The RZA Announced As 2023 Urbanworld Film Festival Ambassador

Wu-Tang Clan‘s The RZA has been chosen to be this year’s Urbanworld Film Festival official ambassador.

The Grammy and Emmy-nominated producer, actor, musician, and filmmaker is also co-director of the documentary A Wu-Tang Experience: Live at Red Rocks Amphitheatre with Gerald Barclay. The film chronicles the group’s performance that took place in 2021 with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. The seminal recording artist will present the film as a world premiere at the upcoming festival on Friday, Nov. 3.

“I’m completely honored to be a part of a platform like Urbanworld which supports storytellers from all walks of life,” says RZA in a written statement. ”As a filmmaker, I understand the work that goes into not only getting a film made but getting it seen. There aren’t a lot of film festivals that intentionally shine light on the works of Black Men and Women in our industry. Our growing number of directors and producers need more outlets. Urbanworld gets it and this opportunity to serve as ambassador to this year’s festival is an honor and a privilege.”

The Urbanworld Film Festival will take place in New York City, November 1-5, 2023 at AMC 34th Street and the SVA Theatre.

The festival has also announced the Opening Night Film will be the Toronto International Film Festival award-winner “American Fiction,” directed by Cord Jefferson.

Along with a collection of films that will debut at Urbanworld, ballerina Misty Copeland will be discussing her short film “Flower,” directed by Lauren Finerman and executive produced by Nelson George and Leyla Fayyaz. A tribute to hip-hop music videos will take place with a showing of “Lights, Cameras, Rhymes: 50 Years of Hip Hop on Screen.” A panel discussion will follow which will include esteemed video director Benny Boom and The Roots frontman, Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter.

The return of The Urbanworld Innovation Conference & Panel will take place on Friday, November 3 at the SVA SOC DOC Theater. This will be a place where creatives and executives can network among people involved in the community of filmmaking. Filmmakers, industry leaders, and content creators will discuss topics such as AI, culture, sports, and content distribution.

Information, tickets, and passes can be viewed at urbanworld.org.