Tag Archives: Damson Idris

Here Are The 2025 Black Reel Award Nominations!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Here are the 2025 Black Reel Award nominations!  The winners will be announced on February 16th.

Outstanding Film (Award given to producers)
Hedda – Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Gabrielle Nadig, Nia DaCosta, Tessa Thompson, producers
Highest 2 Lowest – Todd Black, Jason Michael Berman, producers
One of Them Days – Issa Rae, Deniese Davis, Sara Rastogi, James Lopez, Poppy Hank, producers
Sinners – Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian, Ryan Coogler, producers
Wicked: For Good – Marc Platt, David Stone, producers

Outstanding Director
Ryan Coogler – Sinners
Nia DaCosta – Hedda
Spike Lee – Highest 2 Lowest
Rungano Nyoni – On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
R.T. Thorne – 40 Acres

Outstanding Lead Performance
Danielle Deadwyler – 40 Acres
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked: For Good
André Holland – Love, Brooklyn
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another
Dwayne Johnson – The Smashing Machine
Michael B. Jordan – Sinners
Jonathan Majors – Magazine Dreams
Keke Palmer – One of Them Days
Tessa Thompson – Hedda
Denzel Washington – Highest 2 Lowest

Outstanding Supporting Performance
Miles Caton – Sinners
Regina Hall – One Battle After Another
Damson Idris – F1
David Jonsson – The Long Walk
Delroy Lindo – Sinners
Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – Eternity
A$AP Rocky – Highest 2 Lowest
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another
Jeffrey Wright – Highest 2 Lowest

Outstanding Screenplay
Ryan Coogler – Sinners
Nia DaCosta – Hedda
Rungano Nyoni – On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
Syreeta Singleton – One of Them Days
R.T. Thorne – 40 Acres

Outstanding Documentary (Award given to director)
Being Eddie – Angus Wall, director
In Whose Name? – Nico Ballesteros, director
Orwell: 2+2=5 – Raoul Peck, director
Songs From the Hole – Contessa Gayles, director
The Perfect Neighbor – Geeta Gandbhir, director

Outstanding Ensemble (Award given to casting director)
40 Acres – Stephanie Gorin, casting director
Highest 2 Lowest – Kim Coleman, casting director
On Becoming a Guinea Fowl – Isabella Odoffin, casting director
One of Them Days – Nicole Abellera, Jeanne McCarthy, casting directors
Sinners – Francine Maisler, casting director

Outstanding International Film (Award given to director)
My Father’s Shadow – United Kingdom
Night Call – Belgium
On Becoming a Guinea Fowl – Zambia, United Kingdom, Ireland
Souleymane’s Story – France
We Were Here: The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe – Germany

Outstanding Voice Performance
Danielle Brooks – The Bad Guys 2
Quinta Brunson – Zootopia 2
Idris Elba – Zootopia 2
Anthony Ramos – The Bad Guys 2
Zoe Saldana – Avatar: Fire and Ash

Outstanding Score
Freaky Tales – Raphael Saadiq, composer
Hedda – Hildur Guðnadóttir, composer
Highest 2 Lowest – Howard Drossin, composer
Sinners – Ludwig Göransson, composer
The Eyes of Ghana – Kris Bowers, composer

Outstanding Original Song (Award given to performer and writer)
“Highest 2 Lowest” from Highest 2 Lowest – Aiyana-Lee Anderson, performer; Aiyana-Lee Anderson, Nicole Daciana Anderson, writers
“I Lied to You” from Sinners – Miles Caton, performer; Raphael Saadiq, Ludwig Göransson, writers
“Last Time (I Seen the Sun)” from Sinners – Miles Caton, Alice Smith, performers; Miles Caton, Alice Smith, Ludwig Göransson, writers
“Pale, Pale Moon” from Sinners – Brittany Howard, performer; Brittany Howard, Ludwig Göransson, writers
“Sinners” from Sinners – Rod Wave, performer; Darius Povillunas, Kyris D’Asia, Rod Wave, Tarkan Kozluklu, writers

Outstanding Soundtrack
Freaky Tales
Highest 2 Lowest
One of Them Days
Sinners
Wicked: For Good

