The Black Film Critics Circle Honors Sing Sing

Posted on December 25, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

On December 19th, the Black Film Critics Circle named Sing Sing the best film of 2024!

Best Film: Sing Sing
Best Director: RaMell Ross – Nickel Boys
Best Actor: Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Best Actress: Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
Best Supporting Actor: Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
Best Supporting Actress: Danielle Deadwyler – The Piano Lesson
Original Screenplay: The Brutalist
Adapted Screenplay: Nickel Boys
Cinematography: Nickel Boys
Documentary: Daughters
Animated Film: The Wild Robot
Foreign Film: All We Imagine As Light
Ensemble: Sing Sing
Pioneer Award: Denzel Washington
Rising Star/Best Newcomer: Malcolm Washington
Special Mention: Space Race

Here are the BFCC’s Top 10 films of the year:
1. Sing Sing
2. Wicked
3. Conclave
4. The Brutalist
5. Nickel Boys
6. The Wild Robot
7. Dune: Part Two
8. The Substance
9. Exhibiting Forgiveness
10. Flow

The Black Film Critics Circle Honors American Fiction!

Posted on December 20, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Black Film Critics Circle has announced its picks for the best of 2023 and here they are:

Best Film: American Fiction
Best Director: Cord Jefferson – American Fiction
Best Actor: Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction
Best Actress: Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor – Origin
Best Supporting Actor: Sterling K. Brown – American Fiction
Best Supporting Actress: Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple
Best Original Screenplay: Past Lives
Best Adapted Screenplay: (Tie) Oppenheimer & American Fiction
Best Cinematography: Poor Things
Best Documentary Film: American Symphony
Best Animated Film: Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
Best Ensemble: American Fiction

BFCC SIGNATURE AWARDS

PIONEER – Lisa Cortés

RISING STAR/ BEST NEWCOMER – (Tie) A.V. Rockwell & Tia Nomore

SPECIAL MENTION – Colman Domingo

Top Ten

1. American Fiction
2. Oppenheimer
3. The Color Purple
4. Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
5. Origin
6. Past Lives
7. Poor Things
8. Barbie
9. Maestro
10. Anatomy of a Fall

The Black Film Critics Circle Honors The Woman King

Posted on December 22, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Black Film Critics Circle has announced their picks for the best of 2022! And here they are:

Best Film: The Woman King
Best Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood – The Woman King
Best Actor: Brendan Fraser – The Whale
Best Actress: Danielle Deadwyler – Till
Best Supporting Actor: Ke Huy Quan – Everything Everywhere All At Once
Best Supporting Actress: Angela Bassett – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Best Original Screenplay: Everything Everywhere All At Once
Best Adapted Screenplay: (Tie) The Whale and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Best Cinematography: Top Gun: Maverick
Best Documentary: Fire of Love
Best Animated: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Best Foreign Film: RRR
Best Ensemble: The Woman King

BFCC Signature Awards:

PIONEER – Viola Davis

This year’s BFCC Pioneer Award is given to Viola Davis who, to quote BFCC Member K.A. GRANT (KAGrant.com), “The Woman King was truly a labor of love for her as a producer and as an actress. Not only did she work tirelessly to bring this story to life, but she changed her physical appearance to be combat ready for the film. Her contribution is immeasurable in what she has done for black women on the big screen. Her passion, and dedication to her craft embodies the very essence of the word Pioneer.”

RISING STAR – Adamma ebo

This year’s BFCC Rising star Award for producing, writing, directing, goes to – Adamma Ebo for her feature-length directorial debut for “Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul” to quote BFCC Member Harrison Martin,

(FLIXFROG), “A truly outstanding film that is well-written, acted, and directed. This is a great example of improving on a short film while keeping the same message.”

SPECIAL MENTION – Nikyatu Jusu

Special Mention this year goes to Nikyatu Jusu, for her horror film “Nanny” which was the first horror film to win Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize, is a deeply personal look at the American immigrant experience through the eyes of its lead character Immigrant nanny Aisha.

