The movie, which was produced by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, was honored with three awards, including Best Feature and the Audience Award.
- June 20, 2018
AceShowbiz - Sprinter, a film produced by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, has won big at the 2018 American Black Film Festival (ABFF).
The Hollywood couple have acted as producers on the project, a feature which tells the story of a young Jamaican track and field star who is desperate to reconnect with his broken family.
The main character, Akeem Sharp, is played by breakout actor Dale Elliott, who used the ABFF event as a platform to share the similarities between his own life and the story conveyed in the movie.
"I met my father for the first time because of this film," he told the audience from the podium of the Best of ABFF presentation.
The film was honoured with Best Feature and the Audience Award, while Storm Saulter also took home the Best Director accolade.
"Dale's real-life story is way more extreme than his character's. He hasn't seen his mum since he was three and he hasn't seen his dad since he was a toddler," the Jamaican filmmaker noted in his acceptance speech. "On a trip to America to shoot one of the party scenes, that was the first time Dale ever met his dad. This film literally brought him closer to his own father."
Saulter went on to explain that Sprinter's plot is a "typical Caribbean story" about parents working overseas in order to send money home to support the family, while also paying tribute to Jamaica's history of success in competitive track and field.
"We have a movement happening in the Caribbean and Will and Jada recognised the potential and the value in the story," he smiled.
When asked whether he expected the I Am Legend star to pay tribute to the film's victory on his social media pages, Saulter quipped: "Hey, I'm waiting. The Sprinter trailer needs a remix!"
