The Virginia Black Film Festival is the premiere celebration of Black Culture through film!
Screenings and panels take place on the campus of Hampton University over the course of 4 days.

Film executives will conduct educational panels and seminars including a distribution panel and a production masterclasses. Celebrity guest speakers have included actor Clifton Powell, 36-time Emmy wining director Jesse Vaughan, and executive from Paramount Pictures and Maverick Entertainment.

The event is sponsored by Maverick Entertainment, a nationwide producer and distributor of Black cinema. Maverick supports independent film producers by providing a pipeline between independent producers and major streaming platforms including Fox Soul, Peacock, Redbox, Pluto TV, Plex, Roku, Freevee, Amazon Prime Video, Hoopla, Crackle, Xumo, Sling, Afro TV Land, and several others. Maverick also operates its own television channel, Maverick Free Black Cinema. Distribution deals are made each year at the festival.

IN-PERSON, 3-DAY FESTIVAL!
The festival features content from throughout the African Diaspora in multiple genre. The awards ceremony is celebrated live in an elaborate gala with food, live music, photo ops and red carpet interviews.

VABFF is open to films with:
Stories the revolve around or highlight Black culture
Films with Black directors
Films with Black lead characters

Awards & Prizes

BEST in the following categories will be awarded the following:
FEATURE - Trophy + $1000
STUDENT FILM - Trophy
ACTOR IN A SHORT - Trophy
ACTOR IN A FEATURE - Trophy
ACTRESS IN A SHORT - Trophy
ACTRESS IN A FEATURE - Trophy
DOCUMENTARY SHORT - Trophy
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE - Trophy
HISTORICAL FEATURE - Trophy
HISTORICAL SHORT - Trophy
MICRO-SHORT (Under 5 minutes) - Trophy
NARRATIVE SHORT - Trophy
ANIMATED SHORT - Trophy
SCI-FI (FEATURE) - Trophy
SCI-FI (SHORT) - Trophy
COMEDY - Trophy
DRAMA - Trophy
ENSEMBLE CAST - Trophy
CINEMATOGRAPHY - Trophy
SET DESIGN - Trophy
MUSIC / SCORE - Trophy
DIRECTING (SHORT) - Trophy
DIRECTING (FEATURE) - Trophy
EDITING - Trophy
SERIES - Trophy
ACTION FILM - Trophy
ACTION SEQUENCE - Trophy
SCREENPLAY - Trophy
SOUND DESIGN - Trophy
AUDIENCE CHOICE - Trophy

Rules & Terms

1. FilmFreeway is the only acceptable means of submitting content to VABFF.
2. By submitting, creator affirms that all respective copyrights and permissions to screen have been obtained.
3. VABFF is open to films with:
a. Stories the revolve around or highlight Black culture
b. Films with Black directors
c. Films with Black lead characters
4. Acceptance into VABFF is at the sole discretion of the VABFF Board and Selection Panel.
12 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Safiya Songhai

    My film won best documentary short at this very important emerging film festival held at the prestigious Hampton University. Clifton Powell was honored at this event and recognized for his decades in the industry.

    Wonderful event. Great people.

    April 2024
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  • Deborah Harris

    I was extremely honored to place as a Finalist is this wonderful competition!! Keep up the good work!!

    March 2024
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  • Cetre Pegues

    What Bryan and his team have done with this festival is nothing short of magnificent. This is a much needed festival for the area and I am glad to have been a part of it and grateful for our film "Superheroes" taking the best micro short film prize!

    March 2024
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  • Kendra Rainey

    This was truly the best Film festival that I've been to and I can't wait for next year to come to attend the next one. It was amazing to network with people from all over.

    March 2024
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  • Lynette Jones

    This was a great festival. The award show was first class very professional, fun atmosphere. It was a great place to network with other up and coming filmmakers. We are so glad that we went and participated. Bryan thank you for a great experience.

    March 2024
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