Opening Night remarks by Girls Trip producer Will Packer

Ama Qamata is a renowned African actress mostly recognized for her starring role in the Netflix critically acclaimed hit series “Blood & Water,” portraying Puleng Khumalo for four seasons: the longest running Netflix series in Africa. Ama’s career began with a television debut on the South African Broadcasting Channel’s (SABC1) sitcom “My Perfect Family,” followed by a recurring role on the popular South African soapie “Rhythm City.” She ventured into international roles, appearing on BBC’s “Our Girl” alongside British actress Michelle Keegan and in the Dutch series “Commandos: The Mission.” Ama also played a leading role alongside the iconic actress Connie Chiume in the popular South African telenovela “Gomora,” which became the most-watched show in South Africa upon its 2020 release. Additionally, she made her big screen debut in Matthew Leutwyler’s feature film “Fight Like a Girl,” where she also served as a producer. Ama’s portrayal of Safi led to her receiving the Rising Star award at the Naples International Film Festival and a nomination for Best Actress at the African Movie Academy Awards.

Outside of her acting career, Ama is admired as a role model and philanthropist in the South African entertainment industry. She uses her platform to support the development of young people, collaborating with Dove as a #KeepBeautyReal campaign ambassador to promote confidence and self-esteem among youths. Additionally, she generously covered tuition for 20 young girls at Nyanga High School in her home province of Eastern Cape. Ama also delivered an impactful speech as a spotlight speaker at the Forbes Leading Women in Africa summit in 2024.

Furthermore, Ama currently holds the role of ambassador for Adidas and has been recognized in Forbes’ Africa ’30 under 30′ class of 2024.

Hailing from Southeast London, Henrie Kwushue is a DJ, presenter and broadcaster best known for her work on Spotify’s Who We Be Talks podcast, her KISS FM “Wake Up” weekend show, KISS Fresh evening show, as well as her incredible contribution to the popular No Signal Radio station.

A polymath, Henrie also runs her own production company, HTK Productions, and has produced two shows, the acclaimed ‘Is Your Area Changing’ – a docu-series focused on the topic of gentrification in London neighbourhoods, and ‘Untold Stories’ a web series about personal stories where guests discuss what has made them who they are today.

Henrie’s ascent into the public eye has been rapid; and she has carefully, and creatively, carved out her own unique lane in British DJing and presenting. She has already graced the stages and dancefloors for the likes of Puma, Adidas, Nike, Nandos, the NFL, and has been covered by media titles including The Guardian, Dazed, Complex UK, gal-dem and Glamour Magazine.

As of 2024, Henrie continues to make her mark on Kiss Fresh, where she hosts a highly popular, socially-driven show that celebrates emerging music genres such as afrobeats, UK rap, and R&B. Airing Thursdays from 7 PM to 9 PM, her infectious energy, deep musical knowledge, and cultural insight solidify her as a leading voice in UK radio.

Patrice DeGraff Arenas is a Miami, Florida native who holds a BFA in Theatre from Florida State University and MFA from the University of Pittsburgh. Regional Theatre credits include: Skeleton Crew (Gablestage), Gidion’s Knot (New Theatre), The Tempest (New Theatre), In Darfur (Mosaic), The Rant (New Theatre) Working (Lyceum, San Diego, CA) Hair (Wadsworth, CA) A Most Happy Fella (Freud Playhouse, CA). Television and Film credits include: David Makes Man (Season 2, OWN) Un Pequeno Corte (PBS and HBO 2021), Ludi (Bantu Fi Films 2020) The Jacksons an American Dream. My love for the arts started early and was nurtured by my mother, an arts educator and administrator in MDCPS. My performance expertise has provided opportunities to nurture students through MDCPS as an Arts instructor, and Department Chair of Fine Arts before joining the faculty at NYFA Miami. Teaching highlights at NYFA Miami include: Voice/Speech I,II, Characterization and Movement, Acting for Film I-IV, and directing the Play Production Workshops (So Here We Are 2024, Jesus Hopped the A Train 2023, Circle Mirror Transformation 2023, Eurydice 2022 and Rashomon 2020). Last summer, teaching in ABFF’s Masterclass series at NYFA Miami was exhilarating. It’s an honor to reprise “Act It Out” with the ABFF this June!

I’ve been in the business 30 years.

Working for ABC News I covered: The Impeachment of President Clinton, The Millennium, Lady Diana, JFK Jr, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, The 2000 Election, the fall of the Soviet Union and 9/11. I won an Emmy, a Peabody and a DuPont Award.

In 2003 I moved to LA where I produced commercials for NBC and Telemundo. Over 35 spots: Pepsi, Canon, Fisher Price, Bud Lite, Verizon, The People Choice Awards etc.

