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True Crime Spin Off “When Love Kills: The Falicia Blakely Story” Set to Debut Friday, June 16, Followed  by Q&A with Tasha Smith, Lil Mama, Tami Roman, and Lance Gross
 
The 2016 ABFF TV One Screenplay Competition Finalist and Honorable Mention Winner “Downsized” Set to Debut Thursday, June 15, Followed by Q&A with Boris Kodjoe, Nicole Ari Parker and Director Rhonda Baraka
 

News One Now with Roland Martin to Broadcast Live From the Festival on Thursday, June 17 and Friday, June 18 at 7 am ET
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. – JUNE 14, 2017 – TV One returns to Miami for the 21st Annual American Black Film Festival (June 14-18), and the third annual ABFF TV One Screenplay Competition winner announcement. The network will also host, in partnership with Cadillac, the popular Celebrity Scene Stealers event, and debut two original movies – Downsized written by 2016 ABFF TV One Screenplay Competition finalist and honorable mention winner Michelle McKissick, and When Love Kills: The Falicia Blakely Story, directed by actress Tasha Smith.
 
On Wednesday, June 14, Senior Vice President of Original Programming D’Angela Proctor will kick off TV One’s participation at the festival as a panelist at the ABFF Creators Summit event, You Made It To The Festival, Now What? Later, she will give opening remarks at ABFF’s Opening Night Film Premiere of Universal Pictures’ Girls Trip.
 
News One Now will broadcast live from Miami on Thursday and Friday morning from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. ET during ABFF. Host and Managing Editor Roland S. Martin will integrate exclusive interviews with the actors and filmmakers from ABFF into the daily show, in addition to behind-the-scenes coverage of festival events and regular news. Guests will include Lance Gross, Tami Roman and Lil Mama among others.
 
On Thursday, June 15, TV One presents the premiere of the original movie, When Love Kills: The Falicia Blakely Story at The Colony Theatre at 2:45 p.m ET. Following the screening, a panel discussion will feature the film’s stars and creative team, including Lil Mama (CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story), Lance Gross (Sleepy Hollow, House of Payne), Tami Roman (Belle’s, Basketball Wives) Tiffany Black (Vice Principals), Tasha Smith (Empire, For Better Or Worse, Power), who makes her feature film directorial debut, and writer Cas Sigers-Beedles (Girlfriends Getaway I and II). The film tells the tragic, ripped-from-the-headlines story of Falicia Blakely (Lil Mama), a teen mom in 90s era Atlanta who only knows life in the fast lane. When she becomes an exotic dancer, she attracts the attention of charismatic pimp and predator, Dino (Gross). His empty promises of a life together turn Falicia into a pawn in his dangerous games and she’s forced to prove her love for him at the expense of innocent lives. The film was inspired by an episode of TV One’s original true crime series For My Man, about women who committed unspeakable crimes in the name of romance. The TV One telecast premiere is scheduled for September 2017.
 
Additionally, ABFF guests can attend a special networking session called “Breakfast & Bites” at 10 a.m. inside the Loews Hotel for industry insiders to connect over coffee with TV One executives.
 
Friday, June 16 marks the return of one of the most popular ABFF events, Celebrity Scene Stealers at the New World Center at 12 p.m. ET. During the event The ABFF TV One Screenplay Competition finalists will set up and direct a scene from their scripts as performed by actors  Nicole Ari Parker (Soul Food), Boris Kodjoe (Soul Food, Undercovers), Lance Gross, Lil Mama, Tobias Truvillion (Empire) and Lisa Wu (RHOA) in front of a live audience. This year’s finalists are Timothy Folsome, writer of the drama “Down For Whatever”; Roni Brown, writer of the romantic comedy “Mr. Wonderful”; and Sade Sellers, writer of the thriller “The Replacement.”
 
Following Celebrity Scene Stealers, screenwriter and The 2016 ABFF TV One Screenplay Competition finalist and honorable mention winner Michelle McKissick will debut her original film, Downsized with a Spotlight Screening at The Colony Theatre at 3 p.m. ET. In Downsized,two high school sweethearts played by Parker and Kodjoe in danger of losing the family and success they have built take an unconventional adventure to bring it all back together. After the screening, the cast and director Rhonda Baraka (Pastor Brown, The Secret She Kept) will hold a question and answer session. The TV One broadcast premiere of the film is scheduled for October 2017.
 
On Saturday, June 16, Roland S. Martin, host and managing editor of TV One’s News One Now, will moderate “The Business of Entertainment,” with director, writer, and producer John Singleton, presented by Verizon. During the event, Singleton will share insights from his three decades in the entertainment industry, from being the youngest director to receive the Best Director Oscar nomination in 1991 for Boyz N The Hood, to creating the new FX series Snowfall, and more.
 
The festival will close out on Sunday, when the winner of this year’s TV One Screenwriting Competition will be announced at the ABFF Filmmaker Ceremony. The winner will earn 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 One and at the 22nd Annual ABFF.   Lastly, there will be a free community screening which includes Downsized at the Little Haiti Cultural Center at 5 p.m. ET.
 
