Marsai Martin & Courtney B. Vance Film ‘Girl Dad,’ To Premiere At 30th American Black Film Festival
Among the films that will have its World Premiere at the 30th American Black Film Festival is ‘Girl Dad,’ directed by Solvan Slick Naim and starring Marsai Martin and Courtney B. Vance. The script was written by Naim and Lane Zola Williamson. The cast also includes Madison Bailey, Michael Rainey, Meagan Good, Sierra Capri, and Javon Walton. The festival will take place in Miami Beach from May 27–31, 2026.
The story centers on a tough, guarded queer 17-year-old from Brooklyn, who leaves Brooklyn for the first time to spend the summer with her estranged father, a struggling composer in Los Angeles. What starts as an awkward reunion turns into something deeper when a used refrigerator becomes the unexpected center of their conflict, forcing them to confront old wounds and rebuild what they’ve lost.
The producers are Jamie Foxx, Datari Turner, Phil Thornton, Marsai Martin, Josh Martin, and Solvan Slick Naim. The executive producing team include Aaron L. Gilbert, Trell Woodberry, Meagan Good, Alan Pao, Nicole Dow and Courtney B. Vance.
Martin is known for playing Diane Johnson/Dolly in ABC’s sitcom ‘Black-ish.’ She starred in and produced the 2019 comedy film Little. She also produced and starred in the sports comedy film, Fantasy Football and recently starred with Viola Davis in the Prime Video action-thriller film ‘G20.’
An Emmy and Tony award-winning actor with a massive amount of work in film and televison, Vance recently was seen in Season 2 of the Disney+ series Percy Jackson and the Olympians in the role the role of Zeus, replacing the late Lance Reddick. He also appeared in the live-action Lilo & Stitch and Uncorked, which was produced by Datari Turner.
Naim recently directed episodes 3 and 4 of Season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again. Naim also created, directed, wrote, produced and starred in Netflix series It’s Bruno, the story of a man and his beloved puggle dog, that scored an Emmy nomination in the Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series category in 2019. He also directed episodes of Netflix’s Mo, Tubi’s Demascus, AMC’s 61st Street, Starz’ Power and BMF, FX’s Snowfall, NBC’s The Blacklist, and Netflix’s The Get Down.
