When your company’s mantra is ‘Because Hollywouldn’t,’ that’s a bold statement when it comes to setting a goal and making the world realize that the contributions of blacks aren’t on par in Hollywood. That’s been true in the past and even now, although some progress has been made. It can go for the movies, filmmakers, actors and most definitely the consumer and everything and everyone in between.
No doubt Jeff Friday has influence as it relates to independent films being showcased to an audience a filmmaker or anyone involved in the making of an indie film needs and/or wants. Film Life, Inc., the umbrella company for The American Black Film Festival (ABFF), one of several entities that Friday helms, is instrumental in exposing the unexposed to the marketplace and is also a launching pad to the mainstream film industry that many hopefuls have their eyes on.
As this year’s ABFF is taking place in New York City, June 19-22, Jeff Friday, speaks to Black Enterprise (a premiere sponsor of this year’s festival) regarding the origins of the ABFF, the importance of independent films and what future plans are in the works.
Black Enterprise: What is Film Life, Inc. and why was it created and what does Film Life, Inc. do?
Film Life, Inc. is a multi-faceted entertainment company, founded in 2001 and headquartered in New York City. Best known for creating the American Black Film Festival (ABFF), Film Life, Inc.’s operations center on developing/licensing innovative content across all media platforms, as well as providing strategic advisory services to a wide range of companies in the entertainment, media and consumer product industries. The company was created to fill the gap from a distribution and event production standpoint. The company’s mantra is “Because Hollywouldn’t” which addresses the idea that Hollywood tends to ignore the African American consumer. The ethos behind Film Life, Inc. is to blend distribution, events and content. One of the many goals of the Film Life, Inc., one that is less commercial, is to promote African American people in multimedia, along with operating a profitable company with a clear business model. The ABFF this year was more than movies and we had high level sponsors, like HBO and Nickelodeon which are television companies. The idea is to stimulate people’s interest in black talent and to expand the ABFF/Film Life brand. One of the new projects we are working on are movie theatres in appropriate markets that will serve to distribute African American films.
To Read More Go To BlackEnterprise.com
