My SPW NewsPage View

Ryan Coogler’s “Black Panther” was named the year’s Best Film today by the African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA), the world’s largest group of black film critics comprised of leading film critics from across the country.  The groundbreaking blockbuster also won Best Director (Ryan Coogler) and Best Song (“All the Stars” performed by Kendrick Lamar and SZA with music and lyrics by Kendrick Lamar, Anthony Tiffith, Mark Spears, Solana Rowe and Al Shuckburgh) making it AAFCA’s top award-winner of 2018.

AAFCA also announced winners in several other categories, along with its annual top ten list, with all categories voted on by AAFCA members.  

AAFCA Awards Winners:

• Best Film: “Black Panther”
• Best Director: Ryan Coogler (“Black Panther”) 
• Best Screenplay:  Charlie Wachtel & David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee (“BlacKkKlansman”)
• Best Actor: John David Washington (“BlacKkKlansman”)
• Best Actress: Regina Hall (“Support the Girls)” 
• Best Supporting Actor: Russell Hornsby (“The Hate U Give”) 
• Best Supporting Actress: Regina King (“If Beale Street Could Talk”)
• Best Breakout Performance: Amandla Stenberg (“The Hate U Give”)
• Best Animated Film: “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”
• Best Independent Film: “If Beale Street Could Talk”
• Best Foreign Film: “Roma”
• Best Documentary: “Quincy”
• Best Song: “All The Stars” (“Black Panther”)
• Best New Media: “Red Table Talk”
• Best TV Drama:  “Queen Sugar”
• Best TV Comedy:  “Insecure”

 
AAFCA’s Top Ten List:

1. Black Panther (Walt Disney Studios) 
2. If Beale Street Could Talk (Annapurna Pictures)
3. The Hate U Give (20^thCentury Fox)
4. A Star is Born (Warner Bros. Studios)
5. Quincy (Netflix)
6. Roma (Netflix)
7. Blindspotting (Lionsgate)
8. The Favourite (Fox Searchlight Pictures) 
9. Sorry to Bother You (Annapurna Pictures)
10. Widows (20^thCentury Fox)

“Selecting Disney’s “Black Panther” as the year’s best film was a no-brainer,” stated AAFCA co-founder Shawn Edwards.  “Beyond its tremendous reviews and historic box office performance, the film changed the culture and became a defining moment for Black America. Finally, after years of painfully negative and blatantly harmful depictions of blacks on screen there was a movie full of positive images and characters that blacks could rally around. For many blacks the film’s release was like a national holiday. The movie sparked a sense of pride and inspired Afro-futurism-theme parties, academic panel discussions, scholarship funds, vacation plans to Africa and thousands of black kids dressing-up like their favorite characters on Halloween. Many have waited a lifetime for a moment like this and “Black Panther” delivered with a multi-generational appeal never before seen.”

“It’s been a breakthrough year in cinema on a number of fronts,” said Gil Robertson, president of AAFCA. “Most significantly, the tremendous success of “Black Panther” and “Crazy Rich Asians” clearly demonstrates that films populated by people of color can perform well overseas. AAFCA’s Top 10 marks the first time so many films by or about black identity have made our list, presenting storylines that reflect the diversity that lives within the black community.  It was also good to see “Roma” and “The Favourite” make our TOP 10 because these films, as well, shine light on themes and storylines representing popular culture.”

Several special achievement awards will be announced in the coming weeks including the Cinema Vanguard Award, the ICON Award, AAFCA’s Stanley Kramer Award and the organization’s inaugural Pioneer Award.

The AAFCA Awards, sponsored by Nissan, Home Depot and Morgan Stanley Global Sports & Entertainment, will take place on February 6, 2019 at the Taglyan Complex.  For additional information, please visit AAFCA.COM.

ABOUT AAFCA
Established in 2003, AAFCA is the premiere body of Black film critics in the world, actively reviewing film and television, with a particular emphasis on entertainment that includes the Black experience and storytellers from the African Diaspora. The organization’s primary mission is to cultivate understanding, appreciation and advancement of the contributions of African descended talent to cinematic and television culture – from the artistic and technical legends of the past to the still unimagined breakthroughs of future generations.  AAFCA members are a geographically diverse cross-section of journalists, covering all genres of the cinematic arts, while representing multiple mediums – including print, TV, radio broadcast and online. Collectively, they reach a worldwide audience in excess of 100 million. As a non-profit organization, AAFCA is committed to numerous educational and philanthropic efforts, particularly those that foster and celebrate diversity and inclusion. For more information on AAFCA and its programs visit http://AAFCA.com.