Ebony/Jet Entertainment taps Codeblack Entertainment for historic film partnership, including Sundance Fest pick

Codeblack Entertainment, the first African American-owned new media and entertainment company, has announced a historic and ground-breaking partnership with Ebony/Jet Entertainment Group. The agreement brings the global brand to the creation, development, production, marketing and distribution of existing and future innovative Codeblack Entertainment projects.

According to Clanagan, the partnership cements Codeblack’s commitment to serving the global community with quality urban films, as well as providing the African-American community’s most influential and relevant brands with an innovative new vehicle for brand extension, all while delivering Codeblack’s expansive library to the widest possible audience. The Ebony and Jet brands, ubiquitous for dedication to African-American ideals, enables us to build on what we’ve accomplished, and set a course that will change the urban film landscape for decades to come, he adds.

The first projects to be released under the partnership are the gripping documentaries, Why We Laugh and Barack Obama: The Man and His Journey. The former, a recent recipient of a coveted nod at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival, is an introspective look at black comedy’s past, present and future through the eyes of its most iconic figures, including interviews with Bill Cosby, Chris Rock, Kwesi Mfume, Keenan Ivory Wayans, D.L. Hughley and Michael Eric Dyson.

Barack Obama: The Man and His Journey is a follow up to the highly successful Veridicus Films release, Barack Obama: Who Is This Guy?, which explored pre-election what was truly at stake, and the monumental significance of this moment in our nation’s history, answering the sometimes elusive question, Who is Obama?. Also produced by Veridicus Films and coming to stores January 20th, ‘Journey’ is a unique and compelling exploration of the dynamics of change in America through the magnified lens of this historic political season, providing intimate insight into the upward journey of President Elect Barack Obama. Narrated by 4-time NAACP Image Award winning and Golden Globe nominated actor Blair Underwood, the film is the first full-length DVD documentary about Obama, and features interviews with a diverse cross-section of some of America’s most prominent and recognizable personalities in politics, academics, entertainment, religion, and business, including Martin Luther King III, George Lopez, Hill Harper, Tom Joyner, Roland Martin and Robert Kiyosaki. ‘Journey’ also features a previously unreleased original song composed and performed by multi-talented Grammy nominee Brian McKnight. The song, fittingly titled Yes We Can, was inspired by President Elect Obama’s historic victory, and will be available exclusively as a bonus track in limited quantity on the DVD and for download on Codeblack’s website.
Codeblack will produce up to six additional titles by the end of 2009 to be distributed via broadcast/VOD, DVD, internet, digital and mobile.