TV ONE’S ABFF SCHEDULE
 
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14
 
ABFF Creators Summit: You Made It To The Festival, Now What?
Time:  9:30 a.m. ET
TV One Participants: Senior Vice President of Original Programming D’Angela Proctor
Location:  Betsy Hotel, 1440 Ocean Drive, Miami, FL 33131
 
Opening Night Film: Girls Trip
Courtesy of Universal Pictures
Time:  8 p.m. ET
TV One Participants: Senior Vice President of Original Programming D’Angela Proctor
Location:  Olympia Theater, 174 E. Flagler Street, Miami, FL 33131
 
 
THURSDAY, JUNE 15
 
Industry Expo:  Breakfast & Bites with TV One
Time:  10 a.m. – 1 p.m. p.m. ET
TV One Participants: Festival attendees can stop by for exclusive TV One swag, to win cool prizes and more! Join TV One for a morning network session with industry insiders and learn all about the network that represents the best of Black culture.
Location:  Rotunda of Loews Miami Beach Hotel, 1601 Collins Ave, Miami, FL 33139
 
 
When Love Kills: The Falicia Blakely Story Spotlight Screening – Sponsored by Cadillac
Time:  2:45 p.m. ET
TV One Participants: Director Tasha Smith; Stars Lil Mama, Lance Gross, Tami Roman; writer Cas Sigers-Beedles, director of photography Bruce Francis Cole and TV One executives
Location:  The Colony Theater, 1040 Lincoln Rd, Miami, FL 33131
 
FRIDAY, JUNE 16
 
Celebrity Scene Stealers – Sponsored by Cadillac
Time:  12 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. ET
TV One Participants: ABFF Finalists Timothy Folsome, Roni Brown, and Sade Sellers; The2016 ABFF Screenplay Competition Finalist Michelle McKissick, Nicole Ari Parker, Boris Kodjoe, Lance Gross, Lil’ Mama, Tami Roman, and director Rhonda Baraka.
Location:  New World Center Performance Hall, 500 17th Street, Miami, FL 33131
 
Downsized Spotlight Screening – Sponsored by Cadillac
Time:  3 p.m. ET
TV One Participants: The 2016 ABFF TV One Screenplay Competition Finalist Michelle McKissick, stars Nicole Ari Parker, Boris Kodjoe, and director Rhonda Baraka
Location:  Colony Theater, 1040 Lincoln Rd, Miami Beach, FL 33139
 
SATURDAY, JUNE 17
 
ABFF Talk Series “The Business of Entertainment with Director John Singleton,” moderated by News One Now’s Roland Martin. Presented by Verizon
Time:  4 p.m. ET
TV One Participants: News One Now’s Roland S. Martin
Location:  New World Center Performance Hall, 500 17th Street, Miami, FL 33131
 
SUNDAY, JUNE 18
 
ABFF Filmmaker Ceremony
Time:  10 a.m. ET
TV One Participants: ABFF Finalists, D’Angela Proctor
Location:  New World Center Performance Hall, 500 17th Street, Miami, FL 33131
 
Downsized  Community Screening
Time:  5 p.m. ET
TV One Attendees: Director Rhonda Baraka, Executive Vice President of Affiliate Sales & Marketing Michelle Rice, President Brad Siegel
Location:  Little Haiti Cultural Center, 212 NE 59th Terrace, Miami, FL 33131
For more information about TV One’s upcoming programming, including original movies, visit the network’s ABFF companion website at TV One At ABFF . TV One viewers can also join the conversation by connecting via social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@tvonetv) using the hash tags #TVOneatABFF and catch clips and promos on TV One’s YouTube Channel.
To purchase passes and tickets for events, panels and screenings at the American Black Film Festival, log on to www.ABFF.com. Fans may also join the conversation on social media by logging on to ABFF’s multiple social media platforms: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube
 
ABOUT ABFF:
The American Black Film Festival (ABFF) is an annual event dedicated to showcasing quality film and television content by and about people of African descent. The festival is committed to the belief that Black artists and content creators deserve the same opportunities as their mainstream counterparts.ABFF founder Jeff Friday, conceived the festival in 1997 as a vehicle to promote diversity in the motion picture industry, and strengthen the Black filmmaking community through resource sharing, education, artistic collaboration and career development. Today, the ABFF is recognized as the preeminent pipeline to new Black talent, both in front of and behind the camera, and is regarded as one of the leading film festivals in the world. The ABFF is a property of ABFF Ventures, LLC., which is a partnership between Film Life, Inc., and Black Enterprise.
 
ABOUT TV ONE:
Launched in January 2004, TV One serves 59 million households, offering a broad range of real-life and entertainment-focused original programming, classic series, movies and music designed to entertain and inform a diverse audience of adult black viewers. The network represents the best in black culture and entertainment with fan favorite shows Unsung, Rickey Smiley For Real, Fatal Attraction, The Manns and The NAACP Image Awards.  In addition, TV One is the cable home of blockbuster drama Empire, and News One Now, the only live daily news program dedicated to black viewers. In December 2008, the company launched TV One High Def, which now serves 14 million households. TV One is solely owned by Urban One, Inc., formerly known as Radio One, Inc. [NASDAQ: UONE and UONEK, www.urban1.com], the largest African-American owned multi-media company primarily targeting Black and urban audiences.
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TV One Media Contacts:
Tosha Whitten-Griggs, TWhitten-Griggs@tvone.tv or 301-367-4818 (mobile)
Alonda Thomas,  athomas@tvone.tv or 240-688-9061 (mobile)