The International Black Film Festival Nashville (IBBFN) announced the ever growing festival lineup for its fourth annual film festival, which commences with a pre-festival Faith & Film kickoff on Sunday, Sept. 26, and the official festival starting on Wednesday, Sept. 29-Saturday, Oct. 2. Complete details are available at www.ibffnashville.com.
“Our dynamic combination of workshops, premieres and entertainment attracts the best and brightest in the industry, along with emerging talent and up-and-coming voices,” Joyner-Smith said.
The festival’s opening night film, “Blood Done Sign My Name,” written and directed by Jeb Stuart and features Nate Parker, both of whom will be in attendance and host a question-and-answer session after the screening. Stuart holds many production and writing credits under his belt, among them “Another 48 Hours,” “The Fugitive,” and “Die Hard.” Stuarts films have grossed over 2.5 billion dollars worldwide. Parker is best known for his starring roles in “The Great Debaters,” “The Secret Life of Bees” and “Pride.”
“We are excited to bring these Hollywood heavy-hitters to the International Black Film Festival,” said Joyner-Smith.
One such seminar will be led by one of the hottest and most sought after Producers in the film industry, Will Packer, who has produced more than 13 films through his meteoric career, among them “Stomp the Yard,” “Stomp the Yard 2: Homecoming,” “This Christmas,” “Obsessed,” with Idris Elba and Beyonce Knowles, and this year’s mega-hit “Takers,” starring Chris Brown, Matt Dillon, Zoe Saldana, T.I. and others. On Saturday, Oct. 2, he leads the seminar “Through the Eyes of the Producer: Will Packer Speaks.” Packer has been named by Black Enterprise magazine as one of the “Top 25 Money Makers in Hollywood,” alongside Oprah Winfrey, Will Smith, Tyler Perry and others, has also been noted as one of the “10 Producers to Watch” by Variety magazine.
This year’s festival will expect a filmmaker from all over the world to converge on Nashville. The festival presents more than 65 films representing the United States, Africa, the United Kingdom and South America to name a few.
“This is truly an international event that has garnered great respect, interest and participation from film artisans all over,” said Hazel Joyner-Smith, IBBFN founder and chief executive officer. “We are proud to host thousands of attendees – filmmakers, actors and aficionados alike.”
Since its start in 2006, the number of film’s submitted for consideration and attendees has nearly tripled. This year, organizers expect thousands to be in attendance.
To view the complete schedule of the 2010 International Black Film Festival of Nashville, visit www.ibffnashville.com.