Chicago movie pageant attracts AMC Networks offers and worldwide consideration with Soul Meals reunion
Troy Pryor’s XL Fest has remodeled from a grassroots experiment into a world market for storytellers and content material creators. Working Aug. 14–23, the pageant now attracts worldwide consideration, powered by Pryor’s imaginative and prescient and a rising partnership with AMC Networks that has already resulted in a number of movie licensing offers. This yr’s version celebrates that success with a twenty fifth anniversary reunion of Soul Meals and a 10-day program designed to attach creators with business leaders prepared to purchase, license, and champion new voices, solidifying Chicago’s place as a artistic powerhouse.
Rolling Out spoke with Pryor concerning the pageant’s fast evolution, the affect of securing main business partnerships, and the way XL Fest is creating lasting alternatives for Black storytellers whereas attracting world consideration to Chicago’s artistic scene.
What impressed you to create XL Fest initially, and the place did the thought start?
Initially it got here from one other movie pageant that we had been trying to construct up that was centered on Black storytellers, however they had been having some challenges. We had some concepts we dropped at the desk, and so they weren’t essentially aligned with their imaginative and prescient, so we determined to do a check run two years in the past with Robert Townsend of what we thought may very well be a niche filler for the town, and it went properly. It took off.
From there, we continued to construct, after which the next yr, which was final yr, we did it with the Tate brothers. The Tates noticed what we constructed grassroots, and so they ask me the identical query I get from so many: “How huge is your group?” I say, our affect outweighs our infrastructure.
Folks see this enterprise and don’t notice that it’s really a smaller group that made this occur, and that was undoubtedly a chance for them to return in and make investments into the town. We’re grateful for that, and this yr, it has scaled even past, so we’re enthusiastic about 10 days of the pageant with opening weekend beginning this week with some actually nice alternatives, after which it’s gonna broaden via neighborhood collaboration all through the town after that.
How has XL Fest advanced into the cultural market and artistic summit we’re seeing this yr?
{The marketplace} is a superb phrase, as a result of outdoors of CreativeSight for my predominant firm that has been doing this work for the final 10 years and finally launched XL Fest, outdoors of us filling these cultural gaps regionally, it’s now, due to our relationship with so many Hyde Park companies, turning into a world car. We’ve bought people coming in now. So now it’s opened up a complete different dialog as we take a look at 2026 and past.
{The marketplace} part is highly effective as a result of final yr, 5 of our movies had been licensed by AMC Networks, and so these tasks had been streamed on AMC+. They overperformed, and AMC got here again with some nice information that they wished to do it once more and supply a multi-year deal for a type of tasks, which we’re really celebrating. It’s going to be premiering on AMC this Thursday on their All Black community.
What which means is that inside two years, our pageant elevated from being a check run to fill gaps that we noticed within the metropolis to a bona fide market for storytellers and content material creators. For those who’re a storyteller, you’re a filmmaker, you’re not solely going to get the chance to showcase your work at our pageant and have entry to data and people that you could have not had in essentially the most genuine method, however now you might have people current which can be in search of to purchase and purchase content material or license content material as properly.
That takes the pageant to a complete different degree, which generally is a worth proposition for not solely the creators, but in addition the platforms which can be in search of content material.
When it comes to programming, what can folks anticipate at XL Fest for 2025?
We’re gonna kick it off Thursday with our neighborhood completely happy hour occasion. We at all times try this with the Sophie Resort in Hyde Park, and Hyde Park simply opened up a model new rooftop area, which we’re excited to have an occasion there. We’ve bought some nice companions there with the Auxiliary Community podcast, and we’ve bought a particular visitor. We’ve not introduced it but, who that visitor can be. His picture is floating across the web proper now, however I don’t suppose anyone’s introduced who it’s gonna be. We’ve bought our customized White Sox snapback, so shout out to the White Sox once more.
Then Friday and Saturday is extra of the summit on the Rubenstein Discussion board in Hyde Park, so we’re taking on the vast majority of that constructing. We’ll have conversations concerning the enterprise sponsored by Kickstarter and funding. Chase is doing a monetary literacy workshop. AMC Stars is concerned. After all, you’ve bought a premiere occasion that celebrates “Soul Meals” with solid members from the movie and solid members from the tv sequence. We’ve bought Malcolm D. Lee coming in. He’s bought his new e-book, “The Greatest Man: Unfinished Enterprise,” so we’re enthusiastic about that.
After which we’ve bought the brunch. So that is the large brunch that wraps up the weekend that the Tates are internet hosting, so lots of the solid members can be there from “Soul Meals” and others. I’ll be making some bulletins about what XL appears like shifting ahead. That wraps up opening weekend, however that Sunday evening, we kick off the neighborhood occasions, and in order that’s if you begin to see the XL occasions unfold all through the town.
Sunday evening, we’ve bought a sneak peek of “Churchy” with Kevonstage. Monday, we’ve bought the premiere of the Antoine Walker documentary, after which extra occasions all the way in which till the weekend after we wrap it up with Chuck D.
How do you see XL Fest influencing the way forward for Black storytelling in movie in Chicago and past?
Generally, the pageant is considerably of an enormous fundraiser. One of many largest functions of the pageant is not only to showcase the movies , that’s one thing we do by default , it’s that the relationships and the sources that the pageant usher in are reallocated into the storytellers. Our pageant is known as XL as a result of it got here out of our accelerator lab. The lab was a program the place we had been placing sources immediately into the fingers of creators, and the pageant turned a motive or a approach to have fun that work. So it’s only a full circle second.
Because the pageant turns into extra profitable, it attracts extra sources and relationships that we are able to pour again into the storytellers and the content material, and that content material can go wherever it must go from that time. However we do prefer to create this full circle second the place we have fun that content material the next yr. This yr on the pageant, there are going to be tasks that we’re celebrating that we found ultimately yr’s pageant, or a creator that we found ultimately yr’s pageant that all year long, we supported them in some capability.
It hyperlinks up pageant to pageant. Similar factor for 2026, there are gonna be tasks that you just’ll watch subsequent yr which can be gonna come from storytellers and creators that got here via this yr’s lab or had been chosen from one of many pitch competitions, and we supported them all year long. So the pageant has a direct affect on the way forward for storytelling, particularly in Chicago, as a result of it turns into an asset, it turns into one thing that may fund and finance future tasks.
The place can folks get their tickets?
You’ll be able to go to XLFest.org to get tickets and discover out any data. We’re fairly energetic on our social, at XL Movie Pageant, as properly. To seek out something that you just need to know concerning the pageant, it’s there, so go to XLFest.org. Tickets are going fairly quick, among the occasions are already at capability, so go now. Go proper now!
