Things are heating up in Miami Beach as ABFF makes a return for their 27th annual film festival! With They Cloned Tyrone being the opening night film, movie goers got to see actor John Boyega, who played Fontaine in the film, get into character by serving three separate red carpet looks.
Harlem season 2 is back and things take a wild turn as these four ambitious friends tap into new careers, new self-discovery, and…. old love?
Knockturnal had the chance to catch up with ABFF Ambassador, Issa Rae, to chat about her highly
anticipated series, Rap Sh*t.
The new comedy series follows two Miami-based rappers, Shawna (Aida Osman) and Mia (KaMillion)
attempting to find success in the music industry.
“It’s something for the summer!” Issa stated, “Whether you’re a creative in the music industry or just an
entrepreneur in general, there’s something to relate to in this particular story.”
In recent years, we’ve witnessed Issa Rae becoming a mogul with all of the other projects she’s done
leading up to this moment; from running her entertainment company (Hoorae Media), opening up a
black-owned coffee shop in Inglewood, gracing several magazine covers, and more. She
expressed to Knockturnal how making time for herself came with some challenges.
“I took all of January off and that was hard for me”, she explained. She went on to discuss why that
month was so grand. “My birthday is in January, the first day of the year is in January and that’s when
I’m the most productive”, she expressed. Taking that month off made her realize that rest is needed to
create space for new ventures.
Knockturnal also had the opportunity to attend the HBO Max Power of Visibility (POV) event to chat
with the behind-the-scenes talent of Rap Sh*t: Eliza Diop, Chris Sanford, Montreal Mckay, Aida
Osman, and Nina Gloster.
The writers of Rap Sh*t made it clear that this show isn’t about the real-life popular rap duo City Girls.
The City Girls actually serves as co-executive producers for the show and they inspired some of the
character arcs in the series.
“We can’t come to Miami and tell the story without tapping in with the City Girls”, Montreal exclaimed as he spoke about the influence Miami female rappers had in the entertainment industry, “Everyone up here, including
Issa has such reverence for what these women are doing now.”
Aida Osman, who’s a writer and also plays “Shawna” on the show, tells us about developing the
characters in the writer’s room, “In the writer’s room, we naturally tell our own personal stories that
relate to the characters. We get very personal and deeply vulnerable about our story, especially being a creative that’s
sensitive about their work”.
Rap Sh*t will premiere July 21st on HBO Max.
Kyla Pratt, Paula Jai Parker, and Jo Marie Payton set the stage at ABFF to share what’s next for season
two on the highly anticipated series, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder.
Dr. Vernard Hodges and Dr. Terrance Ferguson are not just Critter Fixers, they are Critics Choice Award
winners! The two Georgia natives won the Critics Choice Award for best animal/nature show on
television.
Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump and Director Nadia Hallgren graced us with their presence at the 26th annual American Black Film Festival.
The Outlaws (2022) is a new comedy series set to premiere on Prime Video and The Knockturnal got to chat with some of the cast and crew! This show follows seven completely different strangers who have all committed crimes and will have to complete a community service program.
Steven Merchant and Elgin James wrote the series together and they explained how the show came about in the first place. Elgin expresses this script was created during the Trump era when the world felt divided and triggered all the time. “On the outside, we look very different and come from different backgrounds but we actually have so much in common.” Steven chimes in and adds “This show gives you the opportunity to try to get into the headspace of these different characters.”
We also interviewed some of the cast members about the characters they portray in the series. Gamba Cole plays the role of “Christian” who is a security guard for a nightclub and also is a caretaker for his sister. Rhianne Barreto plays “Rani” who’s an intelligent young woman that got into Oxford University but ended up doing mischievous things that landed her in the community service program.
As the viewers continue watching the series, we get to explore more about the characters in each episode which will eventually lead to a plot twist none of us saw coming.
The Outlaws is premiering on Prime Video starting April 1st!
Season 2 of The Wilds is back and Knockturnal had the opportunity to chat with the cast and crew!
Last season, the series followed a group of teenage girls stranded on a remote island but soon found out they were a part of a social experiment. This season, the social experiment now focuses on a group of teenage guys. As you watch each episode, the story continues to unravel the depth of this experiment.
It was nice to see some familiar faces making a return for season 2. Writers Sarah Streicher and Amy Harris expressed they spent a lot of time crafting detailed versions of these male characters. “[We wanted to] use their stories to honor the male coming of age experience the way we have done in the first season.”
The new male cast consists of; Charles Alexander, Zack Calderon, Nicholas Coombe, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Aidan Laprete, Tanner Rook, Reed Shannon, and Alex Fitzalan. These guys brought on a new dynamic to the social experiment and they also mentioned how this experience allowed them to become a family while filming.
Lastly, Fans are dying to know if the character “Nora Reid” played by Helena Howard will be making an appearance in the season. Be sure to check out the new season of The Wilds only on Prime Video!
“The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey” is a limited series based on a novel by Walter Mosely.