*NEW ORLEANS – “Birth of the Black Underworld” a gripping drama written, produced, and directed by award-winning filmmaker Matty Rich took home the coveted Audience Award at the Essence Film Festival.
The 10-minute extended trailer to his forthcoming feature left the audience wanting more.
The film stars Grammy and Golden Globe nominated artist and actor Frank Stallone, Rhonda Morman, Thomas Copeland Jr, George V Andreakos, and Matty Rich himself.
“Wow! I am humbled and honored to receive this award. This has been my passion project for a long time and to see the response to just the extended trailer lets me know, my film resonated with the audience. I am now even more excited to move into production for the film,” says Rich.
Known for his gritty film content, Rich did not disappoint. 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 led by Satterfield Jackson (Matty Rich) who was an orphan taken in by respected Italian mobster Marco Ricci (Frank Stallone) who has ties in both the Italian & Jewish Mafia. Marco and Satterfield develop a father/son bond and like any father would do, Ricci grooms Satterfield for the real world. The Underworld.
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 the 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 the Sundance Film Festival Co//AB online platform. He also teaches virtual screenplay workshops in Africa – that is, Ghana and Kenya, respectively.
source:iscopepr
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