Editor

The 17th Annual Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) film competition award
The Pan African Film and Arts Festival will announce today the winners its annual film competition for its 2009 festival. Jury Prizes will be awarded in the following categories: Best Documentary Feature, Best Documentary Short, Best Narrative Short, Best Narrative Feature, Best First Feature, and Best Director-First Feature. In addition to the Jury Prizes, the PAFF audience cast ballots for their favorite films from this year's selection. Film nominations are selected by a jury of industry professionals, with the exception of the audience favorite awards, which will be based on the results of ballots cast by festival filmgoers. Screenings for the 2009 PAFF Jury of all films receiving nominations took place February 5-16, 2009 at the Culver Plaza Theatres.

"With over thirty world and U.S. premieres, this year's lineup is a remarkable representation of the African cinematic landscape from the United States and across the globe," commented Sharifa Johka, PAFF senior programming consultant. "Los Angeles has a large international population and I am so excited to bring this diverse and exciting program to this community."

PAFF is America's largest and most prestigious flagship black film and arts festival. With over 2,500 submissions, the 2009 PAFF features films from 42 countries and boasts a record attendance now topping a quarter of a million attendees over its twelve-day run. For more information, please visit www.paff.org.