The 22nd annual Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival (MVAAFF) kicked off August 2 with nine days of programming, movie screenings, panels, and parties highlighting Black filmmakers, actors, and producers. At the backdrop of the festivities was Martha’s Vineyard, a quaint Massachusetts island on the Atlantic just south of Cape Cod marked by lighthouses, sandy beaches, and farmland.
Here are some highlights of the events and programming that took place during the MVAAFF.
World of Hyatt on the Vineyard
Source: Tyronne Stoudemire, the Senior Vice President of Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Hyatt Corporation (Photo: LinkedIn)
On August 8, the World of Hyatt held Bar Noir featuring an evening of cocktails, conversation, and community building at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum on Vineyard Haven. During the event, Tyronne Stoudemire, the Senior Vice President of Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Hyatt Corporation, talked about the hospitality brand’s commitment to advancing and supporting Black entrepreneurship.
“It’s just not about the money, it’s about care. It’s just not about care, it’s about helping people to grow [and] invest in businesses,” he added.
The Black Excellence Brunch
Source: L-R: Janelle Stephens, founder of Camille Rose, actress Sanaa Lathan, and Trell Thomas, founder of The Black Excellence Brunch
“I stopped drinking six years ago,” Lathan revealed. “Addiction runs in my family. I just did Finding Your Roots and it was crazy because I found all these generations of alcoholics that had literally died.”
The Brown Sugar star also mentioned the impact alcohol had on her life. “It was affecting my health. The people that I was allowing to be around me wasn’t right. And so, I decided, this is something that’s in my family. I need to nip it in the bud.”
Source: L-R: Nick Arrington, Trell Thomas, and Alex Tyree
The brunch, which was sponsored by Camille Rose and offered specialty drinks provided by Ciroc, also included notable attendees like filmmaker Will Packer, Orange is the New Black star Uzo Aduba, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, Win With Black Women founder Jotaka Eddy, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, and Bravo’s Summer House: Martha’s Vineyard cast members Alex Tyree and Nick Arrington.
“The Black Excellence Brunch was beautiful,” said Arrington, likening the event to the vibrant sense of community felt at an HBCU homecoming or Black family reunion. “It was a beautiful thing, and everybody looked good,” he continued. “I think the best way to describe Trell’s brunches are, it’s a celebration. It’s a celebration of us.”
Source: Attendees at the Black Excellence Brunch on Martha’s Vineyard (Photo courtesy of the Black Excellence Brunch)
“Martha’s Vineyard is no stranger to excellent Black people, and it was amazing to join in on the celebration of Black Excellence hosting our first-ever Black Excellence Brunch on the Vineyard,” said Thomas, a seasoned media expert, in a statement to BLACK ENTERPRISE. “It was truly an honor to give flowers to so many amazing people and celebrate the cultural icon that is Sanaa Lathan.”
The Director’s Brunch
Source: The Director’s Brunch on Martha’s Vineyard (Photo: Black Enterprise/Selena Hill)
“I think the path of being a director, especially if that’s what you want to be, it’s not just cut and dry,” said Monet. It’s not “like you go to film school and then you’re just going to make it. You know? I mean, the rules, unfortunately, are different for us,” she said.
Rather than pursuing a linear path, Monet encouraged young filmmakers to try to explore alternative methods to break into the industry, such as producing short films and shadowing other producers and artists.
Fight Night
Source: L-R: Tiffany Cross, Will Packer, Shaye Ogbonna, Taraji P. Henson, Chloe Bailey, Don Cheadle at MVAAFF (Photo by: Arnold Turner/Peacock)
The MVAAFF ended with a punch featuring a special screening, star-studded panel, and after-party for Peacock’s limited series Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist on closing night.
The evening kicked off with live music from DJ Trauma before the festival’s founders, Stephanie and Floyd Rance, introduced acclaimed filmmaker and the series’ executive producer, Will Packer, who participated in a one-on-one fireside chat with journalist Danielle Cadet on Roc Nation’s Lenny Santiago’s iconic gold couch.
“All kinds of interesting people have sat on and have had conversations on this couch. This is the kind of cultural thing that is for us [and] that we get to do at a Martha’s Vineyard film festival [and not] elsewhere,” said Packer to a sold-out audience.
Source: Danielle Cadet and Will Packer at MVAAFF (Photo by: Arnold Turner/Peacock)
The story centers on a hustler named Chicken Man (played by superstar comedian and actor Kevin Hart) who hosts an afterparty to celebrate the fight with a guest list of the country’s wealthiest and most notorious gangsters. However, the night ends with the most brazen criminal underworld heist in Atlanta’s history. Suspected of masterminding the crime, Chicken Man is hellbent on clearing his name but must convince his old adversary, J.D. Hudson (played by Don Cheadle), one of the first Black detectives in the city’s desegregated police force, who is tasked with bringing those responsible to justice.
Source: L-R: Taraji P. Henson, Chloe Bailey, Don Cheadle at MVAAFF on August 10, 2024 (Photo by: Arnold Turner/Peacock)
Following the screening, Packer returned to the stage with showrunner, creator, and executive producer Shaye Ogbonna and cast members Taraji P. Henson, Don Cheadle, and Chloe Bailey for a discussion moderated by journalist Tiffany Cross.
“I have always loved and admired working with Will, and to have this opportunity come to fruition was really, really cool,” said Bailey. “I’m an Atlanta native and I have never heard of this heist story. And then to hear that I get to work alongside Taraji and Don and Samuel (Jackson) and the most incredible actors in the game meant so much to me.”
Source: Guests at Peacock’s Closing Night Party at The Loft in Oaks Bluffs during the MVAAFF (Photo by: Arnold Turner/Peacock)
Source: Black Enterprise