BLACK FILM CRITICS CIRCLE TOP TEN FILMS OF 2022
1. The Woman King
2. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
3. Top Gun: Maverick
4. Everything Everywhere All At Once
5. RRR
6. Nope
7. Avatar: The Way of Water
8. Women Talking
9. Till
10. The Batman

The Black Film Critics Circle Honors King Richard!

Posted on December 22, 2021 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Black Film Critics Circle has named King Richard the best from 2021!

Here are all of the winners from the BFCC!

Best Picture: “King Richard”
Director: Denis Villeneuve – “Dune”
Actor: Will Smith – “King Richard”
Actress: Tessa Thompson, “Passing”
Supporting Actor: Kodi Smit-McPhee – “The Power of the Dog”
Supporting Actress: Aunjanue Ellis – “King Richard”
Original Screenplay: Zach Baylin – “King Richard”
Adapted Screenplay: Jane Campion – “The Power of the Dog”
Cinematography: Greig Fraser – “Dune”
Documentary: “Summer of Soul”
Animated Film: “The Mitchells vs. the Machines”
Foreign Film: “The Hand of God”
Ensemble: “The Harder They Fall”

BFCC Signature Awards
Pioneer Award: Janicza Bravo – “Zola”
Rising Star: Jeymes Samuel – “The Harder They Fall”
Special Mention: Questlove

Top 10 Films
1. King Richard
2. The Harder They Fall
3. The Power of the Dog
4. West Side Story
5. Respect
6. Summer of Soul
7. Dune
8. The Tragedy of Macbeth
9. Cyrano
10. Passing

The Black Film Critics Circle Honors Ma Rainey!

Posted on January 23, 2021 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Black Film Critics Circle announced their picks for the best of 2020 on the 21st! Here are the winners from the BFCC:

TOP 10 FILMS OF THE YEAR
1. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
2. Minari
3. Nomadland
4. One Night in Miami
5. Soul
6. Judas and the Black Messiah
7. Da 5 Bloods
8. The Trial of the Chicago 7
9. Sound of Metal
10. The Forty-Year-Old Version (TIE)
10. Sylvie’s Love (TIE)

BEST DIRECTOR
Regina King – One Night in Miami (TIE)
Chloé Zhao – Nomadland (TIE)

BEST LEADING ACTOR
Chadwick Boseman – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

BEST LEADING ACTRESS
Viola Davis – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Leslie Odom Jr. – One Night in Miami

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Yuh-Jung Youn – Minari

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Lee Isaac Chung – Minari

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Ruben Santiago-Hudson – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Hoyte van Hoytema – Tenet

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Time

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Soul

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Night of the Kings

The Black Film Critic Circle Select Dolemite Is My Name As The Best of 2019!

Posted on December 25, 2019 by Lisa Marie Bowman

On Sunday, the Black Film Critics Circle announced their picks for the best of 2019!

And here they are:

Best Film: Dolemite Is My Name
Best Director: Martin Scorsese (The Irishman) and Kasi Lemmons (Harriet)
Best Actor: Eddie Murphy (Dolemite Is My Name)
Best Actress: Lupita Nyong’o (Us)
Best Supporting Actor: Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time In Hollywood)
Best Supporting Actress: Da’Vine Joy Randolph (Dolemite Is My Name)
Best Original Screenplay: Lena Waithe (Queen & Slim)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Steven Zaillian (The Irishman)
Best Cinematography: Roger Deakins (1917)
Best Foreign Film: Parasite
Best Documentary: Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am
Best Animated Film: I Lost My Body
Best Ensemble: Dolemite Is My Name
Pioneer Award: Ruth E Carter
Rising Star: Kelvin J. Harrison
Special Mention: Lloyd ‘Kam’ Williams

The Black Film Critics Circle Embraces Mudbound!

