A new annual comedy festival is coming to The Wharf. Because They’re Funny (BTF) Comedy Festival, a spinoff of the American Black Film Festival, will showcase comedians of color from Oct. 6-8.

American Black Film Festival Ventures LLC announced the festival this week, which it will be organizing alongside Events DC. BTF is set to take place in D.C. every year, and its main event is the “Next Up Comedian of the Year,” a competition in which up to 20 contestants will be chosen to participate. The winner of the competition will get a grand prize of $25,000 and a contract with a major studio or network. Aside from the main competition, there will also be “headline shows, new comic spotlights, celebrity conversations, screenings, and exclusive parties.”

The American Black Film Festival (ABFF) started in 1997, and it’s where many Black celebrities in the film industry spent their early careers — including Black Panther director Ryan Coogler and comedians Kevin Hart, Mike Epps, and Craig Robinson.

Jeff Friday, founder and CEO of ABFF Ventures LLC, says he started the festival to bring greater visibility to people of color in the film industry. “Hollywood was not a level playing field,” Friday tells DCist/WAMU. The challenges are the same, he says, for aspiring comedians of color, and he hopes BTF will “usher in a new generation of diverse comedians.”

“We’re creating a platform so the rest of the world can see how talented some of these comedians are,” he says. “Often, the work of people of color is marginalized as being just for Black audiences.” He says while the comedians will be BIPOC, he wants the audience to be as diverse as possible. “There’s nothing more universal than laughter,” he says.

Friday, a Howard University graduate, says he’s “always been in love with D.C.” and that he wants to boost the city’s reputation as an entertainment center.

In a press release announcing the festival, Mayor Muriel Bowser lauded the event as one that would uplift Black creatives and “combine welcoming people to D.C. and celebrating the creative community.”

“A lot of talented comedians have started and grown their careers in D.C.,” Bowser said in a press release. “We can’t wait to welcome the future of comedy and comedy fans from across the country to Washington, D.C. this October.”

Fittingly, April Fool’s Day will be a key date for prospective contestants and audiences — submissions will open that day and passes will go on sale.

Until the BTF Festival, there’s plenty of local comedy to catch around the region, including the DC Comedy Festival on April 7 and the DC Comedy Showcase in Adams Morgan on March 17 and 18.