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The American Black Film Festival (ABFF), the premier annual event dedicated to empowering emerging talent and showcasing film and television content by and about people of African descent, today announced dates and a call for submissions for its milestone 30th anniversary edition. The festival will return to Miami Beach, May 27–31, 2026, under the celebratory theme “The Homecoming.”

Founded in 1997 by Jeff Friday, ABFF was conceived to strengthen the independent film community through resource sharing, education, and collaboration. From its trailblazing beginnings, ABFF has evolved into Hollywood’s leading talent discovery platform for people of African descent. Today, it attracts a global community of creators, executives, and enthusiasts. Each June, more than 7,000 attendees gather in Miami Beach for five days of film screenings, panels, master classes, networking, and lifestyle experiences. Submissions are now open, inviting filmmakers to enter their work for consideration in the landmark 30th anniversary edition at www.abff.com/miami/submissions.

Adding to the significance of this year’s milestone, the 2026 festival will introduce a unique curatorial approach: a portion of the lineup will be shaped by ABFF alumni and longtime supporters. These artists, many of whom launched their careers on the ABFF stage, will help design and present programming that ensures the “The Homecoming” theme resonates deeply with the community that has defined the festival’s impact over three decades.

“ABFF has always been about discovery, celebration, and connection,” said Jeff Friday, Founder of ABFF and CEO of NICE CROWD. “For 30 years, we’ve built a platform where diverse talent could be seen, heard, and supported. The Homecoming is about honoring the alumni who helped shape our legacy and inspiring the next generation of storytellers to create work that will define the future.”

“As we celebrate this incredible milestone, we’re reminded of the power of community and the importance of continuing to amplify new voices,” said Nicole Friday, President of NICE CROWD. “ABFF has become more than a festival — it’s a cultural home. We can’t wait to welcome our alumni, audiences, and industry partners back to Miami for what will be our most meaningful celebration yet.”

With talent discovery at its core, ABFF has showcased the talent and early work of filmmakers and artists such as Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay, Issa Rae, Kevin Hart, Will Packer, F. Gary Gray, Ben Watkins, Steven Caple Jr., Omari Hardwick, Datari Tuner and Reinaldo Marcus Green. The festival has also attracted ambassadors including Idris Elba, Halle Berry, Taraji P. Henson, Lena Waithe, Anthony Mackie, Regina Hall, Tracee Ellis Ross, Morris Chestnut, Nia Long and Larenz Tate while hosting keynote conversations with Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett, Spike Lee, Queen Latifah, Kerry Washington, Gabrielle Union, Kenya Barris, Mara Brock Akil, Malcolm Lee, Gina Prince-Bythewood and many more.

Film submissions are now open for the 30th annual ABFF in the following categories through February 10.

• Narrative Features – A competitive section of feature-length films directed by, or written and produced by, persons of African descent. Selected films compete for Jury Awards including Best Narrative Feature and Best Director. First-time directors of African descent are also eligible for the John Singleton Award for Best Debut Feature.
• Documentary Features – A competitive section of non-fiction feature-length films directed by or about persons of African descent. Selected films compete for the Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature.
• Series – A competitive section of short-form series directed by, or written and produced by, persons of African descent. Selected works compete for the Jury Award for Best Series.
• Voices of Culture – A non-competitive showcase of short films directed by persons of African descent. Presented by invitation only, this section highlights outstanding works that reflect the breadth of the global Black experience. Films submitted for but not selected as finalists in the HBO® Short Film Award competition are automatically considered for inclusion.
• African Stories – A non-competitive showcase of short films from Africa’s most dynamic new voices. Curated to highlight the continent’s rich cultural perspectives and storytelling traditions, the program offers a unique window into the creativity driving Africa’s diverse and growing film communities. Note: Submitting to this showcase does not prevent filmmakers from applying to other categories.
• AI and XR Storytelling Showcase – A non-competitive showcase of innovative works created through artificial intelligence and immersive technologies. Curated in partnership with GRX Immersive Labs, the program explores the future of storytelling by featuring bold new voices at the intersection of creativity and technology.

For further information on how to register or submit your film, please visit www.abff.com.

ABFF sponsors and partners to date include Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) (Host), Ally Financial (Presenting), American Airlines, City of Miami Beach (Major), Netflix (Supporting), and Variety (Media).

Additional details and programming announcements will be released in the coming weeks. For updates, visit www.nicecrowd.com and follow @ABFF on Twitter and @AmericanBlackFilmFestival on Instagram and Facebook.

The post The American Black Film Festival Returns to Miami May 27–31 for 30th Anniversary appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.

A Los Angeles man received a pleasant surprise after complaining about his Norse Atlantic Airways flight. In the clip, which has amassed 426,300 views, a disgruntled Jonas Kilker (@jonaskilker) sat in his plane seat as he vocalised his complaints.

“Not usually one to complain, but I’m gonna complain,” he said. “If I book a 13-hour international flight, I’m kind of assuming you’re gonna bring me some complimentary water, maybe some coffee as well.”

