Urbanworld Film Festival announced today that Ava DuVernay and David Oyelowo will serve as the ambassadors for the festival’s 20th anniversary edition, which runs from September 21 – September 25, 2016, in New York City, with AMC Empire 42nd Street hosting its featured film screenings.
“I am honored to be one of this year’s Urbanworld ambassadors for the festival’s 20th anniversary, joining my friend David Oyelowo. I have always had a special relationship with Urbanworld, back to my days as a festival publicist to previewing my earlier films and now as an ambassador. Congratulations to Gabrielle Glore and the Urbanworld team on 20 dynamic years of providing a great platform for filmmakers of color to showcase their projects,” says DuVernay.
“Urbanworld is the first place Ava and I screened footage of Selma two years ago. The loving reception we received for our film there makes this opportunity to be ambassadors of this wonderful festival in its 20th year feel like both an honor and a homecoming,” says Oyelowo.
“It’s an absolute honor to have festival alumni Ava DuVernay and David Oyelowo serve as co-ambassadors for Urbanworld’s 20th Anniversary Film Festival,” said Gabrielle Glore, Festival Director & Head of Programming, Urbanworld Film Festival. “Ava has a long and layered history with Urbanworld evolving from her tenure as festival publicist in the early years to her directorial debut with her first short film, to showcasing various narrative and documentary projects at the festival, to being the award-winning and glass shattering filmmaker she is today. David joined the Urbanworld family when attending to support Middle of Nowhere and then returned for a First Look Clips and Conversation event with Ava to launch Selma. His extraordinary caliber of artistry consistently illustrated in his body of work over the years, in both studio and independent films, reflects the quality of storytelling that Urbanworld seeks to inspire in all of the filmmakers showcased at Urbanworld.”
REVOLT is the presenting partner of the 2016 Urbanworld Film Festival. Along with founding partner HBO, key supporters include prestige partner BET Networks, premiere partners Comcast NBCUniversal, Africa Creative Agency, Fox Audience Strategy and Time Warner. Industry partner supporters are AMC Independent, Directors Guild of America, MoviePass, Urban Movie Channel and Writers Guild of America East.
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