Queen & Slim Leads 2019 Black Reel Awards Nominees

Posted on December 11, 2019 at 5:25 pm

Copyright 2019 Universal Pictures
The gripping story of a couple on the run from the law following a traffic stop gone wrong, Queen and Slim, received 14 nominations and in the process became the third film in Black Reel Awards history to be so honored.

Director Melina Matsoukas’ piercing examination of race and justice tied both Tyler Perry’s For Colored Girls and Barry Jenkins’ If Beale Street Could Talk, scoring multiple nominations. They included Outstanding Motion Picture, Outstanding Actor (Daniel Kaluuya), Outstanding Actress and Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Female (Jodie Turner-Smith), Outstanding Screenplay (Original or Adapted) and Outstanding First Screenplay for Lena Waithe, as well as Outstanding Director and Outstanding Emerging Director for Matsoukas.

In addition, the film received multiple nominations in the Outstanding Song category, for Collide (Tiana Major9 & EARTH GANGO) and Guarding the Gates (Lauryn Hill), Outstanding Score and nods in every technical category, Outstanding Cinematography, Outstanding Costume Design and Outstanding Production Design.

Director Jordan Peele’s follow-up to his Black Reel Award winning film, Get Out, Us thrilled voters as well on the way to 12 nominations. Led by its visionary director, who garnered a record-tying four nominations including Outstanding Director, Outstanding Screenplay, Original or Adapted, and Outstanding Motion Picture. Peele also was recognized for Outstanding Voice Performer for Toy Story 4. Us also secured an Outstanding Motion Picture nomination as well as Outstanding Actress for Black Reel Award winner Lupita Nyong’o, Outstanding Supporting Actress and Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Female for newcomer Shahadi Wright Joseph, Outstanding Ensemble, Outstanding Score, Outstanding Cinematography, Outstanding Costume Design, and Outstanding Production Design.

The story of underground cult comedian Rudy Ray Moore, Dolemite Is My Name also scored double-digit nominations with 11. Led by Outstanding Actor nominee Eddie Murphy, the film received multiple nominations for its talented cast including Outstanding Supporting Actress and Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Female for newcomer Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Outstanding Supporting Actor for Black Reel Award winner Wesley Snipes, Outstanding Breakthrough Actor, Male for Titus Burgess. The film also garnered noms for Outstanding Ensemble, Outstanding Score, as well as Outstanding Costume Design for last year’s winner, Ruth E. Carter.

“I’m extremely thrilled with the choices that our Voting Academy made this year,” said Black Reel Awards founder and President, Tim Gordon. ”As we celebrate our 20th Anniversary, it is both humbling to reminisce about the journey, yet refreshing to see and experience so much new talent that graced the screen for the first time.”

Other highlights include Waves receiving nine nominations followed by the indie darling, The Last Black Man in San Francisco that scored eight nominations. Seven nominations went to the prison drama, Clemency, while both Harriet and Luce each took home six nods. In addition, three directors each received four nominations, Chinoye Chukwu, Julius Onah, and Peele.

The 20th Annual Black Reel Awards ceremony will take place on Thursday, February 6, 2020, live streamed on BlogTalkRadio.

20TH ANNUAL BLACK REEL AWARDS NOMINEES
(Digital Nomination Copy)

Outstanding Motion Picture

DOLEMITE IS MY NAME (Netflix)
Eddie Murphy, John Fox & John Davis

JUST MERCY (Warner Bros.)
Asher Goldstein & Gil Netter

QUEEN & SLIM (Universal Pictures)
Pamela Addy, Andrew Coles, James Frey, Michelle Knudsen, Melina Matsoukas, Lena Waithe & Brad Weston

US (Universal Pictures)
Jordan Peele, Jason Blum, Ian Cooper & Sean McKittrick

WAVES (A24)
Trey Edward Schultz, Kevin Turen & James Wilson

Copyright A24 2019

Outstanding Actor

JIMMIE FAILS
The Last Black Man in San Francisco (A24)

KELVIN HARRISON JR.
Luce (Neon)

KELVIN HARRISON JR.
Waves (A24)

DANIEL KALUUYA
Queen & Slim (Universal Pictures)

EDDIE MURPHY
Dolemite is My Name (Netflix)

Outstanding Actress

Cynthia Erivo stars as Harriet Tubman in HARRIET, a Focus Features release.
Credit: Glen Wilson / Focus Features

CYNTHIA ERIVO
Harriet (Focus Features)

GUGU MBATHA-RAW
Fast Color (Lionsgate/Codeblack)

