The American Black Film Festival Unveils 2026 Narrative Features Lineup

The American Black Film Festival returns to Miami Beach from May 27–31 with a 2026 narrative features lineup that leans into romance, risk, memory, and the quiet complexities of becoming. From intimate love stories to genre-bending thrillers, this year’s slate reflects a generation of filmmakers shaping original stories

Here is how the lineup unfolds.

1. That’s Her
A love triangle set against ambition and identity, That’s Her follows a corporate climber forced to choose between romance and the life he believes he’s meant to build. With a cast that includes Coco Jones and Loretta Devine, the film centers modern love with a familiar question. What does it really mean to choose right?

Director: Nina Lee | Writer: Dewayne Colley, Tiffany Yancey, Nina Lee | Producers: Stephen “Dr.” Love, Dewayne Colley | Cast: Kountry Wayne, Coco Jones, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Loretta Devine, Charity Jordan, J. Alphonse Nicholson, Tabitha Brown

2. The Fridge
Led by Marsai Martin and Courtney B. Vance, this coming-of-age story traces a summer that shifts everything. A daughter and her estranged father attempt to reconnect in Los Angeles, with something as simple as a refrigerator becoming the catalyst for deeper healing and tension.

Director: Solvan Slick Naim | Writers: Solvan Slick Naim, Lane Williamson | Producers: Datari Turner, Solvan Slick Naim, Marsai Martin, Jamie Foxx | Cast: Marsai Martin, Courtney B. Vance

3. Funny Feelings
A decade-long comedic partnership begins to unravel when two performers are forced to confront what has always lingered beneath the surface. Starring Vena Excell and Tristan Wilds, the film explores love, ego, and the cost of staying in character too long.

Director: Rhonda Baraka | Writer: Je’Don Holloway-Talley | Producers: Roderick McClure, Joshua Ferrell, Morgan McClure | Cast: Vena “Pretty Vee” Excell, Tristan “Mack” Wilds, Terri J. Vaughn, Pastor Mike McClure Jr, Etienne Maurice, Danielle LaRoach, Dasan Frazier, Chadwick Farley, Kinyumba Mutakabbir

4. A Story About You
A reflective, layered look at relationships and self-awareness, this film follows one man over the course of a week as he navigates multiple romantic connections while reckoning with his past.

Director: Joseph E. Austin II | Writer: Denise Yolén | Producers: Denise Yolén, Joseph E. Austin II, Jeremy Harris | Cast: Shannon Wallace, Pernell Walker, Denise Yolén, Shiree Nicholas Christopher, Adwoa Duncan-Williams, Monique Lindse

5. Montmartre
Set between longing and rediscovery, a woman travels to Paris and finds herself drawn into a romance that reconnects her to Black history, art, and a version of herself she thought she lost. Starring Jesse Williams, the film moves with intention and heart.

Director: Leon Hendrix III | Writer: Leon Hendrix III | Producers: Leon Hendrix III, Ito Aghayere, Maurice D. Hendrix, Jill Officer | Cast: Jesse Williams, Ito Aghayere, Melanie Nicholls-King, Deborah Lukumuena, Firmine Richard

6. 93 ‘til
A love story told in real time and real feeling. Two artists meet, disconnect from the noise of the world, and spend a single day fully present with one another. What follows is a search for that same connection when life interrupts.

Director: Alterik Miller | Writer: Alterik Miller | Producers: Alterik Miller, Richard Lee Noel, Petey McGee, Alicia Turner, LaRoyce Hawkins and Sophia Lucia Parola | Cast: Petey McGee, Sophia Lucia Parola, LaRoyce Hawkins, Keith Arthur Bolden, Kris D. Lofton, Taryn Delanie Smith and Jason C. Louder

7. Southside Kev
Set in South Jamaica, Queens, this coming-of-age story centers a teenager navigating respect, survival, and identity in a world that demands he grow up quickly without losing himself.

Director: Jamel Furlow | Writers: Jamel Furlow | Producers: Jamel Furlow, Samuel C. Morrison, James Furlow, Charlene Coleman, KK Rosemond, Shatek King | Cast: Nathan Lewis, Alpachino Howard, Naomi Taylor, Brandon Chastang

And the rest of the lineup continues to stretch across genre and geography:

ATHENA A.I. imagines a near future where artificial intelligence turns a curated dinner into a fight for survival
Bust! explores reinvention through sports, business, and second chances
Garden of Silences moves between Brazil and Italy, unpacking memory, family, and political history
Homage examines loyalty and consequence when the past refuses to stay buried
Hoop Street brings us back to the court, where discipline and redemption collide
Lights Out leans into psychological tension, where memory becomes both clue and curse
Otra blends romance and fate through a musical lens, anchored in urgency and second chances
Seahorse offers a quiet portrait of instability, family, and emotional return
Small Gods finds hope in unexpected connection across borders and struggle
Sr. centers a father on the run, holding onto the promise of something better for his children
Three Colors: Pan-African presents a layered anthology rooted in liberation, unity, and prosperity
Voices: The Musical explores ambition, sacrifice, and the price of stepping into the spotlight