THE URBANWORLD® FILM FESTIVAL
WITH FOUNDING SPONSOR HBO
ANNOUNCES 2019 WINNERS
(NEW YORK) – The 23rd Annual Urbanworld Film Festival (www.urbanworld.org),
along with founding partner HBO, announced the award winners for the best narrative feature (U.S. and World
Cinema), narrative short, documentary feature, documentary short, music video, screenplay, young creators,
web originals as well as the audience award categories during its awards brunch, hosted by Gia Peppers (BET’s
Black Coffee) at Tribeca Grill Loft in New York City this afternoon.
The nation’s largest competitive multicultural film festival screened 78 official selections, 7 spotlight selections,
featured 3 original screenplay finalists and hosted numerous digital and music events.
Actors Cynthia Erivo,
Tika Sumpter, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Tyrese Gibson, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Kelvin Harrison Jr., Meagan Good, Joe
Morton, Nafessa Williams, Vondie Curtis Hall, Henry Hunter Hall, Yvette Nicole Brown, Gbenga Akinnagbe,
Tim Blake Nelson, Karan Kendrick, RonReaco Lee, Mark Tallman and Tobias Truvillion; talk show host Tamron
Hall; Academy Award® winning screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher; directors Kasi Lemmons, Deon Taylor,
Anthony Mandler and the Academy Award® winning Roger Ross Williams; producers Lori McCreary, Debra
Martin Chase, Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Lisa Cortes, Tonya Lewis Lee, Alana Mayo and Nikki Silver; journalists
Michelle Miller, Salamishah Tillet, Jelani Cobb, Cori Murray and Felice León, attorney Bryan Stevenson and
artist Meshell Ndegeocello were among the many that appeared throughout the five day festival this year.
The 2019 Urbanworld Film Festival winners are:
BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE (U.S. CINEMA) – Yellow Rose – Directed by Diane Paragas
https://www.urbanworld.org/2019/yellow-rose
THE JURY:
Doris Casap, SVP, Film Programming, HBO
Ellene V. Miles, SVP, Intersectional Marketing, Sony Motion Pictures
Tilane Jones, President, ARRAY
BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE (WORLD CINEMA) – The Ghost And The House Of Truth – Directed by Akin Omotoso
https://www.urbanworld.org/2019/the-ghost-and-the-house-of-truth
THE JURY:
Adriana Ambriz, VP, Content, One Community
Chika Chukudebelu, VP, Development, Universal Content Productions, NBCUniversal
Frida Torresblanco, Producer
Joe Morton, Actor/Director
Nnamdi Asomugha, Actor/Producer
BEST NARRATIVE SHORT – Cap – Directed by Marshall Tyler
Presented by HBO Collabs—$5,000 Prize
https://www.urbanworld.org/2019/cap Honorable Mention – Be A Fish – Directed by Aisha Ford
https://www.urbanworld.org/2019/be-a-fish
THE JURY:
Brenda Gilbert, Co-Founder & President, BRON Media Corp.
Dionne Harmon, VP, Development, Jesse Collins Entertainment
Talitha Watkins, Motion Picture Agent, Creative Artist Agency
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE – The Remix: Hip Hop x Fashion – Directed by Lisa Cortés and Farah X
https://www.urbanworld.org/2019/the-remix-hip-hop-x-fashion
THE JURY:
Jackie Glover, SVP, Documentary Films, HBO
Rachel Watanabe-Batton, Producer & Founder, Contradiction and Struggle
Shola Lynch, Curator, Moving Image & Recorded Sound, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT – Black Girl Church – Directed by Marissa Pina
https://www.urbanworld.org/2019/black-girl-church
THE JURY:
Jackie Glover, SVP, Documentary Films, HBO
Rachel Watanabe-Batton, Producer & Founder, Contradiction and Struggle
Shola Lynch, Curator, Moving Image & Recorded Sound, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
BEST YOUNG CREATOR – Tree #3 – Directed by Omer Ben-Shachar
https://www.urbanworld.org/2019/tree-3
Presented by NBCUniversal—$2,500 Prize
THE JURY:
Diane Houslin, Producer
Matthew Thurm, Producer
Sharese Bullock-Bailey, Chief Strategy & Partnership Officer, Ghetto Film School
Tamir Muhammad, Producer & Founder, Populace
BEST MUSIC VIDEO – Soif (Thirst) – Directed by Mimi Lee
https://www.urbanworld.org/2019/soif-thirst
THE JURY:
Kedar Massenburg, Co-Founder, Akonik Label Group
Naima Cochrane, Founder, This is cltr.
Richelle Cross, CEO, Class and Sass Promotions
Stephen G. Hill, CEO, Tricpelvis Productions, LLC
BEST WEB ORIGINAL – Brothers from the Suburbs – Directed by Patrick Wimp
Presented by Warner Media—$2,500 Prize
https://www.urbanworld.org/2019/brothers-from-the-suburbs
Honorable Mention: Soul City: Grace – Directed by Coodie & Chike
https://www.urbanworld.org/2019/soul-city-grace
THE JURY:
Imran Siddiq, Executive, Warner Media’s OneFifty
Janine Sherman Barrois, Writer, Producer, Showrunner
Jeron Smith, Co-Founder & CEO, Unanimous Media
Kesila Childers, VP, Development, Powderkeg
BEST SCREENPLAY – Midnight In Kansas – Written by Malik Aziz
Presented by BET Networks—$10,000 Prize
https://www.urbanworld.org/screenplays
THE JURY:
Jeremy Pikser, VP, Writer’s Guild of America East
Paige Simpson, Manager, Scripted TV, Will Packer Media
Ty Bristol, Manager, Scripted Programming, BET Networks
AUDIENCE AWARDS
BEST FEATURE – Yellow Rose – Directed by Diane Paragas
https://www.urbanworld.org/2019/yellow-rose
BEST SHORT – Wonder – Directed by Javier Molina
https://www.urbanworld.org/2019/wonder