CHARLES S. DUTTON, TATYANA
ALI, BR AD JA MES
AND LORETTA DEVINE STAR IN
THE UP ORIGINAL MOVIE
COMEBACK DAD
Comeback Dad marks the fourth film to be produced and air on UP as a
direct result of the network’s highly successful “UP Faith & Family Screenplay
Competition” at the American Black Film Festival (ABFF). The script is by
newcomer Kimberly Walker, the Honorable Mention Winner in last year’s UP
Faith & Family Screenplay Competition at ABFF.
In Comeback Dad, Nima Babineaux (Tatyana Ali) looks like a woman who has
it all – she is an accomplished pianist who runs her own music school and is
engaged to Spence (Brad James), a successful engineer who adores her. But,
in truth, she has never recovered from her alcoholic father, Othell (Charles
Dutton), walking out on their family and it has made it hard for her to truly trust
anyone. When Othell decides it is time to make amends and tries to reenter her
life, Nima begins an emotional and eye-opening journey she could have never
expected. Loretta Devine stars as Malinda, Othell’s sister. The ensemble cast
also includes Donna Brisco, Elizabeth Omilami, Ja’El Robertson, Takara Clark, E.
Roger Mitchell, Todd Anthony and Palmer Williams, Jr.
For the fourth year, UP has partnered with the American Black Film Festival
(ABFF) on its annual UP Faith and Family Screenplay Competition. The
Competition, developed to promote the development of faith-friendly, family
entertainment screenplays, with a focus on the American Black experience, is a
component of UP’s Official Sponsorship of Film Life’s 18th annual ABFF, which
is the preeminent festival promoting cultural diversity within the film and
television industry. Comeback Dad had its all-star world premiere at this year’s
ABFF on Saturday, June 21. Last year’s Competition Grand Prize screenplay
winner Mary Jo’s Candy (working title), is scheduled to go into production in
July and premiere later this year on UP.
To date, the UP Faith & Family Competition has generated three films that UP
has produced and aired on the network. These include In the Meantime, written
by Nzinga Kadalie Kemp, and Raising Izzie, written by David Martyn Conley –
both produced by Roger Bobb of Bobbcat Films, the only two-time winner of
the Best Film Award at ABFF. The third film is Somebody’s Child, written by
Siddeeqah Powell and directed by Gary Wheeler. Raising Izzie and Somebody’s
Child were the number one and number two ranked telecasts in their time slots
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It’s Christ Or Nothing
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