October 21 to October 27 at the Culver Theater.

A Radical Act: Renee Montgomery is directed by Emmy Award winner Sandrine Orabona. Described as an “intimate portrait,” the film chronicles the life and achievements of Montgomery, the first former WNBA player to serve as both a co-owner and executive of a WNBA team. A two-time WNBA Champion, sports broadcaster, and activist, Montgomery currently holds the position of co-owner and vice president of the Atlanta Dream. The film explores Montgomery’s journey, from her upbringing in West Virginia to...

Exclusive: LA’s Micheaux Film Festival will officially run at The Culver Theater in Culver City from October 21 to October 27 with a selection of short and feature projects with talent such as Viola Davis and Morris Chestnut. Scroll down to see the featured lineup.

The festival, launched by Courtney L. Branch and Noel Braham to honor the legendary Oscar Micheaux, celebrates its sixth anniversary this year. The festival’s theme will be Champions, a celebration of “the resilience and determination of filmmakers who overcome countless obstacles to bring their visions to life.”

This year’s lineup includes more than 250 short films, feature films, and new media series with additional projects screening virtually. Titles include The Ebony Canal, a 46-minute feature on Black infant mortality rates narrated by Viola Davis. Also screening is The Origin, a project produced by Morris Chestnut, and Tea, a short project from filmmaker Blake Winston Rice featuring Michael Gandolfini.

Exclusive: Pittsburgh’s Black Bottom Film Festival (Bbff), hosted by the August Wilson African American Cultural Center (Awaacc), has inked a curatorial partnership with LA’s Micheaux Film Festival for its upcoming sixth edition, which runs October 27—October 29.

During this year’s edition, the festival will also honor Academy Museum head Jacqueline Stewart with its Luminary Award. Alongside her role at the Academy Museum, Stewart is a professor of Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Chicago.

Presented by Citizens Financial Group, the Bbff will unravel over three days, featuring a series of screenings and panels all focused on what organizers describe as “the essence of Black life,” curated by Courtney L. Branch and Noel Braham of the Micheaux Film Festival.

“We take immense pride in curating the 6th edition of the Black Bottom Film Festival, while also celebrating our partnership. It is both an honor and a privilege...

When college friends Courtney L. Branch and Noel Braham launched the Micheaux Film Festival five years ago, the event, designed to put a spotlight on diverse and underrepresented creators, was limited to just a one-day affair.

“Really, [we] just wanted to do it as a proof of concept to see if this is something that people wanted, that they needed,” Branch told The Hollywood Reporter. “And they have responded in droves.”

The now-weeklong festival, which wraps on Sunday, is a testament to how much it has grown and the variety of the projects involved. Key premieres included Scrap, a film starring Vivian Kerr and Anthony Rapp about a single houseless mother; The Good Egg about a woman grappling with infertility who gets entangled with a con artist; and the documentary Bad Things Happen in Philadelphia about the effects of gun violence in the city.

There is also a screening of Gran Turismo,...

Exclusive: Sony’s video game adaptation Gran Turismo is among movies set to debut at the fifth edition of LA’s Micheaux Film Festival (July 10-16).

The Neill Blomkamp-directed movie, which is based on the hit video game and stars Archie Madekwe, David Harbour, Orlando Bloom and Djimon Hounsou, is also due to have a Q&a at the festival, though precise talent attendance has yet to be confirmed.

In the sports drama a gamer’s skills wins him the chance to become a professional race car driver. The movie will play on the festival’s closing night before rolling out globally from August 9th.

The festival, which honors filmmaker Oscar Micheaux and celebrates diverse cinema, will once again be held at The Culver Theater and Regal Cinemas L.A. Live.

The event will open with the world premiere of My Home Unknown, written and directed by Yaz Canli,...

Tobi De Graaff Joins Sky Studios

Veteran UK exec Tobi de Graaff is joining Sky Studios as Senior VP of Commercial. The former BBC Studios Director of Commissioning and Co-Production has most recently been running his own business, Beiboot Representation, but is now stepping into an international role focused on commercial and co-production partnerships, including Sky’s distribution relationship with Comcast cousin NBCUniversal Global Distribution. He’ll work closely with Sky Studios’ editorial and commissioning teams across Europe. He’ll also take charge of the international scripted team, which is currently headed by Jason Simms in the UK and LA-based SVP Rebecca Segal, accorifn to an internal note from Sky Studios COO Caroline Cooper seen by Deadline. Both Simms and Segal will report to de Graaf, who has also worked for ITV Studios, when he joins in July.

Chris Kattan Joins Indie LA Drama ‘Angel City’

Chris Kattan (Saturday Night Live...

