The American Black Film Festival and Laugh Out Loud Network Announce Filmmaker Fellowship

Today, the American Black Film Festival (ABFF) and Laugh Out Loud, the comedy brand and multi-platform network created by Kevin Hart and global content leader Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B), announced a new partnership for a filmmaker fellowship showcasing exciting new comedic creative voices. The ABFF and Laugh Out Loud will take submissions for comedic narrative film ideas and scripts that are 5-10 minutes in length and feature diverse casts or have a broad appeal to multicultural audiences, with the top three films to receive a production budget and premiere slot at ABFF.

The "ABFF and Laugh Out Loud Filmmaker Fellowship" begins accepting submissions on March 1, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. PST, ending on March 15, 2018 at 11:59 p.m. PST. ABFF has a rich history of unique programs designed to identify and showcase talent, including directors, writers and other content creators.

"We're excited about this fellowship program and partnership with Kevin Hart and Lionsgate's Laugh Out Loud network. We believe that it will unveil some really talented new writer/directors with authentic and keen comedic sensibility," stated Jeff Friday, ABFF Ventures CEO.

"We're thrilled to partner with ABFF in an official capacity," said Jeff Clanagan, President of Laugh Out Loud. "With their legacy of supporting talent in front of and behind the camera and our mission to make big bets on undiscovered comedic voices, the filmmaker fellowship will continue those initiatives to give a platform to the next generation of diverse, comedic stories."

After submissions close, a panel will select 20 semi-finalists based on a variety of criteria including creativity, comedic integrity, narrative ability, directing, budget restraints, and target demographic. Judges will then narrow down the list to 10 finalists who will be invited to pitch their submissions to a jury consisting of ABFF and Laugh Out Loud representatives. Ultimately, the judges will select three potential winners who will receive an opportunity to have their project produced by Laugh Out Loud, using a fund of up to $20,000 for each filmmaker, and will then premiere their film at the 22nd annual American Black Film Festival in Miami on June 13-17.

Only the first 200 submissions received within the entry period will be accepted to the competition. For complete submission details and to review all eligibility requirements for the

ABFF and Laugh Out Loud Filmmaker Fellowship go to:

http://abffventures.com/filmmakerfellowship/

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