11th Hollywood Black Film Festival Announces Call for Entries for 2011

The Hollywood Black Film Festival (HBFF) -- recognized as one of the leading black film festivals -- is currently accepting submissions for the 2011 festival, to be held October 27-30, 2011 in Los Angeles, CA. Regular submissions will be accepted from June 7 through July 24. The late deadline is August 7.

HBFF welcomes narrative features, shorts, student and documentary films for its competitive program. Animation films and music videos submitted are accepted for the non-competitive program only.

All films submitted must have been completed after September 1, 2010.

HBFF accepts film submissions from all filmmakers, however to be eligible for the festival's competitive program, one of the film's creative principals, i.e. the writer, director or producer must be Black or of African heritage. All other films will be considered for our invitational program. Please notify the festival in your application if your submission does not meet the requirements for the competitive program and you wish to be considered for the invitational program.

Narrative feature films should be at least 60 minutes in length; short films should be 30 minutes in length or less; and student films must have been completed while the filmmaker was enrolled as a full or part-time student in a college or university.

HBFF is an annual celebration of Black Cinema drawing together established filmmakers, popular film and TV stars, writers, directors, industry executives, emerging artists, and diverse audiences from Hollywood and around the world. Attracting such stars and industry insiders as Academy Award® winners Sidney Poitier, Forest Whitaker, John Singleton, Spike Lee, George Tillman, Tina Andrews, Reuben Cannon, Cedric The Entertainer, Anthony Anderson, Blair Underwood, Sanaa Lathan, Antwone Fisher, Ice-T, Rev. Run, Bill Duke, Loretta Devine, Rockmond Dunbar, Lamaan Rucker, directors Tim Story, Preston Whitmore, Rob Hardy, Oz Scott, Benny Boom and Jeff Byrd, and producer Will Packer, the festival has become a hotbed for the Black Hollywood community.

Since being founded in 1998 by its executive director, Tanya Kersey , HBFF has screened a total of 823 independent films including 151 features, 429 shorts, 128 documentaries, 86 student films, 14 animated films and 11 music videos, from all across the United States, South America, Central America, the Caribbean, Canada, France, the UK and the Continent of Africa. It has held 402 world premieres, 15 U.S. premieres, 93 West Coast premieres and 60 Los Angeles premieres. Over 50,000 people have attended and enjoyed the diversity of Black Cinema through the festival.

Films that have screened at HBFF include director John Singleton's box office blockbuster, "2 Fast 2 Furious," the critically-acclaimed "The Hurricane" (starring Academy Award® winner Denzel Washington), director Kasi Lemmons' "The Caveman's Valentine" (starring Samuel L. Jackson), and director Reggie Rock Bythewood's "Dancing in September."

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