Urbanworld Film Festival

THE INEVITABLE DEFEAT OF MISTER & PETE To Close BET Urbanworld Film Festival; Larenz Tate to Serve as Fest Ambassador

Jennifer Hudson as "Gloria," the troubled mother of son Mister (Skylan Brooks)Jennifer Hudson as “Gloria,” the troubled mother of son Mister (Skylan Brooks) in THE INEVITABLE DEFEAT OF MISTER & PETE

Actor Larenz Tate – star of the BET original movie GUN HILL – will serve as festival ambassador for the upcoming 17th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival presented by BET Networks, which runs September 18 to 22, 2013 at midtown Manhattan’s AMC 34th Street. George Tillman’s THE INEVITABLE DEFEAT OF MISTER & PETE will be the official Closing Night Film on September 21, 2013.

Known for iconic performances in Love Jones, Menace II Society, Dead Presidents and Why Do Fools Fall in Love?, Tate will attend the Gun Hill screening on Friday,September 20 at 8:00pm. Directed by Reggie Rock Bythewood, the film centers around a pair of identical twins on opposite sides of life: Trane, a cop, and Bird, a con (both played by Tate). On one fateful night, Trane is killed. Bird assumes his identity and begins his own search for redemption.

“I’m honored to not only have my new BET project, ‘Gun Hill,’ premiering here, but to also be festival ambassador of this year’s Urbanworld Film Festival,” said Tate. “This festival is a celebration of multicultural art and its diverse and innovative contributors. I look forward to working with the Urbanworld team and enjoying some great films!”

Directed by Tillman and written by Michael Starrbury, the festival’s Closing Night Film THE INEVITABLE DEFEAT OF MISTER & PETE stars Skylan Brooks, Ethan Dizon, Jordin Sparks, Golden Globe® and Emmy® Award winner Jeffrey Wright, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Anthony Mackie and Academy Award® and Golden Globe® winner Jennifer Hudson. Jana Edelbaum, Rachel Cohen, and Bob Teitel produced the film with Alicia Keys, Susan Lewis, Clay Floren, Aimee Shieh, Julio Depietro, Keith Kjarval, Mary Vernieu, and Amy Nauiokas executive producing.

THE INEVITABLE DEFEAT OF MISTER & PETE is a beautifully observed and tremendously moving film about salvation through friendship and the way transformation sometimes can happen just by holding on long enough. During a sweltering summer in New York City, 13-year-old Mister’s (Skylan Brooks) hard-living mother (Jennifer Hudson) is apprehended by the police, leaving the boy and nine-year-old Pete (Ethan Dizon) alone to forage for food while dodging child protective services and the destructive scenarios of the Brooklyn projects. Faced with more than any child can be expected to bear, the resourceful Mister nevertheless feels he is an unstoppable force against seemingly unmovable obstacles. But what really keeps the pair in the survival game is much more Mister’s vulnerability than his larger-than-life attitude. 

Urbanworld also announced the official jurors for this year’s festival, award category sponsors and prizes.

NARRATIVE FEATURES JURORS

  • Dori Begley – Senior Vice President, Magnolia Pictures
  • Nikkole Denson-Randolph – Vice President – Specialty & Alternative Content, AMC Theatres
  • Zola B. Mashariki – Senior Vice President, Production, Fox Searchlight Pictures
  • Valerie Meraz – Vice President, Program Acquisitions, Turner Entertainment Networks
  •  Maria Zuckerman – Vice President, HBO Films

    • NARRATIVE SHORTS JURORS

  • Andre Des Rochers – Partner, Gray Krauss Stratford Des Rochers LLP
  • Kelly Edwards – VP, Talent Development, HBO
  • Smokey D. Fontaine – Chief Content & Creative Officer, Interactive One
  • Niija Kuykendall – Vice President, Production Warner Bros. Pictures
  • Frida Torresblanco – Award Winning Producer

    • DOCUMENTARY FEATURES JURORS

  • Jacqueline Glover – Vice President, Documentary Films, HBO
  • Shola Lynch – Award-Winning Filmmaker
  • Tricia Rose – Professor of Africana Studies, Brown University

    • SCREENPLAY JURORS

  • Scott Budnick – President, Green Hat Films
  • Franklin Leonard – Founder, The Black List
  • Christopher Mack – Vice President, Warner Bros. Television Workshop, Warner Bros. Entertainment
  • Constance Orlando – Vice President, Original Programming, BET Networks
  • Heather Morris Washington – Manager, Emerging Writers Fellowship Program, Universal Pictures

    • TELEPLAY JURORS

  • Roger Bobb – President & CEO, Bobbcat Films
  • Nkechi Okoro Carroll – Writer
  • Erica Montolfo-Bura – Executive Producer

    • FESTIVAL PRIZES

  • Best Narrative Feature – Presented by Fox Audience Strategy – $5,000 Cash Prize
  • Best Documentary Feature
  • Best Narrative Short – Presented by HBO – $5,000 Cash Prize
  • Best Screenplay – Presented by BET Networks – $5,000 Cash Prize
  • Best Teleplay – Presented by BET Networks – $5,000 Cash Prize
  • Audience Awards for Best Feature & Best Short 

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