Inaugural Black Film Festival Debuts in Austin Next Month

Austin, TX – Building on the city’s tradition of celebrating the arts, Capital City Black Film Festival will be honoring urban filmmakers from September 26‐28 in the city’s first festival dedicated to recognizing black filmmakers and actors.

The event will host competitive screenings of documentaries, features, shorts, and music videos, as well as exclusive licensed content shown in private screenings. The festival will also include panel discussions on topics such as modern film production and distribution, and will feature acclaimed filmmakers and activists such as former Austinite and film producer, Julius Tennon, co‐founder of Juvee Pruductions in Los Angeles California and Deborah Riley Draper creator of Versailles ’73: American Runway Revolution. 

CCBFF is the creation of brothers Winston G. and Harrell D. Williams, and they have laid much of the groundwork for the inaugural event through personal financing and good old‐fashioned sweat equity. Their mission is to provide up‐and‐coming Black filmmakers the opportunity to showcase their works and tap into the vast resources available in the Austin area and in Texas.

The brothers say the festival will fill a void in the Austin entertainment scene. “My brother and I have both spent a lot of time visiting film festivals across the country, and the one thing Austin lacks is this type of event,” says Winston, co‐founder of CCBFF, who is an entrepreneur, writer and an actor. “With the tremendous amount of growth happening across the city, we believe that Austin is ready to host its next big event in entertainment, and that’s CCBFF.”

Starting a film festival from scratch, however, is a massive undertaking, and the two have been working non‐stop to bring the state’s big names to the table. With the festival drawing closer and the final pieces coming together, the two filmmakers turned to the team behind a community staple: Austin Urban Music Festival (AUMF).
“When we met with the team at AUMF, they immediately threw their support behind us,” says Harrell, co‐founder of CCBFF and a filmmaker himself. “There are independent filmmakers who have unique compelling content, and Austin is a perfect place to let these unsung artists shine. We see a need in our community, and we are honored to be working with a team that shares this common vision with us.”

Not only has AUMF lend support, the Texas Film Commission, Austin Film Commission, Austin Film Festival and the Capital City African American Chamber of Commerce have all joined CCBFF and are all assisting CCBFF bring the vision to fruition.

***About Capital City Black Film Festival:
Capital City Black Film Festival (CCBFF) exists to provide burgeoning Black filmmakers from across the nation an opportunity to showcase their works in one of the top cities in the United States for independent filmmakers, Austin Texas. CCBFF also educates filmmakers on the vast resources available to them in Austin, and in Texas.
This year’s festival itinerary includes three days of educational and empowering film screenings, panel discussions and networking opportunities. In addition, the CCBFF’s prestigious Red Carpet “Star Awards” will recognize the achievements of emerging screenwriters, directors, actors and music video producers/directors.
The Goals of the Capital City Black Film Festival are to:

•    Promote diversity through cultural expressions, dialogue and understanding.

•    Promote and display works that express the African‐American experience.

•    Attract economic growth and development to the state of Texas and the city of
Austin by bringing all aspects of the film and television industry into the state.

•    Create opportunities to sharpen film production and marketing skills through
workshops and panel discussions.

•    Provide an opportunity to view the vast film industry resources available in the
city of Austin and in Texas.

•    Provide an opportunity to network with industry professionals and film
enthusiasts.

(For more information, visit http://www.CCBFF.org or email ororinfo@capcitybff.com)

Ticket Prices:
Full Festival Pass: Day Passes:    $119

Session Passes:    $35

Panel Discussions:    $50

Party:    $25

Awards Ceremony:    $25

$199 (less with early bird reduction)

Submitted by Winston G. Williams, (512) 301‐4141