African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) Announces Key Film Awards Dates

The African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) will announce the winners of its 16th Annual AAFCA Awards on December 9, AAFCA President and co-founder Gil Robertson announced today.

Additionally, the organization will announce its annual Top 10 films of the year list on this date. An invitation-only celebration of the winners will follow on February 19 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, honoring outstanding achievements in cinema with a special focus on films and performances representing the Black diaspora. Four special achievement honorees will be announced later this year.

The AAFCA Awards recognizes achievements in the following competitive categories:

• BEST PICTURE 
• BEST DIRECTOR 
• BEST ACTOR 
• BEST ACTRESS 
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR 
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
• BEST ENSEMBLE 
• BEST EMERGING TALENT  
• BEST DOCUMENTARY
• BEST INDEPENDENT 
• BEST INTERNATIONAL 
• BEST ANIMATED FEATURE  
• BEST SCREENPLAY 
• BEST MUSIC 
• BEST FILM SHORT 

16th Annual AAFCA Awards Voting Timeline

September 1, 2024 – Submissions Open

November 29, 2024 – Submissions Close 

November 29 – December 6, 2024 – Voting Window

December 9, 2024 – Winners Announced

February 19, 2025 – 16th Annual AAFCA Awards

• Author
• Recent Posts

Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

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), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) 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.

Latest posts by Erik Anderson (see all)

• ‘The Pitt,’ ‘Heated Rivalry,’ ‘Mr. Nobody Against Putin’ Lead 86th Peabody Awards Winners - April 23, 2026
• 2026 Las Culturistas Culture Awards Hosted by Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers to Air on Bravo and Peacock in June - April 23, 2026
• Gerran Howell on Whitaker’s Growth in Season Two of ‘The Pitt,’ Dr. Robby’s Intentions, and His Go-To Karaoke Song [VIDEO INTERVIEW] - April 21, 2026