LUPITA NYONG’O
Us (Universal Pictures)

JODIE TURNER-SMITH
Queen & Slim (Universal Pictures)

ALFRE WOODARD
Clemency (Neon)

Outstanding Director

MATI DIOP
Atlantics (Netflix)

KASI LEMMONS
Harriet (Focus Features)

MELINA MATSOUKAS
Queen & Slim (Universal Pictures)

JULIUS ONAH
Luce (Neon)

JORDAN PEELE
Us (Universal Pictures)

Outstanding Supporting Actor

STERLING K. BROWN
Waves (A24)

ALDIS HODGE
Clemency (Neon)

JAMIE FOXX
Just Mercy (Warner Bros.)

JONATHAN MAJORS
The Last Black Man in San Francisco (A24)

WESLEY SNIPES
Dolemite is My Name (Netflix)

Outstanding Supporting Actress

SHAHADI WRIGHT JOSEPH
Us (Universal Pictures)

JANELLE MONAE
Harriet (Focus Features)

DA’VINE JOY RANDOLPH
Dolemite is My Name (Netflix)

TAYLOR RUSSELL
Waves (A24)

OCTAVIA SPENCER
Luce (Neon)

Outstanding Screenplay

CLEMENCY (Neon)
Chinonye Chukwu

LES MISERABLES (Amazon Studios)
Ladj Ly, Giordano Gederlini & Alexis Manenti

LUCE (Neon)
J.C. Lee & Julius Onah

QUEEN & SLIM (Universal Pictures)
Lena Waithe

US (Universal Pictures)
Jordan Peele

Outstanding Documentary Feature

THE APOLLO (HBO Documentary)
Roger Ross Williams, director

THE BLACK GODFATHER (Netflix)
Reginald Hudlin, director

KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE (Netflix)
Rachel Lears, director

MILES DAVIS: BIRTH OF THE COOL (Abramorama)
Stanley Nelson, director

TONI MORRISON: THE PIECES I AM (Magnolia Pictures)
Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, director

Outstanding International Film

ATLANTICS (Netflix)
Senegal

THE BOY WHO HARNESSED THE WIND (Netflix)
United Kingdom

FARMING (Momentum Pictures)
United Kingdom

IN FABRIC (A24)
United Kingdom

LES MISERABLES (Amazon Studios)
France

Outstanding Ensemble

DOLEMITE IS MY NAME (Netflix)
Lindsay Graham & Mary Vernieu, casting directors

THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO (A24)
Julia Kim, casting director

JUST MERCY (Warner Bros.)
Carmen Cuba, casting director

US (Universal Pictures)
Terri Taylor, casting director

WAVES (A24)
Avy Kaufman, casting director

Outstanding Voice Performance

CHIWETEL EJIOFOR (Scar)
The Lion King (Disney)

DONALD GLOVER (Simba)
The Lion King (Disney)

JAMES EARL JONES (Mufasa)
The Lion King (Disney)

KEEGAN-MICHAEL KEY (Ducky)
Toy Story 4 (Disney)

JORDAN PEELE (Bunny)
Toy Story 4 (Disney)

Outstanding Score

DOLEMITE IS MY NAME (Netflix)
Scott Bomar

THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO (A24)
Emile Mosseri

QUEEN & SLIM (Universal Pictures)
Devonte Hynes

US (Universal Pictures)
Michael Abels

WAVES (A24)
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross

Outstanding Original Song

“COLLIDE” (QUEEN & SLIM)
Tiana Major9 & EARTH GANG, performers

“DON’T TURN BACK” (THE APOLLO)
Robert Glasper & Ledisi, performers

“GUARDING THE GATES” (QUEEN & SLIM)
Lauryn Hill, performer

“IT’S NOT OVER” (BRIAN BANKS)
Gizzle & Sam Fisher, performers

“SPIRIT” (THE LION KING)
Beyonce Knowles-Carter, performer

Outstanding Independent Feature – Awarded to the Director & Producers

BURNING CANE (ARRAY)
Phillip Youmans, director
Ojo Akinlana, Wendell Pierce, Mose Mayer, Isaac Webb, Cassandra Youmans Jakob Johnson & Karen Kaia Livers, producers

CLEMENCY (Neon)
Chinonye Chukwu, director
Timur Bekbosunov, Julian Cautherley, Bronwyn Cornelius & Peter Wong, producers

GUAVA ISLAND (Amazon Studios)
Hiro Murai, director
Donald Glover, Carmen Cuba, Jennifer Roth & Fam Udeorji, producers

THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO (A24)
Joe Talbot, director/producer
Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Christina Oh & Khaliah Neal, producers

LUCE (Neon)
Julius Onah, director/producer
John Baker & Andrew Yang, producers

Outstanding Short Film

AMERICA
Garrett Bradley, director

HAIR LOVE (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Matthew A. Cherry, director

IT’S NOT ABOUT JIMMY KEENE
Caleb Jaffe, director

SUICIDE BY SUNLIGHT
Nikyatu Jusu, director

ZAHRA AND THE OIL MAN
Yucef Mayes, director

Outstanding Independent Documentary

16 BARS
Sam Bathrick, director

NO LYE: AN AMERICAN BEAUTY STORY
Bayer Mack, director

THE REMIX: HIP HOP X FASHION
Lisa Cortes & Farah Khalid, director

Outstanding Emerging Director

CHINONYE CHUKWU
Clemency (Neon)

NIA DACOSTA
Little Woods (Neon)

MATI DIOP
Atlantics (Netflix)

MELINA MATSOUKAS
Queen & Slim (Universal)

JULIUS ONAH
Luce (Neon)

Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Male

TITUSS BURGESS
Dolemite Is My Name (Netflix)

JIMMIE FAILS
The Last Black Man in San Francisco (A24)

KELVIN HARRISON JR.
Waves (A24)

ALDIS HODGE
Clemency (Neon)

JONATHAN MAJORS
The Last Black Man in San Francisco (A24)

Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Female

MAME BINETA SANE
Atlantics (Netflix)

SHAHADI WRIGHT JOSEPH
Us (Universal Pictures)

DA’VINE JOY RANDOLPH
Dolemite is My Name (Netflix)

TAYLOR RUSSELL
Waves (A24)

JODIE TURNER-SMITH
Queen & Slim (Universal)

Outstanding First Screenplay

ATLANTICS (Netflix)
Mati Diop & Olivier Demangel

THE BOY WHO HARNESSED THE WIND (Netflix)
Chiwetel Ejiofor

BURNING CANE (ARRAY)
Phillip Youmans

CLEMENCY (Neon)
Chinoye Chukwu

QUEEN & SLIM (Universal Pictures)
Lena Waithe

Outstanding Cinematography

HARRIET (Focus Features)
John Toll

THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO (A24)
Adam Newport-Berra

QUEEN & SLIM (Universal Pictures)
Tad Radcliffe

US (Universal Pictures)
Mike Gioulakis

WAVES (A24)
Drew Daniels

Outstanding Costume Design

DOLEMITE IS MY NAME (Netflix)
Ruth E. Carter

HARRIET (Focus Features)
Paul Tazewell

HUSTLERS (STX Entertainment)
Mitchell Travers

QUEEN & SLIM (Universal Pictures)
Shiona Turini

US (Universal Pictures)
Kym Barrett

Outstanding Production Design

DOLEMITE IS MY NAME (Netflix)
Clay A. Griffith

HARRIET (Focus Features)
Warren Alan Young

THE LION KING (Disney)
James Chinlund

QUEEN & SLIM (Universal Pictures)
Karen Murphy

US (Universal Pictures)
Ruth De Jong

Nominations Per Film

14 nominations
Queen & Slim

11 nominations
Us

10 nominations
Dolemite is My Name

9 nominations
Waves

8 nominations
The Last Black Man in San Francisco

7 nominations
Clemency

6 nominations
Harriet
Luce

5 nominations
Atlantics
The Lion King

3 nominations
Just Mercy

2 nominations
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
Burning Cane
Les Miserables
Toy Story 4

1 nomination
16 Bars
America
The Black Godfather
Brian Banks
Guava Island
Farming
Fast Color
Hair Love
Hustlers
In Fabric
It’s Not About Jimmy Keene
Knock Down the House
Little Woods
Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool
No Lye: An American Beauty Story
The Remix: Hip Hop X Fashion
Suicide by the Sunlight
Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am
Zahra and the Oil Man

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Awards Race and Diversity

The Best of Enemies

Posted on April 4, 2019 at 5:30 pm

B +
Lowest Recommended Age: Middle School
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for thematic material, racial epithets, some violence and a suggestive reference
Profanity: Strong language including racist epithets
Alcohol/ Drugs: Alcohol, cigarettes
Violence/ Scariness: Peril and violence including racist attacks
Diversity Issues: A theme of the movie, including racial and disability issues
Date Released to Theaters: April 5, 2019
Date Released to DVD: July 1, 2019
Copyright 2018 STX Entertainment

The biggest divide in this big, divided world is not between people of different races or religions or political beliefs; it is between people who have different ideas of who is “us” and who is “them.” “The Best of Enemies” is based on the true story of C.P. Ellis (Sam Rockwell), a white supremacist and the Grand Exalted Cyclops (president) of the local chapter of the Klu Klux Klan, and Ann Atwater (Taraji P. Henson), a black woman who was a community activist working for civil rights and economic justice.

