Actor Aml Ameen and director Jesse Lawrence will both join the board of the British Urban Film Festival on December the 1st. The appointments are the latest shake-up in a series of announcements by BUFF Enterprises as it looks to further consolidate its’ position as the home of urban film coverage in the UK.
Ameen (who lives in Los Angeles) is currently filming ‘The Butler’ with an all-star cast including Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey and David Oyelowo. Already a familiar face to UK audiences having starred in ‘Kidulthood’, ‘The Bill’ and ‘Harry’s Law’, the actor (who launched his own production company in 2010) has more recently turned his hand to directing with his short films (including ‘Drink, Drugs & KFC’ and ‘12’) screened by the British Urban Film Festival. Equally busy has been Jesse Lawrence who recently made his feature-length directorial debut with ‘The Knot’ and has also had his short film (‘Much Ado about a Minor Ting’) screened by the festival back in 2009.
Preparations are already underway for the 8th British Urban Film Festival in September 2013 and comes off the back of BUFF 2012 which included the UK premiere of ‘Sparkle’ starring the late Whitney Houston. A new company ident has been launched together with the streaming of 5 short films chosen by the British Urban Film Festival board including ‘Closure’ starring Richie Campbell and ‘Jack Sparrow’ for which the director Suli Breaks received the inaugural Knice short film trophy at BUFF 2012.
Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe, founder of the British Urban Film Festival, said: "I'm hugely excited about the future of urban independent cinema in the UK and greatly look forward to the new year with both Aml Ameen and Jesse Lawrence at the helm bringing their passion and commitment to the board and the festival. Whether you’re a paying customer or an aspiring filmmaker, its’ a great time to be a part of the industry”.
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