In 2007 I moved back to NYC and started teaching at the New York Film Academy. I’ve taught there for 17years and was the academic director for the Harvard University and Mumbai programs. I’ve directed over 21 short films, some that have been in festivals all over the world.

My first novel Blood Laws was published by Anaphora Literary Press in 2015. A filmmaking book: WHAT THEY DIDN’T TEACH YOU IN FILM SCHOOL was released by Octopus in 2019. My latest: Make Your Own Movies, will be released next year by Hoaki.

I’m a member of the Director’s Guild of America.

Randall Dottin directs both fiction and non-fiction films. His work focuses on how resistance, history and memory serve as either aids or obstacles in the creation of Black identity. He received his BA from Dartmouth and his MFA from the Columbia University Graduate Film Division. His thesis film A-ALIKE was licensed for a two-year broadcast run by HBO and won numerous awards including the Gold Medal at the Student Academy Awards. His second short LIFTED was sponsored by Fox Searchlight’s program for emerging directors – the Fox Searchlab. Lifted premiered on CBS as part of a collection of short films. Randall wrote and directed FEVAH, a short film starring Russell Hornsby (The Hate U Give, Fences) and LaRoyce Hawkins (Chicago PD). His documentary series THE HOUSE I NEVER KNEW received a grant from the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund. Recently, Dottin co-wrote, co-directed and produced MINE, an animated series whose pilot premiered at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival, won the award for Best Animated Film at the 2022 Denton Black Film Festival as well as the award for Best Web Series at the 2022 American Black Film Festival. Dottin is Chair of the Screenwriting Department at New York Film Academy’s New York City campus where his former students have won screenwriting awards, film festivals and have recently began careers as staff writers and producers on American, South African and European television shows.

Luisa Ibañez is a P.G.A Senior Content Film and TV Producer and member of The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. She has more than twenty-five years of experience in the US and LATAM media industry, including an overall of 1000 hours of content produced in different formats for diverse audiences and three International Emmy nominations for projects premiered on the US primetime. From this journey, she understands the expectations of diverse audiences in Latin America, Spain and Latinos in the US. Credits as Executive Producer, Development Producer, Line Producer, and Supervising Producer on the successful Hispanic TV Series and telenovelas from NBC Telemundo, Univision, Televisa, and Netflix prove her high-quality deliveries in projects distributed in more than 100 countries and over 35 languages. In the last years, she expanded her creativity to the Film and commercial industry working with Independent Writers, Directors and Distributors in different short films and features. She is a member of WOmen in Film, Natpe, WAWA Association, BGDC and Film Florida.

Whitney Davis was born in Muskegon MI and introduced to the arts through her parents at an early age. She started doing comedy skits online in 2015. Naturally a writer, she began acting in her skits and sharing them with her small audience. In April 2021, she gained widespread attention with her first viral video, where she chose to extend a heartfelt prayer for her future spouse. This moment resonated with a community of like-minded women. Whitney’s comedy revolves around themes of love, dating, faith, relationships, and the joys of everyday life. Whitney has built her influence through the grace of God, relatability and authenticity to her life’s journey. Her transparent and hilarious content has garnered her hundreds of thousands of followers across various platforms with millions of views, making her one of the go-to voices of this generation. She is the co-creator, along with Zachary Pope, of a web series called the Whitseries on YouTube, Co-Writer of the feature film “She’s Such a Lady” and she made her acting debut in the feature film “Diminishing Value of Love.”

Raised on the Southside of Chicago, Tee Sanders is blowing up currently with tens of millions of views on her social media channels both solo and as a part of the hit comedy group, The Round Table. She learned early on that no matter how bad or tough a situation she was in, making people laugh was the remedy to her life’s problems. She’s recently become a viral success over the internet with over 75 million views across the social media outlets.

Born in Fairbanks, Alaska, and raised all over the country (thanks to his mom’s military career) Landon Moss began his content creation journey in 2013—in his mom’s basement on a little app called Vine. Throwback anybody? Landon has since grown with comedy that highlights our shared experiences because apparently, we all grew up in the same house. He’s also carved out a career on the big screen starring in projects like Keeping Up with the Joneses (Lifetime), Laff Mobb’s Laff Tracks (truTV), and Make or Bake Christmas (LifeTime)

Antonio “HeyTonyTV” Neville is a comedian, actor, and content creator residing in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Los Angeles, CA. Tony’s social media channels are filled with relatable and creative character skits, which have skyrocketed him to national fame, most notably from his TikTok and Instagram accounts. As an actor, he is signed to Kreativ Partners and is currently collaborating with Emmy nominee Robin Thede on a project, to be announced soon.

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