In 1971, Ellis and Atwater were appointed co-chairs of a charette, a dispute resolution mechanism used to resolve complicated community disagreements. Originally developed for land use debates among parties with multiple and varied interests, it was adapted for other kinds of issues by Bill Riddick, played in this film by Babou Ceesay.

Ellis and Atwater lived in Durham, North Carolina. Seventeen years after the Brown v. Board of Education decision by the Supreme Court that segregated schools were unconstitutional, the Durham schools were still divided. When the school attended by the black children burned down, the city had to decide whether to let them attend the school the white children were attending. The court did not want to deal with it, so they asked Bill Riddick to see if he could get the community to come to some agreement.

Ann Atwater worked for Operation Breakthrough but it was more than a profession; it was her calling. We first see her arguing on behalf of a young woman whose apartment is uninhabitable. And throughout the film we see that her entire life is one of advocacy and generosity. Everyone she meets is either someone to be protected or someone to help her protect others. Her sense of “us” encompassed the world.

C.P. Ellis ran a gas station. He loved his family, including a disabled son who lived in a residential facility.  The Klan made him feel respected and important. He created an outreach program to bring teenagers into the Klan. And he organized outings like the time they shot up the home of  a young white woman coming home from a date with a black man.

He agrees to co-chair the charette because he believes that anyone else who got the position would cave. And there are those in the town who would never associate with the Klan but who are glad to support them in private.

Rockwell and Henson make Ellis and Atwater into fully-developed, complex characters. There’s a world of history in the way Henson walks as Atwater, shoulders hunched, hitching her hips along.  In one scene where she reprimands young black boys for tearing down a KKK hood on display, and then straightens it herself after shooing them away, the expression in her eyes speaks volumes about what she has seen.  And when we see the patience and tenderness Ellis has for his disabled son, we get a sense of all he thinks has been taken from him and how much it matters to him to hold on to something that makes him feel powerful.

This is a thoughtful, sincere drama, beautifully performed with a touching conclusion, first of the story itself, and the small acts of kindness that make “thems” into “us-es,” and then with the footage of the real-life Atwater and Ellis. When she takes his arm to help him walk out of the room, our own us-es get a little larger, too.

Parents should know that this movie deals frankly with issues of bigotry and racism including attacks by the Klu Klux Klan. It includes some strong language with racist epithets and a sexual reference. Characters drink and smoke and there are violent, racially-motivated attacks.

Family discussion: What did Atwater and Ellis have in common? Why did she help his son? Why did she tell the boys not to take down the KKK hood? Who is the Ann Atwater in your community and what are the issues?

If you like this, try: the book by Osha Gray Davidson and the 2018 Oscar winner for Best Picture, Green Book

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Horror is More than Scares and Carnage

Posted on February 27, 2019 at 10:20 pm

As we see in movies like “Get Out,” “28 Days Later,” and “Dawn of the Dead,” horror can be more than scares and carnage. It can reflect and challenge our assumptions. Two new articles provide some fascinating commentary on these themes.

Copyright 1976 Red Bank Films
Mary Beth McAndrews writes on Reel Honey about “reclaiming female exploitation” in horror. “Recently, female directors have been working to reclaim this exploitation by appropriating these tropes to create empowering horror narratives. These films are still violent, but they do not solely depend on the suffering and abjection of their female characters….These directors and writers are just a few of the women in horror working to change the trajectory of the horror narrative and how we view the female body on-screen. Yes, horror is a genre built on violence and gore. But these women are re-evaluating the use of that exploitative violence into something thoughtful, empowering, and equally gory. The monsters they construct are not so fantastical and the scenarios they portray are much more real, giving their violence more meaning and purpose. It is not just about reveling in women’s bodies in pain; it is about understanding their pain.”

