THE INEVITABLE DEFEAT OF MISTER & PETE To Close BET Urbanworld Film Festival; Larenz Tate to Serve as Fest Ambassador

Jennifer Hudson as “Gloria,” the troubled mother of son Mister (Skylan Brooks) in THE INEVITABLE DEFEAT OF MISTER & PETE

Actor Larenz Tate – star of the BET original movie GUN HILL – will serve as festival ambassador for the upcoming 17th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival presented by BET Networks, which runs September 18 to 22, 2013 at midtown Manhattan’s AMC 34th Street. George Tillman’s THE INEVITABLE DEFEAT OF MISTER & PETE will be the official Closing Night Film on September 21, 2013.

Known for iconic performances in Love Jones, Menace II Society, Dead Presidents and Why Do Fools Fall in Love?, Tate will attend the Gun Hill screening on Friday,September 20 at 8:00pm. Directed by Reggie Rock Bythewood, the film centers around a pair of identical twins on opposite sides of life: Trane, a cop, and Bird, a con (both played by Tate). On one fateful night, Trane is killed. Bird assumes his identity and begins his own search for redemption.

“I’m honored to not only have my new BET project, ‘Gun Hill,’ premiering here, but to also be festival ambassador of this year’s Urbanworld Film Festival,” said Tate. “This festival is a celebration of multicultural art and its diverse and innovative contributors. I look forward to working with the Urbanworld team and enjoying some great films!”

Directed by Tillman and written by Michael Starrbury, the festival’s Closing Night Film THE INEVITABLE DEFEAT OF MISTER & PETE stars Skylan Brooks, Ethan Dizon, Jordin Sparks, Golden Globe® and Emmy® Award winner Jeffrey Wright, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Anthony Mackie and Academy Award® and Golden Globe® winner Jennifer Hudson. Jana Edelbaum, Rachel Cohen, and Bob Teitel produced the film with Alicia Keys, Susan Lewis, Clay Floren, Aimee Shieh, Julio Depietro, Keith Kjarval, Mary Vernieu, and Amy Nauiokas executive producing.

THE INEVITABLE DEFEAT OF MISTER & PETE is a beautifully observed and tremendously moving film about salvation through friendship and the way transformation sometimes can happen just by holding on long enough. During a sweltering summer in New York City, 13-year-old Mister’s (Skylan Brooks) hard-living mother (Jennifer Hudson) is apprehended by the police, leaving the boy and nine-year-old Pete (Ethan Dizon) alone to forage for food while dodging child protective services and the destructive scenarios of the Brooklyn projects. Faced with more than any child can be expected to bear, the resourceful Mister nevertheless feels he is an unstoppable force against seemingly unmovable obstacles. But what really keeps the pair in the survival game is much more Mister’s vulnerability than his larger-than-life attitude. 

Urbanworld also announced the official jurors for this year’s festival, award category sponsors and prizes.

NARRATIVE FEATURES JURORS

Dori Begley – Senior Vice President, Magnolia Pictures

Nikkole Denson-Randolph – Vice President – Specialty & Alternative Content, AMC Theatres

Zola B. Mashariki – Senior Vice President, Production, Fox Searchlight Pictures

Valerie Meraz – Vice President, Program Acquisitions, Turner Entertainment Networks

 Maria Zuckerman – Vice President, HBO Films

NARRATIVE SHORTS JURORS

Andre Des Rochers – Partner, Gray Krauss Stratford Des Rochers LLP

Kelly Edwards – VP, Talent Development, HBO

Smokey D. Fontaine – Chief Content & Creative Officer, Interactive One

Niija Kuykendall – Vice President, Production Warner Bros. Pictures

Frida Torresblanco – Award Winning Producer

DOCUMENTARY FEATURES JURORS

Jacqueline Glover – Vice President, Documentary Films, HBO

Shola Lynch – Award-Winning Filmmaker

Tricia Rose – Professor of Africana Studies, Brown University

SCREENPLAY JURORS

Scott Budnick – President, Green Hat Films

Franklin Leonard – Founder, The Black List

Christopher Mack – Vice President, Warner Bros. Television Workshop, Warner Bros. Entertainment

Constance Orlando – Vice President, Original Programming, BET Networks

Heather Morris Washington – Manager, Emerging Writers Fellowship Program, Universal Pictures

TELEPLAY JURORS

Roger Bobb – President & CEO, Bobbcat Films

Nkechi Okoro Carroll – Writer

Erica Montolfo-Bura – Executive Producer

FESTIVAL PRIZES

Best Narrative Feature – Presented by Fox Audience Strategy – $5,000 Cash Prize

Best Documentary Feature

Best Narrative Short – Presented by HBO – $5,000 Cash Prize

Best Screenplay – Presented by BET Networks – $5,000 Cash Prize

Best Teleplay – Presented by BET Networks – $5,000 Cash Prize

Audience Awards for Best Feature & Best Short