2016's Winning Screenplay "Tale of a Script," Written by N'zuri Za Austin,
Set to Debut as a TV One Original Movie at Next Year's Festival
And Premiere On-Air in Summer 2017
SILVER SPRING, MD - DEC. 15, 2016 - TV One continues to encourage aspiring film writers with the announcement of its third annual American Black Film Festival (ABFF) sponsorship and screenplay competition. Created to promote the production of creative, contemporary, engaging and relatable screenplays, the 2017 TV One Screenplay Competition, which opens Friday, Dec. 16, will highlight three new writers who will vie for a $5000 cash prize and a chance to have their screenplay produced into an original, made-for-TV movie, which will debut in 2018 on TV Oneand at the 22nd American Black Film Festival.
"We're thrilled to partner with the American Black Film Festival on our screenplay competition for the third year in-a-row," said D'Angela Proctor, TV One's SVP, Original Programming & Production. "Our ability to help spotlight up-and-coming talent is vital to the growth of our industry. This year, we want to encourage contestants to offer fresh perspectives on their stories. Whether a comedy, drama, family adventure or heart-warming holiday tome, the film entries should find ways to both connect with and entertain the Black community."
The three 2017 TV One Screenplay Competition finalists will receive an all-expense paid trip to next year's festival in Miami (June 14-18, 2017) and will observe a scene from their script being performed by professional actors at a Table Read. This Grand Prize winner will be announced at the "ABFF Filmmaker Ceremony" on Saturday, June 18. The competition opens on Friday, Dec. 16, 2016 and applicants have untilThursday, Feb. 16, 2017 to submit their screenplays for consideration. Official rules and submission information is available on TV One's website and on ABFF's website.
TV One's 2016 ABFF Screenplay Competition winner N'zuri Za Austin will debut her original film Tale of a Script at next year's festival tentatively set for Sunday, June 18. The film will then also premiere on TV One in summer 2017. In Tale of a Script, Brandon is a script reader who shares a collection of short stories he found in a pile of "unreads" that narrate the dangers of social networking. The stories, each telling of the dangers that await us behind the keystroke of our computer screens, are a puzzle piece that will lead us on a journey of deceit.
TV One began its sponsorship of the ABFF TV One Screenplay Competition in 2015 with the debut of Runaway Island (Lorraine Touissant, Aisha Hinds, Thomas Q. Jones, A. Russell Andrews, Erica Tazel), written by the 2014 winnerChristopher Brandt. This year, the network premiered Bad Dad Rehab, an original film highlighting the ups and downs of parenthood by scriptwriter and 2015 winnerKeronda "Kiki McKnight." The film, which centers around four men in denial of their poor parenting skills features, featured a star-studded cast - Malik Yoba, Wesley Jonathan, Robert Ri'chard, Rob Riley, Rick Gonzalez and Kandi Burruss. Bad Dad Rehab, was also directed by Carl Seaton, and recently received a 2017 NAACP Image Awards nomination for Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture (Television).
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