Copyright Universal 2017
And on Medium, Marcus Benjamin writes about a new documentary: “Horror Noire: A History Of Black Horror’ Makes The Case For Empathy In A Scary World.” Traditionally, he says, “Outside of dying, tending to the the main character’s need was our number one function. This was all done while doing a disservice to our own lives, which we may or may not have had on screen because no one cared enough to give them one. Or in the case of Rachel True’s character from The Craft, someone decided to cut out portions of the film altogether that explored her family life and other struggles….When you’re not surrounded by people of races other than your own, you don’t develop the empathy gene for them. How can you begin to comprehend how a black person feels about blackface if you don’t have any black people in your circle to tell you? Or if you’ve didn’t grow up with any black friends? Or if you grew up in a racist city or town? Despite all your efforts to learn, you’ll likely have a cultural blindspot or two. Similarly, when the history of cinema is filled with blackface or monsters and gigantic apes as stand-ins for black people, that means entire generations grew up believing black people were always lesser.”

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Critics Gender and Diversity Horror Race and Diversity Understanding Media and Pop Culture

Native Americans on Film

Posted on February 4, 2019 at 8:00 am

It wasn’t that long ago that Native American characters in film were played by actors of other races, including Burt Lancaster, Audrey Hepburn, Anthony Quinn, Burt Reynolds, Johnny Depp, and Elvis Presley. Depictions are often wildly inaccurate, from the most basic details of dress, ceremony, culture, and history.

It was just four years ago that Native American actors walked off the set of the Adam Sandler film, “The Ridiculous Six.” The fact that the movie was offensive to Caucasians and every sentient life form on the planet did not justify what the actors were being asked to do.

This week’s “Cold Pursuit” has real Native Americans playing Native American characters, and the one of the movie’s high points is when one of them uses their ethnicity — and the prospect of a withering Yelp review — to pressure a snooty hotel clerk into giving them a room. Most of the Native Americans in “Cold Pursuit” are criminals, but so are most of the rest of the characters.

Putting actors of Native American heritage in the movies is not enough. Letting them play characters who are not stereotypes, even better, letting them play characters where their ethnicity is not a defining characteristic– is a step forward. Best of all is the stories they tell by and about themselves, as in the endearing Smoke Signals.

Sierra Teller Ornelas writes in the Hollywood reporter that when she worked at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, many of the visitors asked for more information about what they had seen in the movies and it was almost entirely inaccurate.

We’re so invisible. And we’re so sick of explaining to people that we’re invisible. We have an abundance of great stories to tell. And even when we get to tell your stories, we make them so much better (see Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok). If traditional network and cable structures are about to straight-up implode, if people are finally desperate enough to try anything, then try me, or Sterlin Harjo and The 1491s, Sydney Freeland, Azie Dungey, Lucas Brown Eyes or all the other Native creators who are grinding and capable. Because if all content is indeed going the way of the streaming algorithm, I’m worried about what happens when you — and your voice and your stories — have never occurred to that algorithm.

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Film History Race and Diversity Understanding Media and Pop Culture

Share the Stories of Martin Luther King on MLK Day 2019

Posted on January 20, 2019 at 12:41 pm

As we celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King, every family should take time to talk about this great American leader and hero of the Civil Rights Movement. There are outstanding films and other resources for all ages.

I highly recommend the magnificent movie Boycott, starring Jeffrey Wright as Dr. King. And every family should study the history of the Montgomery bus boycott that changed the world.

It is humbling to remember that the boycotters never demanded complete desegregation of the public transit; that seemed too unrealistic a goal. This website has video interviews with the people who were there. This newspaper article describes Dr. King’s meeting with the bus line officials. And excellent teaching materials about the Montgomery bus boycott are available, including the modest and deeply moving reminder to the boycotters once segregation had been ruled unconstitutional that they should “demonstrate calm dignity,” “pray for guidance,” and refrain from boasting or bragging.

Families should also read They Walked To Freedom 1955-1956: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Paul Winfield has the lead in King, a brilliant and meticulously researched NBC miniseries co-starring Cecily Tyson that covers Dr. King’s entire career.

The March, narrated by Denzel Washington, is a documentary about the historic March on Washington with Dr. King’s famous “I have a dream” speech.

The brilliant film Selma tells the story of the fight for voting rights.

The Long Walk Home, starring Whoopi Goldberg and Sissy Spacek, makes clear that the boycott was a reminder to black and white women of their rights and opportunities — and risk of change.

Citizen King is a PBS documentary with archival footage of Dr. King and his colleagues.

Martin Luther King Jr. – I Have a Dream has his famous speech in full, still one of the most powerful moments in the history of oratory and one of the most meaningful moments in the history of freedom.

For children, Our Friend, Martin and Martin’s Big Words are a good introduction to Dr. King and the Civil Rights movement.

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