Olive Garden’s Never-Ending Pasta has been all the rage across social media. Whenever this deal launches every year, people rush to their nearest location to take advantage of it. After all, who doesn’t love unlimited pasta breadsticks, soup, and salad for $13.99? While dining in at an Olive Garden, one group of friends documented an unorthodox method for enjoying the unlimited promotion to-go: by stuffing as much pasta as possible inside Ziploc bags.

Olive Garden hack in action

“How much pasta we can finesse at Olive Garden’s endless pasta deal,” TikTok creator Bridgitte (@halfevil___333) writes in the text overlay.

In the next few years, there’s going to be two different live-action Batmans on the big screen for the first time. We’ll have Robert Pattinson return as the Dark Knight of Matt Reeves’ The Batman universe, and a new Batman: Brave and the Bold film, with a different version of Bruce Wayne for the DCU. Some fans think this will be too confusing for the average moviegoer. Some have even asked James Gunn how the general audience will react. But the truth is, outside comics media has done this with Batman before—twice. First in the ‘70s, and again in the 2000s. Except it was in animation, not live-action.

In the late ‘70s, Batman was appearing in two different incarnations on Saturday morning television. He’d already been appearing since 1973 on the ABC series Super Friends, with Batman voiced by Olan Soule, and Robin played by radio personality and Shaggy from Scooby-Doo, Casey Kasem. Hanna-Barbera produced that series. But on rival network CBS, the Caped Crusader started appearing in a series called The New Adventures of Batman. On this show, Batman ’66 actors Adam West and Burt Ward reprised their iconic TV roles.

Here’s where it all gets tricky. Filmation Studios produced the CBS cartoon. They would later find great success with He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. The character designs for this show were based on their 1968 animated show, The Batman/Superman Hour. But on that show, the voices of the characters came from Soule and Kasem. Which is why Hanna-Barbera hired them in 1973 for Super Friends in the first place. With the actors now tied up playing another version of these heroes, CBS and Filmation hired West and Ward instead.

The New Adventures of Batman series produced 16 episodes, but ran on and off for years, up until 1981. It featured Batgirl in a prominent role, voiced by Melindy Britt, who would go on to play She-Ra. Bat-Mite, the imp from another dimension, was the show’s comic relief. The major Bat villains Joker, Penguin, Catwoman, Clayface, and Mister Freeze all appeared multiple times, but no Riddler. Well, except in the opening credits, where he inexplicably wore a pink costume. And why no Riddler? That’s because ABC already licensed the character, along with Scarecrow, for use on Super Friends.

While The New Batman Adventures was in production for CBS, network ABC was planning to relaunch Super Friends as Challenge of the Super Friends. This iteration of the show would pit the Justice League vs. the Legion of Doom, made up the DC’s biggest villains. However, Batman’s biggest villains were off the table, thanks to being licensed to Filmation and CBS. So Riddler and Scarecrow were Batman’s representation on the Legion of Doom, and Wonder Woman villain Cheetah was used to replace Catwoman. Joker and Penguin wouldn’t appear on Super Friends until the very final season in 1985.

Flash forward twenty years, and something similar happened again. This time, Batman was wholly under the control of one entity, Warner Bros. In 2004, the Kids WB Saturday morning block reintroduced Batman to a new generation, with the cartoon series The Batman. It featured Rino Romano as Bruce Wayne, and had a more anime-inspired design. Despite the massive shadow of Batman: The Animated Series over its head, The Batman found a new generation of kids who fell in love with it. And they especially loved its 21st-century versions of the Gotham City rogues.

But at the same time as The Batman was airing on Saturday mornings, the ‘90s B:TAS Batman was still fighting alongside his fellow heroes on Justice League Unlimited. The legendary Kevin Conroy still voiced him, and was a continuation of the Dark Knight fans knew since 1992. Just as in the ‘70s, the two competing Batmans aired at the same time, although JLU was on Cartoon Network. Warner Bros. Animation produced both shows, unlike before. But none of the villains appearing on The Batman could appear on JLU, as a self-regulating rule WB Animation imposed on itself.

Just as two decades prior, this caused all kinds of problems for a certain Legion of Doom. When the Legion became the “Big Bads” of JLU season three, they once again could not use a single Batman villain, because The Batman had dibs on them, which is why Mark Hamill’s Joker never showed up in the roster, despite existing in that continuity (and appearing in the previous Justice League series). It also meant Nightwing and Batgirl could not appear, as The Batman also hoarded those characters for their show. Justice League Unlimited and The Batman had different audiences, so we’re not sure why this rule was implemented; however, they adhered to it until JLU ended in 2006. But for a couple of years in the 2000s, we once again had two versions of Batman in broadcast animation.

So what’s the lesson here? Basically, no kid watching cartoons in the ‘70s or in the 2000s had their heads explode from confusion over there being two different versions of Batman on TV. Just as adults can figure out that on the big screen, Matt Reeves’ Batman is a different version than the DCU one that James Gunn will introduce in The Brave and the Bold. Batman, like Spider-Man and Superman, is a big enough character in pop culture that competing versions of him can exist. And we trust that everyone will get it just fine.

The post There Will Be 2 Live-Action Batmans, But Cartoons Did That First appeared first on Nerdist.