TRESSA SMALLWOOD & KJ SMITH TALK ABFF AND "AVAILABLE WIFE" WITH TANISHA LAVERNE GRANT (4907 hits)
Tressa Azarel Smallwood's original narrative feature, The Available Wife, starring KJ Smith premiered at the first online edition of the prestigious American Black Film Festival which took place from August 21 - 30, 2020 headquartered at https://www.abff.com/. For the first time, ABFF 2020 will presented Jury Awards – Best Director, presented by Cadillac, (prize $10,000), Best Narrative Feature, presented by Prudential Financial, (prize $2,500), and Best Screenplay and the John Singleton Award for Best First Feature, sponsored by Netflix, during a virtual edition simulcast "The Best of the ABFF Awards Ceremony" on IMDb as well as its homepage on closing night.
The Available Wife, directed by Jamal Hill, ran the duration of the festival, is a romantic original feature written by Tressa Azarel Smallwood (BET's All In), Hill (Deuces) and Kyjuan Cleveland. The riveting drama centering on the collision of money, affairs, power and lies stars KJ Smith (Sistas, The Family Business) as 'Nicole Wright,' a beautiful and successful music CEO whose life is about to crumble in front of her. While having an affair with the s*xy artist on the rise who promises her everything, 'Kingston' portrayed by Terayle Hill (Step Up: High Water), Nicole learns the hard way that looks can be deceiving and his motives are as dark as the secrets she keeps. Clifton Powell (Ray) and Roger Guenveur Smith (Dope) round out the cast in the 100 minute gem produced by Smallwood and her MegaMind Productions along with Audrea Topps Harjo.
The online fest will assuredly bring the energy and magic of the live fest as it spotlights the best of independent Black cinema, studio premieres, conversations and panels, along with virtual networking events. And, Of the 90 films featured at ABFF 2020, 90% of the submissions are from Black filmmakers, 70% are first time filmmakers and more than 40% are from women like rising filmmaking star Tressa Azarel Smallwood. "I am so very honored to be included with the hand-picked significant female filmmakers, who no matter the challenge 'bring it' resulting in quality films that stand the test of time," says Smallwood.
About Tressa Azarel Smallwood and MegaMind Media
MegaMind Media is an American film and production company specializing in book to film adaptations and original television series and programming founded by Award Winning Book Publisher, Tressa Azarel Smallwood. In 2003 after writing her first novel, Tressa resigned from her teaching tenure in the Maryland school system to fulfill her dream of becoming an entrepreneur. Since, she has published over 162 titles in print and digitally, becoming one of the leading independent publishing companies thriving in the literary industry today. Tressa has produced several award-winning movies which have been adapted to film and TV series for networks such as ViacomCBS/BET, TV ONE, URBAN MOVIE CHANNEL and more. With an ever increasing volume of content, Tressa has positioned MegaMind Media to become the fastest growing film production companies in America. https://www.tressaazarel.com/
