African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement Launches Multi-Platform Label, Array

The African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement, Ava DuVernay’s collective for distributing black independent film, has launched a new multi-platform label, Array.

Its first acquisition is “Better Mus' Come,” a love story set in a violent time in Jamaican history when rival gangs wreaked havoc on the streets.

DuVernay launched AFFRM to push movies from African-American filmmakers into commercial theaters with help from supporters like Los Angeles’ Pan African Film Festival and New York’s Urbanworld Film Festival.

This new distribution label will target not just theaters but other platforms like video-on-demand.

“AFFRM’s new label Array is built to serve the tremendous burst of black cinematic talent across the globe, filmmakers who are embracing new technologies to tell their stories by any means necessary,” DuVernay said in a statement. “The goal is to expand the brand cultivated over our first four theatrical releases by reaching new audiences via both digital and traditional platforms,”

“Better Mus' Come,” to which Array holds all U.S. distribution rights, was written and directed by Storm Saulter.

“Storm’s work on ‘Better Mus' Come’ as director, writer and cinematographer is wildly impressive, incredibly important and deserves to be seen by as many film lovers as possible, DuVernay said in a statement. “We’re proud that his gem will launch ARRAY.”

http://www.thewrap.com/movies/article/african-american-film-festival-releasing-movement-launches-multi-platform-label-array-72926