NEW YORK, Sept. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- The Urbanworld Film Festival, presented by BET Networks, will launch its five-day festival at Magic Johnson Theaters Harlem (300 W. 125th St.) on Wednesday, September 10 with the stand-up comedy extravaganza, Steve Harvey: Still Trippin'. Steve Harvey, a film festival favorite since Urbanworld's presentation of The Original Kings of Comedy in 2000, returns to Urbanworld presenting his newest film success.
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In an all-new live stand-up performance presented by Codeblack Entertainment, Still Trippin' features Steve Harvey once again commanding the stage. On a trip where no topic is off limits, from tattoos and family weddings to polygamous compounds and diaper-wearing astronauts, Harvey keeps it real and never misses a beat. Filmed in New Jersey to a packed house, his energy and comedic timing are second to none.
"We're very excited to have Steve Harvey return to the festival," states Stacy Spikes, founder of Urbanworld. "He has always been an Urbanworld audience favorite."
"Having fan favorite Steve Harvey join us on opening night will ensure the Urbanworld festival starts off in an incredible way," said Alvin Bowles, Senior Vice President, Integrated Marketing, BET Networks. "BET Networks supports Urbanworld's inherent ability to continuously attract such high quality talent from both in front of and behind the camera to be a part of the festival."
"With its broad list of marquee sponsors, this year's Urbanworld festival showcases the importance of the event's unique selling environment," said Louis Carr, President, Broadcast Media Sales, BET Networks. "In our partnership with Urbanworld, we are proud to embrace the affinity our audience shares with the world of film."
The Urbanworld Film Festival, with 2008 Honorary Chair Queen Latifah, is dedicated to the exhibition of independent and mainstream cinema by and about people of color. Urbanworld will screen 85 films in New York City from September 10 through 14. With the exception of the opening film, all festival screenings will be held at the AMC Loews 34th Street Theaters.
A recent addition to the festival slate, the Cinemax presentation of the new original series Zane's Sex Chronicles will preview at The Urbanworld Film Festival. In association with New York Times best-selling author Zane and Oscar(r) nominee and two-time Emmy(r) winner Suzanne de Passe, this new series will debut Friday, October 10 (midnight ET), with new episodes on subsequent Fridays at the same time, exclusively on Cinemax. This new urban late-night series -- based on the wildly popular book series by the same name -- follows heroine Patience James and her girlfriends Maricruz, Lyric, Eboni and Ana Marie as they take on their lives in the big city, look for love and empower themselves -- both in and out of the bedroom.
RECENTLY ADDED SPONSORS
CoverGirl Queen Collection joins the Festival this year as a 2008 Prestige Sponsor, the highest available after that of Presenting Sponsor BET Networks and Founding Sponsor HBO. The Queen Collection's participation will feature multi-platform support of the Festival consisting of Title Sponsorship of the Closing Night Presentation of Fox Searchlight's The Secret Life of Bees starring Academy Award nominee Queen Latifah, on-air support of the BET broadcast of "Inside Urbanworld: A Conversation with The Queen," and exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of Queen Latifah as she prepares for her role as Honorary Chair of the 12th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival that will stream online at http://www.bet.com/ and http://www.urbanworld.org/.
Time Warner Cable joins the Festival sponsor lineup this year at the Prestige level. As part of their sponsorship, Time Warner Cable will host the annual Filmmaker's Ball reception on September 10th, which kicks off the Festival event schedule. Time Warmer Cable customers receive an exclusive 20% discount to the VIP all-access pass to the Festival. Visit http://www.urbanworld.com/ for more information.
ABOUT THE 2008 URBANWORLD FILM FESTIVAL:
Beginning this year, BET Networks has signed on for a three-year strategic partnership to present the Urbanworld Film Festival. The unique partnership, strengthened by BET's position as the leading media and entertainment provider for African-Americans and consumers of Black culture, will further establish the festival as one of the world's largest competitive film festivals designed to redefine and enhance the roles of multicultural constituents in contemporary cinema.
ABOUT BET NETWORKS:
BET Networks, a division of Viacom Inc. , is the nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary BET channel reaches more than 87 million households according to Nielsen Media Research, and can be seen in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of business extensions: BET.com, a leading internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; BET Digital Networks -- BET J, BET Gospel and BET Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET Event Productions, a full-scale event management and production company; BET Home Entertainment, a collection of BET-branded offerings for the home environment including DVDs and video-on-demand; BET Mobile, which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, an extension of BET network programming for global distribution.
ABOUT CODEBLACK ENTERTAINMENT
Codeblack Entertainment, the first African-American owned film studio, is engaged in the business of producing, acquiring, marketing and distributing quality content to today's urban consumer across a variety of traditional and digital platforms. The company, which is both independent and vertically integrated, was created out of the necessity for the positive representation of African Americans in film. Codeblack's reach is all encompassing, from production and national distribution of feature films to its innovative E- commerce arm.
ABOUT URBANWORLD FILM FESTIVAL:
Urbanworld launched in August 1997 and was founded by former executive at Miramax Stacy Spikes. Over the past eleven years, Urbanworld has presented approximately 700 features, shorts and documentaries, with estimated attendance reaching 15,000+. Now in its twelfth year, the Urbanworld Film Festival is the largest internationally competitive festival of its kind. Urbanworld re-defines the competitive film festival landscape with its fresh and necessary approach to spreading the voices of a multicultural world. The Urbanworld Film Festival is an initiative produced by the Urbanworld Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to implementing programs and events that support the development and success of the urban filmmaking community. Stacy Spikes serves as chairman emeritus. Gabrielle Glore serves as executive producer.
OPENING NIGHT FILM Steve Harvey: Still Trippin' (Presented by Codeblack Entertainment) Magic Johnson Theaters Harlem (300 W. 125th St.) September 10, 2008 Approximately 7:30pm http://www.urbanworld.org/
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