Posted on December 18, 2017 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Mudbound

The Black Film Critics Circle have added their voices to this year’s increasingly unpredictable awards season! They named Mudbound the best film of 2017. Here is the press release, with a full list of winners:

Best Film
Mudbound

Best Director
Jordan Peele, Get Out

Best Actor
Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour

Best Actress
Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri

Best Supporting Actor
Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project

Best Supporting Actress
Mary J. Blige, Mudbound

Best Original Screenplay
Get Out

Best Adapted Screenplay
Mudbound

Best Documentary
Strong Island

Best Animated Film
Coco

Best Cinematography
Blade Runner 2049

Best Ensemble
Mudbound

Best Foreign Film
A Fantastic Woman

SIGNATURE AWARDS

Industry Pioneer
Jordan Peele for his “genre redefining film Get Out. Peele has not only defied box office expectations but helped redefine a genre that very few African American filmmakers ever get to work in. This powerful storyteller has reminded the world that while horror films remains a lucrative entertainment genre there is much room for deeper meaning and social commentary within the context of the ‘scary movie’, the very essence of the word Pioneer.”

Rising Star
Daniel Kaluuya whose performance in Get Out “defines exactly what a rising star is, coming from seemingly nowhere his performance help cement get out as the horror film classic that it is. His ability convey humor, pathos, vulnerability and strength signify an actor whose talents will not only be in demand but will greatly enrich any film he is cast in what we believe will be a very long and memorable career.”

Special Mention
Girls Trip, directed by Malcolm Lee, produced by Will Packer with a script by Kenya Barris & Tracy Oliver and featuring an all-black cast “proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that African-American stories are as just as commercially viable as their white counterparts.”

BLACK FILM CRITICS CIRCLE TOP TEN FILMS OF 2017
1. Mudbound
2. Get Out
3. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri
4. The Shape of Water
5. The Post
6. Dunkirk
7. Marshall
8. Wonder Woman
9. I, Tonya
10. Blade Runner 2049

The Black Film Critics Circle Picks Moonlight!

Posted on December 22, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Black Film Critics Circle has named their picks for the best of 2016!

And here they are:

Best Film
Moonlight

Best Director
Barry Jenkins, Moonlight

Best Actor
Denzel Washington, Fences

Best Actress
Ruth Negga, Loving

Best Supporting Actor
Mahershala Ali, Moonlight

Best Supporting Actress
Viola Davis, Fences

Best Original Screenplay
Barry Jenkins, Moonlight

Best Adapted Screenplay
August Wilson, Fences

Best Cinematography
James Laxton, Moonlight

Best Foreign Film
Elle

Best Documentary
13TH

Best Animated Film
Zootopia

Best Ensemble
Fences

Awards Season Update: The Black Film Critics Circle Name Creed The Best of 2015!

Posted on December 31, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Hi! First off, I must apologize for the Black Film Critics Circle. They announced their picks for the best way back on the 22nd of December but, with the business of the holidays and all, I’ve only now had the opportunity to post them.

Here’s what the BFCC picked for the best of 2015!

BEST PICTURE Creed
BEST DIRECTING – George Miller, Mad Max Fury Road
BEST ACTOR – Michael B. Jordan, Creed
BEST ACTRESS – Brie Larson, Room
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – Sylvester Stallone, Creed
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – Tessa Thompson, Creed
BEST SCREENWRITING (Original Screenplay) – Straight Outta Compton
BEST SCREENWRITING (Adapted Screenplay) – The Martian
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY – Mad Max Fury Road
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM – Son of Saul
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE – What Happened, Miss Simone?
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE – Inside Out
BEST ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE – Straight Outta Compton

Special Awards were given to Ice Cube, Abraham Attah, and Beasts of No Nation.

BLACK FILM CRITICS CIRCLE TOP TEN FILMS OF 2015
1.Creed
2.Mad Max Fury Road
3.Straight Outta Compton
4.Spotlight
5.The Martian
6.Room
7.Beasts of No Nation
8.The Hateful Eight
9.The Big Short
10.Ex Machina

h/t to Awards Circuit