"Tales" opens Urban World film Festival Sept 21 in NYC

Legendary music executive Irv “Gotti” Lorenzo redefines the music genre with BET’s "Tales," a scripted anthology series of "song stories," using lyrics of classic and current hip-hop songs and reimagines them into mini-movies. Fetty Wap's Trap Queen will serve as the thematic backdrop of the episode that will screen at the festival on Thursday, September 21 at 8:00 p.m. Lorenzo will participate in a Q&A immediately following the screening of the episode. 

OWN's Queen Sugar Mid Season premiere at Urban World Film Festival Sept 23

Renowned filmmaker Ava DuVernay returns to the festival on Saturday, September 23 at 5:00 p.m. to debut the midseason premiere of “Queen Sugar.” In the contemporary drama on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, the Bordelon siblings struggle to move forward with their lives as they strive to honor the legacy of their father following his unexpected passing. Immediately following the screening, series stars Rutina Wesley, Dawn-Lyen Gardner and Kofi Siriboe will appear in conversation with DuVernay along with legendary director Julie Dash, who joins the second straight season of an all-female directorial team handpicked by DuVernay. 

Marshall starring Chadwick Boseman Closes Urban World Film Festival Sept 23 in NYC

The U.S. premiere of Marshall will close the festival on Saturday, September 23 at 8:00 p.m. Long before he sat on the United States Supreme Court or claimed victory in Brown v. Board of Education, Thurgood Marshall (Chadwick Boseman) was a young rabble-rousing attorney for the NAACP. The film marks the true story of his greatest challenge in those early days – a fight he fought alongside attorney Sam Friedman (Josh Gad), a young lawyer with no experience in criminal law: the case of black chauffeur Joseph Spell (Sterling K. Brown), accused by his white employer, Eleanor Strubing of sexual assault and attempted murder. Award-winning journalist Tamron Hall will moderate a Q&A with Boseman, Brown, Gad and Academy Award® nominated director Reginald Hudlin immediately following the screening of the film.

Huddling will also serve as the ambassador for the 2017 Urbanworld Film Festival. The acclaimed director and producer is a pioneer of the modern black film movement, helming some of the most influential films and TV series of his generation including House Party, Boomerang and “Black Panther.” Most notably, he was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar® as one of the producers of Quentin Tarantino’s Academy Award® and Golden Globe® -winning film Django Unchained, one of the top-grossing Westerns of all time. 

When Love Kills NYC premiere Aug 15 2017

On Tuesday evening in NYC TV One held the NYC premiere of When Love Kills: The Felicia Blakely Story which stars Lil Mama, Lance Gross, Tami Roman and directed by Tasha Smith.

When Love Kills: The Felicia Blakely Story  Lil Mama plays the lead role of Falicia Blakely- a teen mother who works at a strip club.

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While there, she meets Dino (played by Lance Gross), and the two enter a relationship that soon turns dangerous. Also starring Tami Roman and directed by Tasha Smith, the film is based on a harrowing true story that made headlines back in 2004. 

Check out the interviews and pics from the red carpet below