There are only an elite group of people that can claim an Essence Film Festival Jury Award win for Best Narrative Feature Film and DeAna Fai is one of them. DeAna Fai was undoubtedly a member of the crew even though she wasn’t in the cast. The singer is heard as a playback singer in the award winning film “A Kismet Holiday” starring Kym Whitley, Lamman Rucker, Elle Varner, Joyful Drake, Derrick A. King, and Asiahn. The Christmas Rom Com included her songs “Christmas Love,” and unique line dance record “Ready For Christmas” that came out last year. DeAna Fai earned her first win with “A Kismet Holiday” at the 2024 Essence Film Festival. The premiere took place on July 6, 2024 in NOLA at the Convention Center (Theater 3) in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Within the last 2 years, DeAna Fai has secured her tracks in the holiday films Catfish Christmas starring Tony Todd, Ella Joyce and Leigh-Ann Rose. She also is heard in The Holiday Proposal Plan on Lifetime starring Tatyana Ali, Jesse Kove, Mike Heslin, Whitney Able, Patrick Faucette and Geovanni Gopradi. Her song “Christmas Love” were both the films theme song. Now the “Christmas Love” artist is firing through the film industry with her popular Christmas songs in an acclaimed winning film with A Kismet Holiday which was directed by Chazitear and co-produced by Chuck and Bree West, responsible for “A Christmas Blessing,” Remy Ma’s “Godmother” music video, “Love on A Two Way Street,” and many more. Beyond just being an artist, DeAna Fai has also operated as her own label, manager, and agency. The pop singer seems to know that having a business approach is essential to success.
Although DeAna Fai rarely posts on social media, she created a congratulatory video for the cast and crew on their win at this year’s Essence Film Festival. The singer made a brief appearance in a light pink t-shirt with minimal makeup and said a few words for everyone involved in A Kismet Holiday that aided in its successful Jury Award at Essence Fest.
