Lena Waithe Named Ambassador of 2023 American Black Movie Fest

Lena Waithe will function the ambassador of subsequent yr’s American Black Movie Competition (ABFF). The twenty seventh version of the fest is about to happen June 14 to 18 in Miami Seaside adopted by a digital occasion June 19-25 on ABFF PLA. A press launch introduced the information. 

As ambassador, the Emmy-winning author, actor, and producer will elevate consciousness for the fest’s mission to raise Black expertise and amplify emergent voices in cinema. Former ambassadors embody “Insecure” creator and star Issa Rae, Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry, and “Empire” alumna Taraji P. Henson.

“I’m excited to collaborate with the competition to shine a light-weight on distinctive and groundbreaking tales and the creatives behind them,” stated Waithe, who just lately appeared within the within the fifth and remaining season of Pamela Adlon’s “Higher Issues.”

Competition producer and ABFF president Nicole Friday praised the multi-hyphenate for her advocacy for underrepresented storytellers in Hollywood. “Lena is a powerhouse within the movie and tv trade and a trailblazer for rising inventive artists,” she stated in an announcement. “Her dedication to raise numerous voices personifies ABFF’s dedication to diversify Hollywood.”

Beforehand, Waithe was a recipient of the Business Renaissance Award on the 2020 ABFF HONORS, an accolade celebrating “content material creators whose exemplary work in movie and tv contributes to altering perceptions of individuals of shade within the leisure trade,” the discharge explains. 

Waithe made historical past on the 2017 Emmys when she grew to become the primary Black lady to win Excellent Writing for a Comedy Collection for her work on “Grasp of None.” Her different small display credit embody “The Chi” and “Twenties,” each of which she created. She penned “Queen & Slim,” Melina Matsoukas’ function directorial debut a couple of Black couple who go on the run after killing a white cop in self-defense.

The ABFF is an annual occasion championing excellence in movie and TV content material by and about of us of African descent, and is “devoted to the assumption that numerous artists deserve the identical alternatives as their mainstream counterparts,” per the competition’s web site.