Will Smith, Jennifer Hudson, Corey Hawkins, Aunjanue Ellis take top acting honors
“King Richard” and “The Harder They Fall” each won four AAFCA Awards with “King Richard” taking top honors for Best Actor (Will Smith), Best Supporting Actress (Aunjanue Ellis), Breakout Actor (Saniyya Sidney) and Emerging Director (Reinaldo Marcus Green) and “The Harder They Fall” winning Best Picture, Best Ensemble, Best Music (Jeymes Samuel, Kid Cudi, Jay-Z) and Best Director (Jeymes Samuel) honors. Other winners included Best Actress Jennifer Hudson (“Respect”), Best Supporting Actor Corey Hawkins (“The Tragedy of Macbeth”), Best Screenplay (“Don’t Look Up” written by Adam McKay), “Who We Are” for Best Independent Feature and “Summer of Soul” for Best Documentary. Winners will be celebrated at the 13th Annual AAFCA Awards on March 2nd at the SLS Hotel in Los Angeles with a limited capacity audience and other health and safety protocols in place. The announcement was made today by AAFCA president and co-founder Gil Robertson.
“It’s been a fantastic year for film,” said Robertson. “Just having passed the two-year mark of a global pandemic, great entertainment means more to all of us than ever before. This year’s AAFCA winners not only entertained us, but educated and inspired us and we’re looking forward to celebrating them at the AAFCA Awards.”
WINNERS | 13TH ANNUAL AAFCA AWARDS
Best Picture: “The Harder They Fall”
Best Director: Jeymes Samuel (“The Harder They Fall”)
Best Screenplay: “Don’t Look Up” (Adam McKay)
Best Actor: Will Smith (“King Richard”)
Best Actress: Jennifer Hudson (“Respect”)
Best Supporting Actor: Corey Hawkins (“The Tragedy of Macbeth”)
Best Supporting Actress: Aunjanue Ellis (“King Richard”)
Breakout Actor: Saniyya Sidney (“King Richard”)
Best Ensemble: “The Harder They Fall”
Emerging Director: Reinaldo Marcus Green (“King Richard”)
Best Music: “The Harder They Fall” (Jeymes Samuel, Kid Cudi, Jay-Z)
Best Independent Feature: “Who We Are”
Best Documentary: “Summer of Soul”
Winners are voted on by AAFCA’s 90+ members.
Several special achievement awards will be announced in the coming weeks including the Cinema Vanguard Award, the ICON Award, AAFCA’s Stanley & Karen Kramer Award for Social Justice, the Building Change Award presented by Lowes and the Innovator Award presented by Nissan.
The sponsors for this year’s AAFCA Awards are Nissan, Lowes, Morgan Stanley, Facebook and Diageo.
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 www.AAFCA.com.
Asian World Film Festival (AWFF) Announces 2024 Film Line-Ups
The Asian World Film Festival (AWFF) announced the festival’s Main Competition and Short Film lineups; select, noteworthy screenings; special program highlights; and centerpiece film. Celebrating its 10th anniversary of showcasing Asian film from around the world, AWFF will take place November 13-21, 2024, at The Culver Theater in Culver City, CA. The nine-day festival will present narrative and documentary motion pictures and short films from 27 countries, including four that premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. More than 30 of the screenings will feature live Q&As with the filmmakers, talent, and crew. Georges N. Chamchoum, AWFF Executive Director, said, “We are very grateful to the filmmakers around the world supporting this year’s line-up with more than 60 narrative and documentary films. The AWFF continues to open the window to the region of Asia as well to showcase Asian-American talent through our range of programs. I am amazed at the depth and breadth of the work on the AWFF schedule this year.” AWFF Main Competition The Main Competition will exclusively include sixteen motion pictures submitted for the 97th Academy Award® for Best International Feature Film. Snow Leopard trophies will be awarded for Best Film, Best Actor, Best Actress, Special Jury Prize, and Audience Award. The Best Cinematography winner will receive a $45,000 Panavision Camera Package... Read More