BOSSIP is on the scene at the 30th annual American Black Film Festival, where your faves are sizzling and slaying, including the cast of Malcolm D. Lee’s new thriller, Strung.
The fest kicked off in style Wednesday night with the Miami Beach premiere of the film, bringing out stars Chloe Bailey, Lynn Whitfield, Coco Jones, and Lucien Laviscount for a glamorous opening-night celebration.
Held under this year’s “The Homecoming” theme, the milestone edition of ABFF opened with an electrifying performance from Florida Memorial University’s ROAR Marching Band, whose high-energy set transformed the arrival experience into a HBCU-style cultural celebration ahead of the film’s debut.
A press release reports that inside the premiere, Chloe, Lynn, Coco, Lucien, Romy Woods, Shaun Sutton, and Donna Biscoe joined Malcolm, producer Dominique Telson, and executive producer Giselle Johnson-Morris in introducing the Peacock and Blumhouse feature to festivalgoers.
The opening-night festivities also drew a notable crowd of industry names and cultural figures, including NICE CROWD co-founders Jeff Friday and Nicole Friday, ABFF ambassador Regina King, and comedian Kountry Wayne.
Following the premiere, attendees headed to The Bass for the festival’s official opening-night party, where guests toasted three decades of ABFF and the start of another star-studded celebration of Black film, television, and storytelling.
ABFF Will Feature A Slate Of Panels & The “Best Of ABFF Awards”
A press release reports that this year’s festival is also spotlighting Netflix’s Celebration of Black Television panel featuring Debbie Allen, Felicia Pride, Courtney Kemp, Mario Van Peebles, Michelle Buteau, Crystle Stewart, Taylor Polidore Williams, and A Different World star Maleah Joi Moon, alongside CBS’ immersive Beyond The Gates high tea experience with Clifton Davis, Daphnée Duplaix, and executive producer Sheila Ducksworth.
STARZ is also bringing Power Book III: Raising Kanan to the festival with an exclusive look at the show’s fifth and final season, featuring Mekai Curtis and London Brown.
The festival will conclude with the “Best of the ABFF” Awards ceremony on May 30 at the New World Center, where filmmaker Steven Caple Jr. will receive the 2026 ABFF Alumni Award, recognizing his rise from ABFF short film winner to blockbuster director behind Creed II and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.
The closing-night celebration will also include a special performance from Grammy-winning singer Anthony Hamilton and honor standout independent filmmakers across narrative, documentary, and episodic categories.
Click HERE for the full schedule.
