Issa Rae is the 2024 American Black Film Festival’s creative director
She’ll be working with the festival’s founders to program its 28th installment.
Issa Rae is the new creative director of Nice Crowd’s American Black Film Festival, Variety reports. She’ll be working with the festival’s co-founders and producers, Nicole and Jeff Friday, to curate the festival’s 2023 program. The event will occur on June 12-15 in Miami Beach.
Rae was the festival’s ambassador last year and has previewed the past two seasons of her TV show Rap Sh!t there. Now, she’s stepping into a larger partnership with ABFF. “As one of the first major festivals to showcase my work, ABFF continues to elevate Black creatives from the ground up,” she told Variety.
She continued: “There’s no other festival highlighting us in this way, highlighting our film, highlighting our television shows, and it’s in an elegant way. That’s what I admire so much about this particular festival — it’s so intentional. Even thinking about the awards that they do later, ABFF as a brand is so solid, and I feel proud of having my work showcased here.”
The Fridays appreciate Rae’s contributions to inclusion and diversity, particularly for Black creatives. “We couldn’t think of a better partner to help us continue to embody the ABFF mission of showcasing Black talent — and discovering and amplifying new voices,” they told Variety.
Rae’s foray into film isn’t her only venture outside of TV this year. In July, Raedio — Hoorae Media’s audio division — ended their contract with Atlantic Records and signed a multi-year deal with Def Jam Recordings.