ABFF Comedy Festival

The ABFF Comedy Festival is a new spinoff event from the American Black Film Festival (ABFF) dedicated to showcasing emerging Black and Brown comedians and comedy writers. Its mission is to unite the multicultural comedy community in Hollywood and help propel new generations of diverse artists to stardom by introducing them to the industry at large.

The comedy festival will center on two national competitions; one for stand-up comics and the other for screenplay writers of comedic feature films. The four-day event will also present live stand-up comedy performances, celebrity talks and writing workshops, as well as screenings of studio and network films and television content in the comedy genre. The festival will culminate with Black Comedy Live, a global pay-per-view special featuring top headline comics.

The ABFF organization has a legacy of supporting Black comedians, dating back to its inception in Acapulco in 1997. Many of today’s top names in the industry have performed at the festival in the early stages of their careers, including Kevin Hart, Cedric The Entertainer, Mike Epps, J. B. Smoove, Yvonne Orji, Chris Spencer, D.L. Hughley, Sheryl Underwood, Earthquake, Craig Robinson, Tommy Davidson, Bill Bellamy and Ricky Smiley, among others.

The inaugural ABFF Comedy Festival, to be held June 2-13, 2021, will be a combination of the live shows in Los Angeles and virtual events available exclusively on ABFF PLAY a streaming platform focused on Black culture and creativity.