Urbanworld is the largest internationally competitive festival dedicated to the exhibition of independent cinema by and about people of color.
[Film Festival]
The winners of the 16th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival in several categories were announced by the organizers.
The festival, presented by BET Networks, announced the winners of the narrative feature, documentary feature, narrative short, screenplay, teleplay and audience award categories.
The five-day festival was held September 19-23 and concluded today with an awards reception at Tribeca Grill Loft, sponsored by Warner Bros. Pictures and HBO and hosted by actors Stephen Hill (Barbasol) and Tracy Heggins (The Last / First Kiss, Cherry Waves). Urbanworld, which screened 49 films this year (including 17 world premieres), is the largest internationally competitive festival dedicated to the exhibition of independent cinema by and about people of color.
The 16th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival winners are:
Best Narrative Feature
FOUR
Directed by Joshua Sanchez
Honorable Mention:
Wolf – Directed by Ya’Ke Smith


Best Narrative Short
RECORD/PLAY
Directed by Jesse Atlas
Honorable Mention:
“Forever In Hiatus” – Directed by Andy Nguyen

Best Documentary Feature
SOUL FOOD JUNKIES
Directed by Byron Hurt
Honorable Mention:
Jake Shimabukuro: Life on 4 Strings – Directed by Tadashi Nakamura
Best Screenplay
“AGENT 12 & THE MESSIAH STONE”
Written by Peter Lord
Honorable Mention:
Escaping Bushwick – Written by Javier Ortiz

Best Teleplay
“NALA’S HEART”
Written by Pauline Gray

Audience Award
BARBASOL – Best Short
Directed by Ralph Scott
DOIN’ IT IN THE PARK – Best Feature
Co-Directed by Kevin Couliau & Bobbito Garcia
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The 16th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival Jurors are:
NARRATIVE FEATURES JURORS
• Dori Begley, Senior Vice President of Acquisitions, Magnolia Pictures
• Nikkole Denson-Randolph, Vice President, Specialty & Alternative Content, AMC Theatres
• Lisa Cortes, Producer, Cortes Films
• Rashaad Ernesto Green, Writer/Director, Mi Alma Films
• James Lopez, Senior Vice President, Production, Screen Gems / Sony Pictures Entertainment
NARRATIVE SHORTS JURORS
• Artel Great, Award Winning Filmmaker & Film Historian
• Nick Hall, Vice President, HBO Entertainment
• Niija Kuykendall, Vice President of Production, Warner Bros. Pictures
• Tambay Obenson, Chief Editor, Shadow & Act
• Frida Torresblanco, Producer, Braven Film
DOCUMENTARY FEATURED JURORS
• Michael Eric Dyson, Author, Professor, & Cultural Critic
• Jackie Glover, Vice President, Documentary Films, HBO
• Carleen L. Hsu, Producer, The Kitchen Sync Group, Inc.
SCREENPLAY JURORS
• Franklin Leonard, Vice President, Creative Affairs, Overbrook Entertainment
• Connie Orlando, Vice President, Original Programming, BET Networks
TELEPLAY JURORS
• Jacque Edmonds Coffer, Executive Producer, Let’s Stay Together, BET
• Jocelyn Freid, Vice President, Original Programming, BET Networks
• Erica Montolfo, Executive Producer, The Game, BET
For more information on the Urbanworld Film Festival, visit www.urbanworld.org.
The Urbanworld Film Festival, founded in 1997 by Stacy Spikes, is the largest internationally competitive festival of its kind. The five-day festival includes narrative features, documentaries, and short films, as well as panel discussions, live staged screenplay readings, and the Urbanworld Digital track focused on digital and social media.
