SOCIAL JUSTICE NOW FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES SPOTLIGHT SCREENINGS

DRIVE-IN SHOWING OF “FRUITVALE STATION” AND “JUST MERCY” WILL BE PART OF INAUGURAL FILM FEST SET TO RUN OCTOBER 21ST TO 25TH

LOS ANGELES – October 12, 2020 – The Social Justice Now Film Festival (SJNFF) organized by the Film Life Foundation today announced that the spotlight screenings for the forthcoming festival will bethe documentaries “40 Years A Prisoner,” courtesy of HBO, “Us Kids,” and “SNCC,” executive produced by Pharell Williams and I Am Other., along with narrative feature “REEFA,” The festival also announced that “Just Mercy,” and Ryan Coogler’s award-winning “Fruitvale Station” (both starring SJNFFC Co-Ambassador Michael B. Jordan) will screen opening night at Paramount’s Drive-In Theater on Wednesday, October 21st, sponsored by Amazon Studios. All official selections and spotlight screenings will be available to stream for FREE on abffplay.com, a new digital platform, powered by Endeavor Streaming from October 21st to 25th, 2020.

Additional films to be screened as part of the festival include narrative features “The Obituary of Tunde Johnson,” “Even In Darkness, Cities of Dreams Are Born,” “Raise Your Hand,” and “Riding With Sugar.” The documentaries include “Big Chief, Black Hawk,” “Growing Up Milwaukee,” “HBCU Storytellers: Confederate Monuments – Heritage or Hatred?,” “Hope Village,” “Negros,” “Public Enemy Number One,” “PUSHOUT: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools,” “The Prison Within,” “Sankofa,” “Unlearning Sex,” “When Liberty Burns,” and “Writing on the Wall.” Short films at the festival will include “A Million Eyes,” “Augustus,” “Backwards God,” “Black Unscripted,” “Black.Matters,” “Broken,” “Catch A Girl,” “Eavesdropping on the Elders,” “First Day Back,” “Four Women,” “Free To Be,” “Hermanos,” “In Hollywoodland,” “Man Down,” “Promise Me,” “WBLS,” “Who Will Survive America,” and “White Noise.” In the new media category, “All Things Undone” podcast will be showcased. The slate of films were selected by a jury of industry executives including Endeavor, the parent company of Endeavor Content, which is a Coalition Partner on the event.

“Through these films, we hope to advance the dialogue and help to reshape the narrative of racial and social justice in this country. The festival’s mission is to encourage people to recognize the fierce urgency of now—to watch, reflect, and take action,” said SJNFF creators Jeff and Nicole Friday.

Previously announced, Michael B. Jordan and Black Lives Matter Co-Founder Opal Tometi serve as Co-Ambassadors for the Social Justice Now Film Festival.
The festival can be accessed via www.socialjusticenowfilmfestival.org.

Film Life Foundation is the festival organizer, with Coalition Partners to include ABFF Ventures, Endeavor Content, One Community, and Outlier Society. Sony Pictures Entertainment is the Founding Sponsor, with Principal Sponsors being K Period Media and ShivHans Pictures. The Official Sponsors are Advancing Black Pathways – JP Morgan Chase & Co., Amazon Studios, Peacock, HEINEKEN USA Inc.,, and Amazon Alexa. Impact Partners include the Advancement Project, Color of Change, GoldHouse, Higher Heights for America, IllumiNative, LA Collab, NBJCand When We Vote. BlackLove.com and Black Information Network are Marketing Partners.

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About Film Life Foundation
Film Life Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded by American Black Film Festival creators Jeff and Nicole Friday. Based in Los Angeles, the organization is dedicated to spearheading diversity and inclusion initiatives in the entertainment industry as well as bringing people of different backgrounds, cultures and perspectives closer together using the transformative medium of film. Through its cause-oriented programs – Social Justice, Education & Professional Development and Arts & Cultural Exchange – the foundation will work with underrepresented artists while aiming to bridge the gap and spark engagement between people of African descent and the broader society. The foundation also provides scholarships, grants and other resources to inspire and support minority students interested in pursuing careers in film and television in front of and behind the camera. For additional information go to www.filmlifefoundation.org

About Endeavor Content
Endeavor Content is a global leader in the development, financing and sales of premium film, television, theater and audio content. Endeavor Content seeks to facilitate more ownership and creative freedom for artists, creators and production companies in an ever-evolving media landscape. Endeavor Content is a division of Endeavor, a global entertainment, sports and content company.

About One Community
One Community is a film, television and new media co-financing company that harnesses the power of storytelling to inspire and encourage positive change in the world. Founded and led by entertainment industry veteran and activist Scott Budnick (THE HANGOVER franchise; Founder, Anti-Recidivism Coalition), One Community invests in projects with the power to change hearts and minds on critical issues of equity and equality, and designs robust social impact campaigns to amplify and align the work of philanthropy and policy experts and convert audience empathy into action. The company’s first project was Warner Bros.’ JUST MERCY, starring Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx and Brie Larson based on the true story of attorney and civil rights activist Bryan Stevenson’s fight to free a wrongfully convicted man on death row. Additional projects include KING LEOPOLD’S GHOST, currently in development, to be directed by Ben Affleck and produced by Affleck’s Pearl Street Films, Martin Scorsese and Emma Tillinger Koskoff through Sikelia Productions, and Harry and Gina Belafonte.

About Outlier Society
Outlier Society is a cutting-edge production company focused on bringing an eclectic and inclusive lineup of diverse stories and voices to market, meeting the viewers where they are. The company was founded by Michael B. Jordan in 2016 and was one of the first companies to publicly adopt the inclusion rider. In February 2019, Jordan and Outlier launched the Outlier Fellowship – an internship and mentorship program providing access, opportunity and community to underrepresented young people entering media, arts and entertainment. Outlier Society has co-produced the Emmy-nominated HBO Films’ adaptation of “Fahrenheit 451”, which netted Jordan a Producers Guild Award, and the critically-acclaimed Warner Bros. film, “Just Mercy”, which was awarded a number of accolades including the NAACP Image Award for ‘Best Picture’, the ABFF Award for ‘Movie of the Year’, and a BET Award nomination for ‘Best Movie’. Their impressive slate of upcoming projects includes Amazon Studios’ ‘Without Remorse’, the Denzel Washington-directed feature ‘Journal for Jordan’, and the Danny Boyle-directed ‘Methuselah’, with Jordan set to star in each. Additionally, Outlier Society’s upcoming slate includes the film adaption of the fantasy novel ‘Black Leopard, Red Wolf’ by acclaimed author Marlon James; an untitled original monster movie from ‘Kong: Skull Island’ filmmaker Jordan Vogt-Roberts; a WWII action drama ‘The Liberators’; psychological thriller, ‘The Ancestors’, starring Tika Sumpter for HBO Max; ‘61st Street’ for AMC; and the second season of the OWN drama series ‘David Makes Man’ from Oscar-winning MOONLIGHT co-writer Tarell Alvin McCraney. The first season was nominated as “Best Drama Series” for a Critics’ Choice Award and a Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, as well as for a Peabody Award and a Gotham Award.

About Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE’s global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition, and distribution; television production, acquisition, and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services and technologies. Sony Pictures Television operates dozens of wholly-owned or joint-venture production companies around the world. SPE’s Motion Picture Group production organizations include Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, TriStar Pictures, 3000 Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Stage 6 Films, AFFIRM Films, and Sony Pictures Classics. For additional information, visit http://www.sonypictures.com/corp/divisions.html