The Authentic Global Film Festival presents the 2026 Global Film Awards tonight, Thursday, November 5, at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills, with Richard T. Jones of ABC’s The Rookie as host.
The red carpet opens at 5 PM. Producer and bestselling author DeVon Franklin and two-time Academy Award winner Nick Vallelonga (Green Book) lead the arrivals, joined by actress and singer Demetria McKinney, Grammy-nominated producer Theron “Neff-U” Feemster, Ricco Ross, Richard Lawson, Zambian gospel artist Ephriam Mutalangue and WePlay Studios’ Max Bilonogov.
More than 950 films from roughly 30 countries were submitted this year. The festival champions films about peace, family, faith and inclusion, and gives a big-screen stage to voices Hollywood rarely hears.
“Talent doesn’t depend on where you were born or how old you are, but opportunity too often does,” said Dr. Gershom Sikaala, the festival’s founder. “I founded this festival to prove that stories of hope belong in Hollywood.”