Issa Rae, actress, writer, producer and multimedia sensation has been appointed the creative director for the 2024 American Black Film Festival (ABFF). It is an annual event hosted by Nice Crowd. Nicole and Jeff Friday, ABFF co-founders and producers, commended Issa Rae’s profound influence within the entertainment industry. They noted her contributions, both in front of and behind the camera. Not forgetting her passionate advocacy for fair representation and opportunities for Black creators. The Fridays expressed their confidence in Rae’s alignment with the ABFF’s mission of spotlighting Black talent. Also nurturing emerging voices in filmmaking.
What the New Role Entails
Rae starts the newly established role. She will collaborate closely with the Fridays to curate the lineup for the festival’s 28th edition. The edition is scheduled for June 12-16, 2024, in Miami Beach, Florida.
Expressing her enthusiasm for joining forces with ABFF’s co-founders, Nicole and Jeff Friday, Rae mentioned the festival’s history of uplifting Black creatives. She expressed her honor in taking on this role, emphasizing the festival’s commitment to nurturing emerging talent.
Rae’s connection with ABFF runs deep. She previously served as the festival’s ambassador in 2022 and premiered her Max series “Rap Shit” at the event for two consecutive years. The series’ second season is set to debut in November. This is after a delay from August due to the resolved WGA strike and the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.
American Black Film Festival (ABFF)
The American Black Film Festival (ABFF) is an annual event that celebrates Black cinema. It showcases films, television, and digital content created by and featuring Black talent. Established in 1997, ABFF aims to provide a platform for diverse storytellers, filmmakers, and artists. It highlights their work and contributions to the entertainment industry.
The festival includes screenings, panel discussions, workshops, and networking opportunities, fostering the growth and recognition of Black voices in film and television.
Supported by notable sponsors, ABFF continues to serve as a significant gathering for filmmakers and industry professionals while promoting representation and diversity in media and entertainment.
At the festival’s opening ceremony in 2022, Rae emphasized the significance of ABFF in the entertainment industry. She noted its unique focus to highlight Black cinema and television in an elegant manner. Speaking with Variety, Rae praised the festival’s intentional approach and solid brand, expressing pride in having her work showcased there. Appointing Issa Rae as a creative director for the 2024 American Black Film Festival may just propel the festival to greater heights and achievements.
Early Life
Born on January 12, 1985, in Los Angeles, California, Issa Rae is an American writer, actress, and producer renowned for her impactful contributions. She gained prominence through her web series “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl” (2011–2013) and achieved widespread acclaim with her HBO television series “Insecure” (2016–2021). Both creations delve into the nuanced experiences of young Black women navigating life in America.
Issa Rae Diop’s parents’ are from Senegal, with family roots in both Louisiana and Senegal. Her mother, Delyna Diop, served as a teacher, while her father, Abdoulaye Diop, worked as a paediatrician.
The family briefly resided in Abdoulaye Diop’s hometown of Dakar from 1988 to 1990 before settling in the View Park-Windsor Hills area of Los Angeles. Abdoulaye Diop established a pediatric clinic in nearby Inglewood.
Issa Rae Diop attended King/Drew Magnet High School of Medicine and Science in South Los Angeles. The school predominantly catered to Black and Latino students. During her time there, she actively engaged in the drama department’s productions, notably participating in works like the 1939 play “On Strivers’ Row,” which focused on themes of race and class.
Dorm Diaries and The ‘F’ Word
After high school, Diop pursued her education at Stanford University, majoring in African and African-American studies. While an undergraduate, she showed her creative prowess by producing a successful stage adaptation of Spike Lee’s musical comedy “School Daze,” centred on life at a historically Black college.
During her senior year, Diop ventured into content creation, birthing the mockumentary Web series titled “Dorm Diaries.” This series focused on the experiences of Black college students and gained popularity across various campuses.
The project highlighted everyday Black life without emphasizing the need to make a comparison with whiteness. It earned recognition from The New York Times for its portrayal of a subject deserving of independent exploration.
Upon graduating in 2007, Diop secured a fellowship at the Public Theater in New York, where she continued her digital content creation journey. Among her Web series projects was “Fly Guys Present ‘The ‘F’ Word'” (2009), enumerating the aspirations of a group of budding rappers. In 2008, she opted to shorten her name to Issa Rae.
The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl
In 2011, Rae debuted in her subsequent Web series, “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl.” This series chronicles the life of the central character—an awkward Black girl, portrayed by Rae herself.
Speaking at the Paley Center for Media in New York in 2017, Rae shared that her motivation to create “Awkward Black Girl” stemmed from her dissatisfaction with the negative portrayal of ordinary Black girls on television.
She expressed frustration over the inadequate representation in the media. The Web series resonated widely. It garnered millions of views and secured a Shorty Award for Best Web Series in 2012. The show’s second season premiered on “I am OTHER, Pharrell Williams’s YouTube channel.”
Other Projects by Issa Rae
Rae gained prominence with her acclaimed web series “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl” and later achieved multifaceted success with the Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated series “Insecure,” spanning five seasons. An acclamation that propelled Issa Rae Appointment as Creative Director for the 2024 American Black Film Festival.
In 2020, she established Hoorae, a diverse media company encompassing film, TV, and digital content (Hoorae Media), a music label and supervision company (Raedio), and a management division (ColorCreative).
Under the Warner Bros. Discovery deal, Rae executive produced acclaimed series like “A Black Lady Sketch Show” and “Rap Shit.” Her presence in movies also soared with roles in “Barbie,” “American Fiction,” and voicing Jessica Drew in “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.”
Rae’s appointment coincides with Nice Crowd’s upcoming “Because They’re Funny” (BTF) comedy festival, spotlighting BIPOC comedic talent in Washington D.C. The company, formerly ABFF Ventures, hosts various year-round events focused on BIPOC culture and accomplishments, with ABFF being its flagship event, supported by notable sponsors.
Connie Kinnard, GMCVB’s senior vice president of multicultural tourism & development, highlighted the festival’s impact on Greater Miami’s tourism landscape, praising ABFF’s commitment to showcasing diverse emerging talent, benefiting the broader Miami community.
Acting Talent
Between her roles as a writer, executive producer, and lead in “Insecure,” Rae showcased her acting talents across various mediums.
Notably, she portrayed Rachel in an all-black rendition of the sitcom Friends in Jay-Z’s music video for “Moonlight” (2017). Issa also made an appearance in Drake’s “Nice for What” (2018).
Her film credits encompass “The Hate U Give” (2018), adapted from Angie Thomas’s bestselling young adult novel, and “Little” (2019). It is a comedy where Rae portrays an assistant to an unreasonable boss, played by Regina Hall.
Rae’s presence graced “The Photograph” (2020), a romantic film co-starring LaKeith Stanfield, and “The Lovebirds” (2020), an action-comedy. Issa and Kumail Nanjiani portrayed a couple entangled in a murder mystery.
Additionally, she took on executive producer roles for the latter two films. Her voice talents were evident in “Hair Love” (2019), an Academy Award-winning animated short. It depicted a Black father’s journey in styling his daughter’s hair. She also produced an animated feature “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (2023).
Furthermore, Rae appeared in B.J. Novak’s comedy “Vengeance” (2022) and starred in Greta Gerwig’s anticipated summer blockbuster “Barbie” (2023).
From the achievements, it’s clear why Issa Rae was appointed as Creative Director for the 2024 American Black Film Festival.