Nation's Premier Showcase For Urban, Ethnic and Multicultural Cinema To Be Held in New York City on September 23 - 27, 2009

NEW YORK, May 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The Urbanworld Foundation and BET Networks today announced its call for entries and 2009 dates for The 13th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival presented by BET. The cable network's involvement marks the second year of an ongoing strategic partnership with the nation's largest competitive multicultural film festival. Urbanworld will be held September 23-27, 2009 in New York City. HBO returns as Founding Sponsor.

Submissions are now open through June 26, 2009, and must be accompanied by an official Urbanworld Film Festival submission form available at www.urbanworld.org or www.withoutabox.com/login/5067. Urbanworld's competitive categories include narrative feature, narrative short, documentary feature, documentary short, screenplay, new director's award and audience award.

"As we embark on our 13th year, we're thrilled to continue our powerful collaboration with BET as the premier festival showcase for multicultural cinematic expression," explained Stacy Spikes, founder of Urbanworld. "Our mission to exhibit bold, new filmmaking by diverse artists is strengthened by BET's comprehensive support and unwavering commitment."

"We are thrilled to partner with Stacy Spikes and the Urbanworld Film Festival for a second year," said Janet Rolle, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for BET Networks. "Last year was an amazing experience, as this festival brings both the BET audience and some of our key marketing partners closer to the new wave of emerging talent in film and entertainment. We are looking forward to the upcoming slate of films and are proud to be the presenting sponsor."

Selected films will be judged by a panel of industry professionals and will compete for Grand Jury Awards in the categories of Best Narrative Feature, Best Narrative Short, Best Documentary Feature, Best Documentary Short, Best Screenplay and Director to Watch. Attendees will determine the Audience Award.

ABOUT URBANWORLD

Urbanworld was launched in August 1997 by founder Stacy Spikes, a former executive at Miramax and October Films. Over the past eleven years, Urbanworld has presented over 700 features, shorts and documentaries, with estimated attendance reaching 15,000+. Now in its thirteenth year, the Urbanworld Film Festival is one of the largest internationally competitive festivals of its kind. The Urbanworld Film Festival is an initiative delivered by the Urbanworld Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to redefining the role of multicultural constituents in contemporary cinema by implementing programs and events that support the development and success of the urban filmmaking community. Spikes serves as chairman emeritus. Gabrielle Glore serves as executive producer. For more information, please visit www.urbanworld.org.