NEW YORK, NY (Nov 6-16, 2023) – The 27th Annual Urbanworld® Film Festival (www.urbanworld. org), along with prestige partner Warner Bros. Discovery and founding partner HBO, announced the 2023 award winners for the best narrative feature, documentary feature, documentary short, young creator, narrative short (U.S. and World Cinema), animated short, experimental, screenplay, as well as the New York Women in Film and Television awards for best female director, feature and short; as it closed its festival yesterday. 

 

The nation’s largest competitive multicultural film festival screened 73 official selections, 7 spotlight screenings, 3 spotlight conversations, and featured 5 Urbanworld Innovation sessions and 4 original screenplay finalists.

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2023 Urbanworld Film Festival Award Winners are:

 

BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE (U.S.) - Frybread Face and Me - Directed by Billy Luther

THE JURY:

Darcy Heusel - VP of Audience Engagement and Impact, NEON

Efuru Flowers - Founder and CEO, Flourishing Films

Sue Ellen Chitnuya - Filmmaker and Academy Member

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U.S./WORLD CINEMA NARRATIVE FEATURES 

• Chronicles of a Wandering Saint (Argentina) – Directed by Tomás Gómez Bustillo (New York Premiere)

• Frybread Face and Me – Directed by Billy Luther (New York Premiere) Winner

• INKY PINKY PONKY (New Zealand) – Directed by Damon Fepuleai, Ramon TeWake (U.S. Premiere)

• To Live and Die and Live – Directed by Qasim Basir

• Young. Wild. Free. – Directed by Thembi Banks (New York Premiere)

• Sira (Burkina Faso) – Directed by Apolline Traoré (U.S. Premiere) WINNER

 

BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE (U.S.) - Frybread Face and Me - Directed by Billy Luther

 

THE JURY:

Darcy Heusel - VP of Audience Engagement and Impact, NEON

Efuru Flowers - Founder and CEO, Flourishing Films

Sue Ellen Chitnuya - Filmmaker and Academy Member

 

BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE (WORLD) - Sira - Directed by Apolline Traoré

Honorable Mention: Inky Pinky Ponky - Directed by Damon Fepulea'i and Ramon TeWake

 

THE JURY:

Darcy Heusel - VP of Audience Engagement and Impact, NEON

Efuru Flowers - Founder and CEO, Flourishing Films

Sue Ellen Chitnuya - Filmmaker and Academy Member

 

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE – Brief Tender Light - Directed by Arthur Musah; Presented by ESPN Films

 

THE JURY:

Jackie Glover - Emmy-Winning Executive Producer

Leslie Fields-Cruz - Executive Director, Black Public Media

Sarah Eshaghian - Coordinator, HBO

 

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT – Slice - Directed by Zaire Love

Honorable Mention - Things Long Left Unsaid - Directed by Antonia Thornton

 

THE JURY:

Jackie Glover - Executive Producer

Leslie Fields-Cruz - Executive Director, Black Public Media

Sarah Eshaghian - Coordinator, HBO

 

BEST YOUNG CREATOR – The Old Young Crow - Directed by Liam LoPinto

Honorable Mention - Shallots and Garlic - Directed by Andrea Nirmala Widjajanto

Presented by The Walt Disney Studios

 

THE JURY:

Ramona Wright - Founder and CEO, WrightOne Media Group

Phillip Domfeh - Senior Manager, Disney+ Launchpad

Julian Newman - Founder and CEO, Culture Creative

Will Schnable - Programs Manager Equity and Inclusion, Warner Bros. Discovery 

 

BEST NARRATIVE SHORT (U.S.) – Spaceship - Directed by Jorge G. Camarena

Honorable Mention - Jerome - Directed by Gianfranco Fernández-Ruiz; Death and Ramen - Directed by Tiger Ji

 

THE JURY:

Amanda Ross - Director, TV Programming DEI, NBCUniversal

Kecia Cole - Director, Fiction, BRIC

Kierna Mayo - Writer, Editor, and Media Executive

Marquis Daisy - Producer, ESPN Films

 

BEST NARRATIVE SHORT (WORLD) – Yellow - Directed by Elham Ehsas

 

THE JURY:

Tamara McCaw - Chief Civic Program Officer, The Shed

Ivonne Cotorruelo - Film Programmer

Amy Andrieux - Executive Director, Chief Curator, Mocada

 

BEST ANIMATION SHORT – Tomato Kitchen - Directory by Junyi Xiao

Honorable Mention - Lil Ruby - Directed by Bartek Kik

 

THE JURY:

Ramona Wright - Founder and CEO, WrightOne Media Group

Phillip Domfeh - Senior Manager, Disney+ Launchpad

Julian Newman - Founder and CEO, Culture Creative

Will Schnable - Programs Manager Equity and Inclusion, Warner Bros. Discovery 

 

BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM – Quiet As It’s Kept - Directed by Ja’Tovia M. Gary

 

THE JURY:

Tamara McCaw - Chief Civic Program Officer, The Shed

Ivonne Cotorruelo - Film Programmer

Amy Andrieux - Executive Director, Chief Curator, Mocada

 

BEST SCREENPLAY – Long Live AJ - Written by Marvin Van Buren

Honorable Mention - The Washroom - Written by Elie El Choufany and Omar Al Dakheel

 

THE JURY:

Tracey Moore - EP, The Spirited Actor Podcast (iHeart Radio); Celebrity Acting Coach

Sonja Perryman - Writer, Producer, Actress

Joshua Sanchez - Screenwriter + Member of Writers Guild of America, East

Jenny Mayer - Screenwriter, Playwright + Member of Writers Guild of America, East 

 

URBANWORLD AUDIENCE AWARD BEST SHORT – Homing - Directed by Ricardo Varona

 

URBANWORLD AUDIENCE AWARD BEST FEATURE – Brief Tender Light - Directed by Arthur Musah

 

NYWIFT AWARD for BEST FEMALE DIRECTOR, US NARRATIVE FEATURE

Sira - Directed by Apolline Traoré

Presented by New York Women In Film & Television

 

NYWIFT AWARD for BEST FEMALE DIRECTOR, US NARRATIVE SHORT

Lunch Box - Directed by Anne Hu

Reunion - Directed by Zainab Jah

Presented by New York Women In Film & Television

 

THE JURY: 

Katie Chambers, NYWIFT Senior Director of Community & Public Relations 

Cynthia Lopez, NYWIFT CEO

Gretchen McGowan, NYWIFT Board

Amenya Makuku, NYWIFT Board

Emelyn Stuart, NYWIFT Board