Tickets and Passes for 12th Annual American Black Film Festival on Sale Now!

                   Festival Opens August 7 In Los Angeles



    NEW YORK, July 15 /EMWNews/ -- Film Life's 12th annual American

Black Film Festival (ABFF) opens Thursday, August 7, in Los Angeles.

Festival passes and tickets can be purchased now at Ticket Web

(http://www.ticketweb.com) or http://www.abff.com. "We are excited to be back in Los

Angeles for our second year. We have worked very hard to make our festival

accessible to everyone and hope that the Los Angeles community comes out to

experience the best new work by and about people of African descent," said

Jeff Friday, founder/CEO of Film Life, Inc., and the ABFF.



    This year's festival will feature the ABFF Signature Events including:

Off The Record: A Conversation with Young Hollywood; ABFF Remembers ...

Waiting to Exhale; Can We Get Some Love? -- Exploring Black Sexuality &

Romance in American Cinema; as well as the HBO(R) Short Film Competition,

which is celebrating its 11th year at the Festival. Actor Dennis Haysbert

has signed on to preside over the ABFF Grand Jury, Angela Bassett, Lela

Rochon and Loretta Devine have been confirmed to attend ABFF Remembers and

Lauren London and Anthony Mackie have been confirmed to participate on the

Young Hollywood panel. The HBO Documentary, The Black List, written by film

critic Elvis Mitchell, will close this year's festival. The Black List

provides a unique view into the zeitgeist of Black America, and features

interviews with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Sean "P-Diddy" Combs, Vernon Jordan,

Toni Morrison, Al Sharpton, Russell Simmons and Serena Williams, among

others.



    Founded in 1997, the mission of the ABFF is to strengthen the Black

filmmaking community through resource sharing, education, artistic

collaboration and career development. Since its inception, over 500

independent films have been screened, seventy per cent of which have gone

on to secure theatrical or DVD distribution. Festival alumni include

director Sylvain White (Stomp the Yard) and producers Rob Hardy and Will

Packer (This Christmas and Stomp the Yard), producer Roger M. Bobb (Tyler

Perry's Why Did I Get Married and Daddy's Little Girls) and writer/director

Frank E. Flowers (Haven). The ABFF was born out of the need to generate

distribution opportunities for independent Black films and promote cultural

diversity within the motion picture industry. It is widely considered the

premier Black film market. Festival attendance is expected to exceed 5,000

people.



    The ABFF's four film sections -- Shorts, Narrative Features,

Documentary Features and World Showcases -- will provide increased

visibility to the films that will be screened this year. Filmmakers will be

recognized and rewarded with cash and other prizes at the ABFF Awards

Presentation on Sunday, August 10h at the WGA Theatre. Prices for tickets

are: Festival Passes $500, WGA West Writers Workshop Passes $200, Opening

Night Cocktail Reception & Film Screening $75, Movie Tickets $12, Allstate

and Nielsen Symposiums $30, Signature Events (HBO Short Film Competition,

Black Sexuality and Young Hollywood panels) $45, Closing Night Gala (Awards

Presentation and Film) $150. To purchase passes or tickets visit

http://www.abff.com or http://www.ticketweb.com



    "The support of our corporate partners, led by presenting sponsor

Allstate(R), founding and premiere sponsor HBO(R), along with our other

premiere level sponsors: luxury automaker Lincoln, Target, and BET J,

allows the festival to continue to grow and nurture artists in a variety of

disciplines," said Friday.



    Other 2008 festival sponsors include: Blockbuster, Heineken (Official);

Nielsen Media Research, One Village Entertainment, Fox Searchlight

Pictures, Codeblack Entertainment, Nickelodeon, Fox Entertainment Group,

FOX Searchlight, Grey Goose (Supporting); SAG Indie, Writers Guild of

America West, Greater Philadelphia Film Office, Illinois Film Office, Foxx

King Entertainment (Industry); Black Enterprise, Uptown, Upscale, Black

Noir, Heart&Soul, Precious Times, Automotive Rhythms, Toy Box, Monarch,

Hope Today Magazine, NV, Save the Date, KJLH-FM and EUR Web (Media).



    The ABFF is a property of Film Life, Inc., a New York-based film

marketing and distribution company. Its mission is to spearhead the global

distribution of quality Black films and be the leading American brand

producing Black movies, television, events and digital content. Film Life's

key properties include the American Black Film Festival (abff.com); The

Black Movie Awards (blackmovieawards.com); and the ABFF DVD Series

(thefilmlife.com), a partnership with Warner Home Video.



    The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) is the nation's largest publicly

held personal lines insurer. Widely known through the "You're In Good Hands

With Allstate(R)" slogan, Allstate helps individuals in approximately 17

million households protect what they have today and better prepare for

tomorrow through approximately 14,900 exclusive agencies and financial

representatives in the U.S. and Canada. Customers can access Allstate

products and services such as auto insurance and homeowners insurance

through Allstate agencies, or in select states at allstate.com and 1-800

Allstate(R). Encompass(R) and Deerbrook(R) Insurance brand property and

casualty products are sold exclusively through independent agents. The

Allstate Financial Group provides life insurance, supplemental accident and

health insurance, annuity, banking and retirement products designed for

individual, institutional and worksite customers that are distributed

through Allstate agencies, independent agencies, financial institutions and

broker-dealers.



    Festival and registration information is available online at

http://www.abff.com, or by e-mail: [email protected].