AWARD-WINNING FILMMAKER MATTY RICH SET TO SCREEN SHORT FILM, “BIRTH OF THE BLACK UNDERWORLD,” AT ESSENCE FILM FESTIVAL

Award-winning indie filmmaker Matty Rich has been selected to screen his short film, BIRTH OF THE BLACK UNDERWORLD, at the Essence Film Festival.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA, June 28, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ — Known for his gritty film content, award-winning indie filmmaker Matty Rich has been selected to screen his much-talked about short, BIRTH OF THE BLACK UNDERWORLD, at the Essence Film Festival. The screening will take place during the Essence Festival of Culture^® at 12:30 p.m. CT on Friday, June 30, 2023 at the Essence Film Festival Theater, located on the 2nd Floor of Hall E at the New Orleans Convention Center. There will also be a Q&A immediately following the screening. To attend the screening, please register at https://www.essence.com/efoc-film-festival-2023/#

“I am more than thrilled to be selected to participate in the Essence Film Festival. This has been a passion project of mine for too many years to mention, and the Essence Festival of Culture is the perfect place and time to showcase this American story,” said Rich.

“I instantly connected with Matty and his vision for ‘Birth of the Black Underworld’ and I knew I wanted to be a part of it,” added Frank Stallone during a recent private screening in Los Angeles.

BIRTH OF THE BLACK UNDERWORLD | 10 minutes runtime | Synopsis

BIRTH OF THE BLACK UNDERWORLD is a gripping drama, written and directed by Rich with an ensemble cast, starring Stallone, a Grammy and Golden Globe nominated actor and artist as well as Rhonda Morman, Thomas Copeland Jr. and George V Andreakos. Set in the 1930s, BIRTH OF THE BLACK UNDERWORLD takes viewers on a fascinating journey into the makings of the Black underworld and the evolving mindsets of a pack of young, would-be gangsters tied to the mafia. The group is led by Satterfield Jackson (Matty Rich), an orphan taken in by respected Italian mobster Marco Ricci (Frank Stallone), who has ties to both the Italian and Jewish mafias. Marco and Satterfield develop a father-son bond — and like any father would do — Ricci grooms Satterfield for the real world: The Underworld.

SCREENING DATE AT THE ESSENCE FILM FESTIVAL| Showtime

• Friday, June 3, 2023 | 12:30 p.m. CT

The screening will be held during the Essence Festival of Culture^® at the Essence Film Festival Theater, located on the 2nd Floor of Hall E at the New Orleans Convention Center.

ABOUT MATTY RICH | writer, director, producer

Highly regarded as one of the pioneers of independent Black filmmaking, Matty Rich burst onto the Hollywood scene in 1991 as the 19-year-old writer, director, actor and producer of his award-winning film STRAIGHT OUT OF BROOKLYN. Rich was discovered by Academy Award-winning director Jonathan Demme (RACHEL GETTING MARRIED, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, PHILADELPHIA) during an editing session of the eventual Oscar-winning film, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. Demme took Rich under his wing and STRAIGHT OUT OF BROOKLYN became a huge success after winning the Sundance Film Festival’s coveted Grand Jury Prize Award.

The indie film, distributed by Samuel Goldwin, earned critical acclaim and went on to sweep the awards season, picking up the Independent Spirit Award, NAACP Image Award, the Producers Guild Award and the Big Apple Award. Shortly thereafter, Rich was inducted into the Directors Guild of America (DGA) by African American Hollywood icons Sidney Poitier and Bill Duke.

Rich also directed the summer hit and now cult classic, THE INKWELL, which along with STRAIGHT OUT OF BROOKLYN, are considered “must see” classic, Black films. Rich’s other credits include development of several television projects, including RED HOOK as writer and creator for Warner Brothers/Fox Network; a Tupac Shakur bio project for HBO, and SUBWAY SCHOLAR with Whitney Houston for Showtime Network — just ,to name a few.

Currently, Rich is a screenwriting faculty member at the American Film Institute (AFI) where he teaches screenplay writing and video game writing as well as serving as a cycle development mentor and thesis film mentor. In addition, he also serves as a writing and directing advisor for Sundance Film Festival Co//AB online platform. He also teaches virtual screenplay workshops in Africa – that is, Ghana and Kenya, respectively.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Wyllisa Bennett, publicist du jour

[email protected]

310,266.9704

Reid Rich, personal publicist to Matty Rich

[email protected]

310-560-1383.

Wyllisa R Bennett
wrb public relations
+1 310-266-9704
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