Wal-Mart Sponsors 9th Annual American Black Film Festival

Wal-Mart Sponsors 9th Annual American Black Film Festival

ABFF Sponsorship Launches Retailer's Voices of Color(TM) Program Celebrating Films That Give Voice to the Experiences and Hopes of African Americans

BENTONVILLE, Ark., July 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) today announced it will sponsor the 2005 American Black Film Festival (ABFF), July 13th through July 17th in Miami, Florida. Wal-Mart's ABFF sponsorship serves as a prelude to the retailer's Voices of Color(TM) program -- coming this fall -- a unique, multi-dimensional program that aims to give 'voice' to a broader and more positive depiction of African-American images, via wide range, quality programming for the whole family.

The ABFF highlights the African-American contribution to Hollywood and provides opportunities to the next generation of black filmmakers and talent to form working relationships that will lead to collaboration, artistic guidance and development, and the growth of global distribution of quality Black films. The ABFF is expected to draw more than 2,500 guests who will enjoy a showcase of the best in independent black cinema.

"Wal-Mart is proud to support cinema that highlights the diversity and depth of the African-American experience," said Troy Steiner, senior media director, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. "For many years, the roles African Americans could play in mainstream films were very limited and the ABFF is in part responsible for helping the film industry, and the world, see African Americans in a different, more positive light."

Wal-Mart recently partnered with Time Warner's Global Marketing group to create an advertising-supported film series called The Voices of Color(TM) -- a compilation of important films that celebrate African Americans including "The Color Purple." This and other titles will be available for purchase in DVD and VHS formats from walmart.com and at select Wal-Mart stores nationwide. As part of the program, Wal-Mart will sponsor the broadcast of monthly movie specials featuring significant black films on Time Warner-owned television networks including TNT and TBS. These movie specials will also be promoted in Time Inc.'s ESSENCE magazine and through an exclusive online partnership with AOL Black Voices, which will develop original content features as an enhancement to the series. The series, which will include films ranging from timeless classics to contemporary favorites, is designed to highlight the range and depth of the African-American experience.

"We are supporting African-American filmmaking because it makes good business sense," said Steiner. "We would like to see these wonderful films gain a wider audience, so we are making it possible for our customers to enjoy them both on network television and by making them part of their family film libraries. We certainly hope the Voices of Color(TM) film series and the other program components serve as an invitation to African Americans to consider Wal-Mart as their first choice when looking for quality movies that tell their stories."

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates Wal-Mart Stores, Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets and SAM'S CLUB locations in the United States. Internationally, the company operates in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South Korea and the United Kingdom. The company's securities are listed on the New York and Pacific stock exchanges under the symbol WMT. More information about Wal-Mart can be found by visiting http://www.walmartfacts.com/ . Online merchandise sales are available at http://www.walmart.com/ .

Time Warner is a leading media and entertainment company whose businesses include interactive services, cable systems, filmed entertainment, television networks and publishing. The company's Global Marketing group creates customized, idea driven, integrated programs to marketing partners.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010831/WALMARTLOGO AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/ PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com Source: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

CONTACT: Linda Blakley of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., +1-479-273-4314, or linda.blakley@wal-mart.com ; or Jetta Bates of E. Morris Communications, Inc., +1-312-943-7675, or +1-773-317-8191, or jbates@emorris.com , for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.; or Mia Carbonell of Time Warner Corporate Communications, +1-212-484-6684

Web site: http://www.walmartstores.com/ http://www.walmartfacts.com/ http://www.walmart.com/

------- Profile: Ent