‘Moonlight’ Tops Black Reel Awards with 7 wins; love for Fences, Loving, Ava DuVernay and more
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Moonlight took home seven trophies from the 17th Black Reel Awards tonight, more than any other film. It led the nominations, with 13. Denzel Washington and Viola Davis took Actor and Supporting Actress for Fences, Ruth Negga won Actress for Loving and Mahershala Ali was one of Moonlight‘s seven wins. All are nominated for Oscars for the same roles with Washington, Davis and Ali current frontrunners to win. Trevante Rhodes (Moonlight) and Janelle Monáe (Hidden Figures) picked up wins in the Breakthrough categories.
The Black Reel Awards is the major fundraiser for the Foundation for the Augmentation of African-Americans in Film (FAAAF) and annually spotlights Black cinematic excellence in films and performances in theatrical, independent, television and world cinema films. Under the leadership of founder, Tim Gordon, the Black Reel Awards’ mission is to annually honor African-Americans in the medium of film.
Established in 2000, The Black Reel Awards were originally conceived as a vehicle to recognize African-American achievement in Hollywood. The vision has been expanded to include cinematic achievement on the small screen as well as the independent filmmaking and world cinema.
Here is the full list of nominees and winners as well as Television winners:
Outstanding Motion Picture
13TH | Howard Barish, Ava DuVernay & Spencer Averick; producers (Netflix)
Fences | Denzel Washington, Todd Black & Scott Rudin; producers (Paramount)
Loving | Colin Firth, Peter Saraf, Marc Turtletaub, Nancy Buirski, Sarah Green & Ged Doherty; producers (Focus Features)
Manchester by the Sea | Matt Damon, Kimberly Stewart, Lauren Beck, Chris Moore & Kevin J. Walsh; producers (Roadside Attractions/ Amazon Studios)
Moonlight | Dede Gardner, Adele Romanski & Jeremy Kleiner; producers (A24)
Outstanding Actor, Motion Picture
Don Cheadle | Miles Ahead! (Sony Picture Classics)
Nate Parker | The Birth of a Nation (Fox Searchlight)
Parker Sawyers | Southside With You (Roadside Attractions/ Miramax)
Denzel Washington | Fences (Paramount)
Denzel Washington | The Magnificent Seven (MGM/Columbia Pictures)
Outstanding Actress, Motion Picture
Taraji P. Henson | Hidden Figures (20th Century Fox)
Royalty Hightower | The Fits (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
Sasha Lane | American Honey (A24)
Ruth Negga | Loving (Focus Features)
Madina Nwalanga | Queen of Katwe (Walt Disney)
Outstanding Director, Motion Picture
Don Cheadle | Miles Ahead! (Sony Picture Classics)
Antoine Fuqua | The Magnificent Seven (MGM/Columbia Pictures)
Barry Jenkins | Moonlight (A24)
Nate Parker | The Birth of a Nation (Fox Searchlight)
Denzel Washington | Fences (Paramount)
Outstanding Supporting Actor, Motion Picture
Jovan Adepo | Fences (Paramount)
Mahershala Ali | Moonlight (A24)
Stephen McKinley Henderson | Fences (Paramount)
Andre Holland | Moonlight (A24)
Ashton Sanders | Moonlight (A24)
Outstanding Supporting Actress, Motion Picture
Viola Davis | Fences (Paramount)
Naomie Harris | Moonlight (A24)
Janelle Monáe | Hidden Figures (20th Century Fox)
Janelle Monáe | Moonlight (A24)
Lupita Nyong’o | Queen of Katwe (Walt Disney)
Outstanding Screenplay, Motion Picture
The Birth of a Nation | Nate Parker (Fox Searchlight)
Fences | August Wilson (Paramount)
Keanu | Jordan Peele & Alex Rubens (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Miles Ahead! | Don Cheadle & Steven Baigelman (Sony Picture Classics)
Moonlight | Barry Jenkins (A24)
Outstanding Documentary Feature
13TH | Ava Duvernay; director (Netflix)
I Am Not Your Negro | Raoul Peck; director (Magnolia Pictures)
Life, Animated | Roger Ross Williams; director (The Orchard)
Miss Sharon Jones! | Barbara Kopple; director (Starz Digital Media)
O.J.: Made in America | Ezra Edelman; director (ESPN)
Outstanding Foreign Language Film
Aisha (Tanzania) | Chande Omar; director
Divines (France) | Uda Benyamina; director (Netflix)
Eye of the Storm (Burkina Faso) | Sekou Traore; director
Lamb (Ethiopia) | Yared Zeleke; director (Kimstim Films)
Rain the Color of Blue with a Little Red in It (Niger) | Christopher Kirley; director
Outstanding Ensemble
The Birth of a Nation | Andrea Craven, Craig Fincannon, Lisa Mae Fincannon, Mary Vernieu, Michelle Wade Byrd; casting directors (Fox Searchlight)
Fences | Victoria Thomas (Paramount)
Hidden Figures | (20th Century Fox)
Keanu | Nicole Abellera & Jeanne McCarthy; casting directors (Warner Bros.)
Moonlight | Yesi Ramirez; casting director (A24)
Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Male
Jovan Adepo | Fences (Paramount)
Markees Christmas | Morris From America (A24)
Alex Hibbert | Moonlight (A24)
Trevante Rhodes | Moonlight (A24)
Ashton Sanders | Moonlight (A24)
Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Female
Royalty Hightower | The Fits (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
Leslie Jones | Ghostbusters (Columbia Pictures)
Aja Naomi King | The Birth of a Nation (Fox Searchlight)
Sasha Lane | American Honey (A24)
Janelle Monáe | Hidden Figures (20th Century Fox)
Outstanding Voice Performance
Idris Elba | Finding Dory (Walt Disney)
Idris Elba | The Jungle Book (Walt Disney)
Idris Elba | Zootopia (Walt Disney)
Dwayne Johnson | Moana (Walt Disney)
Lupita Nyong’o | The Jungle Book (Walt Disney)
Outstanding Score
The Birth of a Nation | Henry Jackman; composer (Fox Searchlight)
Fences | Marcelo Zarvos; composer (Paramount)
Hidden Figures | Benjamin Wallfisch, Pharrell Williams & Hans Zimmer; composers (20th Century Fox)
Miles Ahead! | Robert Glasper; composer (Sony Picture Classics)
Moonlight | Nicholas Britell; composer (A24)
Outstanding Original Song
“A Letter to the Free” from 13th | Performed by: Common & Bilal; Written by: Common (Netflix)
“Back to Life” from Queen of Katwe | Performed by: Alicia Keys; Written by: Alicia Keys, Illangelo & Billy Walsh (Walt Disney)
“I’m Still Here” from Miss Sharon Jones! | Written & Performed by: Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings (Starz Digital Media)
“Start” from Southside With You | Written & Performed by: John Legend (Roadside Attractions/ Miramax)
“Surrender” from Hidden Figures | Performed by: Lalah Hathaway & Pharrell Williams; Written by: Pharrell Williams (20th Century Fox)
TELEVISION
Outstanding TV Movie/Limited Series
The People v O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Outstanding Director, TV Movie/Limited Series
John Singleton, The People v O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Outstanding Actor, TV Movie/Limited Series
Courtney B. Vance, The People v O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Outstanding Actress, TV Movie/Limited Series
Kerry Washington, Confirmation
Outstanding Screenplay, TV Movie/Limited Series
Joe Robert Cole, The People v O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Outstanding Television Documentary or Special
Beyoncé, Lemonade
Outstanding Emerging Director
Ezra Edelman, O.J.: Made in America
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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