Exclusive: Bria Samoné Henderson (The Good Doctor), Stakiah Lynn Washington (Primo), Tonya Pinkins (Red Pill), and Kim Estes (Dexter) have joined the cast of Angel City, the debut feature from filmmaker Noel Braham.

Braham, who is also head of LA’s growing Micheaux Film Festival, penned the screenplay and will direct with Courtney L. Branch producing and Mario Contini set as director of photography. Sherri Martin, Dale Martin, Hadassah McGrew, and Michael Knapp serve as executive producers. Principal photography is set to begin in Los Angeles in April.

The film’s full synopsis reads: Angel City follows the journey of Ace, an optimistic rideshare driver in Los Angeles with big dreams of becoming a star. Obsessed with finding his big break, he grapples with the looming specter of homelessness, struggling to make ends meet, and his determination is put to the ultimate test when he’s suddenly evicted from a hostel.

Casting Society (CSA) announced Hong Chau, Anna Camp (“Pitch Perfect”), Melanie Lynskey (“The Last of Us”) and Sheryl Lee Ralph (“Abbott Elementary”) are among the presenters for its 38th Artios Awards taking place in both Los Angeles and New York City.

Also presenting at the Los Angeles gala alongside host Yvette Nicole Brown are Utkarsh Ambudkar, Paul Walter Hauser, Andrew Leeds, Sam Richardson, Britt Robertson, Glynn Turman and Tuc Watkins. Sarita Choudhury, Jordan E. Cooper, Rory Culkin, Khris Davis, Alex Edelman, Raúl Esparza, Katie Finneran, Katrina Lenk, Nicole Ari Parker, Peppermint, Morgan Spector, Chris Sullivan and Kuhoo Verma will present at the New York ceremony, with Amber Ruffin as host.

The Artios Awards has 20 categories spanning film, TV and theater. The ceremonies will take place Thursday, March 9.

Micheaux Film Festival Announces Dates for Fifth Year Celebrations, Calls for Submissions

The Micheaux Film Festival is back for its fifth year to...

Exclusive: LA’s growing Micheaux Film Festival is to open with the Stephan James feature Delia’s Gone and will feature panels with Charlie Hunnam, AMPAS, Macro, Fremantle and Paramount. Scroll down for the lineup in full.

The fourth edition of the festival, which has a focus on Bipoc creators, will begin July 11th and run through July 17th at the Regal Cinemas L.A. Live in Downtown L.A. The event will close with Ryan Stevens Harris’s Moon Garden.

In Delia’s Gone, starring James, Marisa Tomei, Travis Fimmel, Paul Walter Hauser and Genelle Williams, when a Black man with an intellectual disability is accused of his sister’s murder, he embarks on a journey to clear his name and find out who is responsible.

Throughout the week, panels will include a one-on-one career-spotlight conversation with Sons of Anarchy and Rebel Moon star Charlie Hunnam hosted by Jenelle Riley...

Motion Picture Exchange AFM Title

Exclusive: Motion Picture Exchange has acquired global sales rights to heist film Take the Night and will launch sales at the upcoming virtual American Film Market. Written and directed by Seth McTigue, starring are Sam Li, Roy Huang (The Offer), Grace Serrano (Thou Shalt Not Kill) and Brennan Keel Cook (Encounter). Pic is produced by Julien P. Bourgon, Franco Sama and Mark Heidelberger. In the film, a bitter heir organizes a kidnapping of his younger brother on his birthday unaware that the criminals he hired to do the job are more cunning than he imagined. “We are proud to be partnering with Seth on his feature directorial debut,” said Ryan Bury, SVP of Acquisitions and Sales for Mpx. “He has created a finely tuned, high octane film with an in-depth story and lots of twists and turns. He’s a talented young filmmaker that is one to watch.

Godhood Comics TV Development Deal For The Antagonists

Exclusive: LA outfit Braham Entertainment has acquired TV adaptation rights to Godhood Comics’ new series The Antagonists. Recently created by Tyler F. Martin, the comics follow married supervillains Desructus and Ultima as they settle into retirement after successfully taking over the world. Wanted and pursued by global governments, the couple struggles to keep their worst impulses in check while balancing married life, parental responsibilities, being Black in America, and hiding their past and former identities from their superpowered children. Braham Entertainment is headed by producer and filmmaker Noel Braham, who was recently nominated for two Daytime Emmy awards for his short Watchtower. “We are extremely excited about this new partnership and for the development of this dynamic franchise. Being that Tyler and I hail from the same hometown (Atlanta), this is definitely a full circle moment. The Antagonists provides a fresh and...

Independent filmmakers and Georgia State University alumni Noel Braham and Pokey Spears, devoted “Star Wars” fans, directed and produced the below fan-made film, “Star Wars: Exile – Episode 1.” An entirely fan-made story set within the “Star Wars” universe, here’s the official synopsis:… Continue Reading →...