The 23rd annual Black Reel Awards took place Monday, February 6th, with “The Woman King” leading the field, snagging six awards including Best Picture. BAFTA nominee Gina Prince-Bythewood‘s historical epic is inspired by true events that took place in The Kingdom of Dahomey, one of the most powerful states of Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries. “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” was close behind with five wins.
Special honorary award winners were Angela Bassett (Sidney Poitier Trailblazer Award), Effie T. Brown (Vanguard Award), Debra Martin Chase (Oscar Micheaux Impact Award) and Kerry Washington (Ruby Dee Humanitarian Award).
The Black Reel Awards, or the “Bolt”, is an annual American awards ceremony hosted by the Foundation for the Augmentation of African-Americans in Film (FAAAF) to recognize the excellence of African-Americans, as well as the cinematic achievements of the African diaspora, in the global film industry, as assessed by the Foundation’s voting membership.
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Below is the full list of 2023 Black Reel nominees with the winners highlighted in gold.
BEST PICTURE
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
“Devotion”
“Nope”
“Till”
X – “The Woman King”
BEST DIRECTOR
Elegance Bratton (“The Inspection”)
X – Gina Prince-Bythewood (“The Woman King”)
Chinonye Chukwu (“Till”)
Ryan Coogler (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”)
Jordan Peele (“Nope”)
BEST ACTOR
John Boyega (“Breaking”)
Sterling K. Brown (“Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul”)
Daniel Kaluuya (“Nope”)
Jonathan Majors (“Devotion”)
X – Jeremy Pope (“The Inspection”)
BEST ACTRESS
Viola Davis (“The Woman King”)
X – Danielle Deadwyler (“Till”)
Anna Diop (“Nanny”)
Regina Hall (“Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul”)
Letitia Wright (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
X – Brian Tyree Henry (“Causeway”)
Michael Ward (“Empire of Light”)
Michael K. Williams (“Breaking”)
Bokeem Woodbine (“The Inspection”)
Jeffrey Wright (“The Batman”)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
X – Angela Bassett (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”)
Thuso Mbedu (“The Woman King”)
Janelle Monae (“Glass Onion”)
Keke Palmer (“Nope”)
Gabrielle Union (“The Inspection”)
BEST SCREENPLAY
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole
“The Inspection,” Elegance Bratton
“Nanny,” Nikyatu Jusu
“Nope,” Jordan Peele
X – “Till,” Keith Beauchamp, Michael Reilly and Chinonye Chukwu
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
“Neptune Frost” (Rwanda)
X – “Saint Omer” (France)
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“Aftershock”
“Descendant”
“Is That Black Enough For You?”
“Louis Armstrong’s Black and Blues”
X – “Sidney”
BEST ENSEMBLE
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
“Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul”
“The Inspection”
“Till”
X – “The Woman King”
BEST VOICE PERFORMANCE
Zazie Beets (“The Bad Guys”)
Idris Elba (“Sonic the Hedgehog 2”)
Keke Palmer (“Lightyear”)
X – Zoe Saldana (“Avatar: The Way of Water”)
Gabrielle Union (“Strange World”)
BEST SCORE
“Alice”
“End of the Road”
“Nanny”
“Nope”
X – “The Woman King”
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Born Again” (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”)
“Keep Rising” (“The Woman King”)
X – “Lift Me Up” (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”)
“Paper Airplanes” (“A Jazzman’s Blues”)
“Stand Up” (“Till”)
BEST SOUNDTRACK
X – “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
“A Jazzman’s Blues”
“Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story”
“Till”
“The Woman King”
BEST INDEPENDENT FILM
“Emergency”
“Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul”
X – “The Inspection”
“Master”
“Nanny”
BEST SHORT FILM
“Angola Do You Hear Us? Voice From a Plantation Prison”
“Elegy: My Two Months in Harlem”
“Fanny”
“New Moon”
X – “North Star”
BEST EMERGING DIRECTOR
Elegance Bratton (“The Inspection”)
Adamma Ebo (“Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul”)
X – Nikyatu Jusu (“Nanny”)
Elvis Mitchell (“Is That Black Enough For You?”)
Carey Williams (“Emergency”)
BEST BREAKTHROUGH ACTOR
Jalyn Hall (“Till”)
Daryl McCormack (“Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”)
X – Jeremy Pope (“The Inspection”)
Quintessa Swindell (“Black Adam”)
Michael Ward (“Empire of Light”)
BEST BREAKTHROUGH ACTRESS
Sheila Atim (“The Woman King”)
Charmaine Bingwa (“Emancipation”)
Anna Diop (“Nanny”)
X – Thuso Mbedu (“The Woman King”)
Dominique Thorne (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”)
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
“Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul,” Adamma Ebo
X – “The Inspection,” Elegance Bratton
“Master,” Mariama Diallo
“Nanny,” Nikyatu Jusu
“On the Come Up,” Kay Oyegun
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Autmun Durald Arkapwa
“Emancipation,” Robert Richardson
X – “Nope,” Hoyte Van Hoytema
“Till,” Bobby Bukowski
“The Woman King,” Polly Morgan
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
X – “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Ruth E. Carter
“Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul.,” Lorraine Coppin
“Nanny,” Charlese Antoinette Jones
“Till,” Marci Rodgers
“The Woman King,” Gersha Phillips
BEST EDITING
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Michael P. Shawver, Kelley Dixon and Jennifer Lame
“I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” Daysha Broadway
“Louis Armstrong’s Black and Blues,” Jason Pollard and Alma Herrera-Pazmino
“Thirteen Lives,” James D. Wilcox
X – “The Woman King,” Terilyn A. Shropshire
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
X – “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Hannah Beachler
“Devotion,” Wynn Thomas
“Nope,” Ruth de Jong
“Till,” Curtis Beech
“The Woman King,” Akin McKenzie
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