The highly anticipated romantic comedy is set to screen at ABFF on May 28 in Miami
Some of the best love stories begin as something else entirely. A friendship. A bit. A brand. Funny Feelings, the highly anticipated romantic comedy from Rodfather Productions, is built on exactly that premise, and it is officially set to make its world premiere at the 30th Annual American Black Film Festival on Thursday, May 28, in Miami, Florida. The screening will take place in Screening Room 1 at the Miami Beach Convention Center beginning at 5:10 PM.
Directed by Rhonda Baraka, the film stars Tristan Mack Wilds, Pretty Vee, Chadwick Farley, Etienne Maurice, Pastor Mike McClure Jr., Terri J. Vaughn, Danielle LaRoach, and Kinyumba Mutakabbir. The ensemble brings together some of the most recognizable names in Black entertainment for a story that is equal parts funny and emotionally loaded.
What Funny Feelings is really about
At the center of Funny Feelings are Nick and Zoey, best friends since their college days at an HBCU, bonded by a shared love of comedy and a chemistry that has always felt like more than friendship. Years later, Zoey has built a following as a rising podcast star while Nick tours nationally as a stand-up comedian. Together, their signature two-person act has created a devoted fanbase that is completely invested in their will-they-or-won’t-they dynamic.
The film draws comparisons to the tension and timing of Brown Sugar, with the kind of magnetic, flirtatious energy that audiences have been craving from Black romantic comedies. Think Kuntry Wayne meets Lou Young III and B. Lynn, wrapped in the emotional complexity of two people who have made ambiguity part of the act.
Behind the viral moments and the laughs lies something messier. Mixed signals, missed timing, and feelings that neither Nick nor Zoey will fully name. Old wounds resurface. Rivals return. And the stakes get higher when a long-distance relationship, a surprise proposal, and a major JesterStream special all collide at once.
When the punchlines run out
What makes Funny Feelings more than a traditional romantic comedy is where the story ultimately goes. The pressure of everything coming to a head leads to an onstage implosion that goes viral, raw confessions that cut deeper than any punchline, and a reckoning with what has been left unsaid for far too long. Social media turns their heartbreak into clickbait. Their professional dreams hang in the balance. And Nick and Zoey are finally forced to confront the fear of love, the price of vulnerability, and the truth that maybe the greatest performance of their lives has been pretending they were not in love all along.
Funny Feelings arrives at a moment when audiences are hungry for Black romantic comedies that do not shy away from emotional depth. The ABFF premiere puts it in front of exactly the right room, a festival that has spent 30 years championing the stories and voices that Hollywood too often overlooks.
For more information, follow the film on social media and visit the Rodfather Productions page. Tickets and screening details for ABFF are available through the festival’s official channels.