Urbanworld Film Festival Announces 2022 Slate, Sony Pictures and Black Label Media's DEVOTION to Open the Festival

DEVOTION star Jonathan Majors confirmed as festival ambassador 

HBO returns as Founding Partner, Visa serves as Presenting Partner

NEW YORK, Oct. 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Urbanworld Film Festival will mark its 26th year with a strong film slate beginning with an opening night special screening of Sony Pictures and Black Label Media's DEVOTION, directed by JD Dillard, and starring Jonathan Majors. Majors will serve as the festival's official ambassador, HBO will return as a Founding Partner, and Visa, a world leader in digital payments, will serve as Presenting Partner.

"This year's slate is incredibly impressive," said Karen McMullen, Head of Programming. "We have some of the top artists in the industry as well as exciting new voices premiering their films at Urbanworld. We can't wait to see everyone in person in New York City to help us celebrate our dynamic films and filmmakers," she said. 

Prestige Partner Warner Bros. Discovery will host for the second year the Urbanworld Innovation Summit, which will convene industry experts to share insights on the evolving landscape of content creation, financing, distribution, and marketing, all through the lens of digital opportunity.

"Urbanworld has always been a leader in the connection between storytelling, technology and culture by providing an unmatched platform for world class artists, films and new media solutions —whether you're in a creative industry or the business world," said Sharese Bullock-Bailey, Festival Director & Chief Innovation Officer. 

Presenting Partner, Visa, will award $50,000 in cash prizes across the festival, including a top prize of $25,000 to the winner of the FinTech Pitch Competition, powered by Visa. Returning Prestige Partner Ally Financial will offer a $5,000 prize to the winner of the festival's Moguls in the Making Creative Producer category.

Urbanworld's five-day film festival lineup includes a full slate of domestic and international narrative feature-length films, documentaries, shorts, music videos, and more. See the full lineup here: www.urbanworld.org/film-guide-2022/

In addition to DEVOTION, over 100 film entries will be screened, including submissions from the United Kingdom, Colombia, China, New Zealand, France, Mexico and Japan. Supporting partner Peacock will present a special screening of Malcolm D. Lee's The Best Man: The Final Chapters, followed by a conversation to celebrate the series and honor Lee with the festival's Full Circle Award. A world premiere spotlight of Nelson George's Say Hey, Willie Mays! honors an iconic baseball legend and legendary artists come into focus with The Melt Goes On Forever: The Art & Times of David Hammons.

Past Urbanworld participating directors include Ava DuVernay, Ryan Coogler and Dee Rees. More information on the Urbanworld Film Festival and Innovation Summit will be released on www.urbanworld.org as new developments take place. 

About The Urbanworld Film Festival
The Urbanworld Film Festival was founded in 1997 by Stacy Spikes, co-founder of MoviePass, founder of PreShow Interactive, and a former executive at Miramax and October Films. With estimated attendance reaching over 15,000 in-person, the five-day festival showcases narrative features, documentaries, short films, web originals, experimental, spotlight screenings and conversations, and music performances. Hollywood studios, networks and streamers, as well as established and emerging content creators, have consistently chosen Urbanworld to premiere box office hits and award-winning projects. An initiative under the Urbanworld Foundation, the Festival is supported by Founding Partner HBO, Presenting Partner Visa, Prestige Partners Ally Financial, and Warner Bros. Discovery, and Supporting Partners STARZ, Peacock and NBCU Comcast. Visit www.urbanworld.org for more information. 

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SOURCE Urbanworld