Naomi Osaka and LeBron James chair the 2024 Uninterrupted Film Festival selection committee

As announced by the festival’s directors on Monday, Naomi Osaka, LeBron James and Joel Embiid will head the selection committee of the Uninterrupted Film Festival 2024.

According to reports, the tennis phenom and NBA superstars will select short movies to premiere at the Los Angeles festival, which focuses on the “intersection of sports culture and cinematography.” Deadline. The movies can be chosen through an open call for proposals and will develop into “the inaugural class of Uninterrupted Film Festival winners,” the website reported.

The Uninterrupted Film Festival, which kicked off in 2023, is supported by film producer Jane Rosenthal and Robert De Niro’s Tribeca Enterprises. Uninterrupted, a brand owned by James and entrepreneur Maverick Carter The SpringHill Company, is hosting the two-day event.

SpringHill was founded by James and Carter in 2020.

“Collaborating with LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s The SpringHill Company in the heart of Los Angeles for the film festival is not only a celebration of storytelling, it is also breaking new ground,” said Rosenthal, co-founder and CEO of Tribeca Rosenthal.

“This partnership is an exciting opportunity for Tribeca to further expand its presence beyond New York and establish itself as a platform for award-winning sports filmmaking and programming. In its second 12 months, Uninterrupted Festival, powered by Tribeca Festival, will mix the passion of sports with the art of filmmaking to offer fans with a one-of-a-kind entertainment experience.

Ricardo Viramontes, CEO of Uninterrupted, added that the brand “has partnered with Tribeca and the industry’s top athletes, all of whom define excellence both on and off the field.”

“These individuals are ideally suited to help us discover the next generation of storytellers, and they stand united in improving storytelling in the athlete and sports community,” he said in a press release.

The submission portal starts on Monday, April 29 and ends on Friday, May 31. According to the selection committee, short movies have to be “gripping stories from athletes” which can be “unique, innovative and inspiring.” Submissions must even be a maximum of 40 minutes in length, produced after January 2022 and could also be a narrative or documentary film.

The Uninterrupted Film Festival will happen on Tuesday and Wednesday, July 9-10 in Los Angeles and can be open to the general public.