Outstanding Independent Film (Award given to director)
40 Acres – R.T. Thorne, director
Love, Brooklyn – Rachael Holder, director
Magazine Dreams – Elijah Bynum, director
My Father’s Shadow – Akinola Davies Jr., director
On Becoming a Guinea Fowl – Rungano Nyoni, director

Outstanding Independent Documentary (Award given to director)
BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions – Kahlil Joseph, director
The Eyes of Ghana – Ben Proudfoot, director
Fatherless No More – Kayla Johnson, director
Seeds – Brittany Shyne, director
We Were Here: The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe – Fred Kudjo Kuwornu, director

Outstanding Short Film (Award given to director)
The Devil Is Busy – Geeta Gandbhir, Christalyn Hampton, directors
JULES – Tiffany Abney, director
Walk in the Light – Princella Smith, director

Outstanding Emerging Director
Akinola Davies Jr. – My Father’s Shadow
Rachael Holder – Love, Brooklyn
Kahlil Joseph – BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions
Rungano Nyoni – On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
R.T. Thorne – 40 Acres

Outstanding Breakthrough Performance
Miles Caton – Sinners
Susan Chardy – On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
Naya Desir-Johnson – Sarah’s Oil
Damson Idris – F1
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another
Jayme Lawson – Sinners
A$AP Rocky – Highest 2 Lowest
Abou Sangaré – Souleymane’s Story
SZA – One of Them Days
Tyriq Withers – HIM

Outstanding First Screenplay
Nnamdi Asmougha – The Knife
Akinola Davies Jr., Wale Davies – My Father’s Shadow
Rungano Nyoni – On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
Syreeta Singleton – One of Them Days
R.T. Thorne – 40 Acres

Outstanding Cinematography
Autumn Durald Arkapaw – Sinners
Jermaine Canute, Bradley Edwards – My Father’s Shadow
Kira Kelly – HIM
Malik Hassan Sayeed – After the Hunt
Brittany Shyne – Seeds

Outstanding Costume Design
Charlene Akuamoah – 40 Acres
Estelle Don Banda – On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
Ruth E. Carter – Sinners
Francine Jamison-Tanchuck – Highest 2 Lowest
Paul Tazewell – Wicked: For Good

Outstanding Editing
Ronald Bronstein, Benny Safdie – The Smashing Machine
Kahlil Joseph, Luke Lynch, Paul Rogers – BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions
Taylor Joy Mason – HIM
Michael P. Shawver – Sinners
Malika Zouhali-Worrall – Seeds

Outstanding Hair & Makeup
Amber Aprin, Mele Egbe – My Dead Friend Zoe
Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine, Sian Richards, Shunika Terry – Sinners
Antonio Hines, Chancelle Mulela – 40 Acres
Kazu Hiro, Felix Fox, Mia Neal – The Smashing Machine
Vonda K. Morris, Nikki Wright – One of Them Days

Outstanding Production Design (Award given to production designer and set decorator)
Ramsey Avery, Rosemary Brandenburg – Captain America: Brave New World
Hannah Beachler, Monique Champagne – Sinners
Cara Brower, Stella Fox – Hedda
James Chinlund, Marcia Calosio, Mike Keel, Frank Okay – The Smashing Machine
Nathan Crowley, Lee Sanders – Wicked: For Good

The Films of 2025: F1 (dir by Joseph Kosinski)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

“Do they have the car?”

“We have the driver.”

Those two lines of dialogue, uttered towards the end of the film, pretty much sums up F1, a terrifically entertaining movie about Formula One racing.

Brad Pitt stars as Sonny Hayes, a former FI prodigy who, in the early 90s, suffered a traumatic crash at the Spanish Grand Prix.  The crash nearly killed him and it temporarily ended his career as an F1 driver.  Sonny has spent the past thirty years as a drifter, gambler, and as a race car driver for hire.  He lives in a van and is haunted by nightmares of his crash.  When he wakes up in the morning, he groans as he stretches his tattooed, beat-up, but still muscular body.  He dunks his face in a sink full of ice.  He’s aging but he hasn’t surrendered just yet.  The film opens with Sonny helping to win the 24 Hours of Daytona race.  After his victory, he’s approached by his former teammate, Ruben (Javier Bardem).  Ruben is in charge of the APEXGP F1 team.  He needs a driver to partner with the young and arrogant Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris).  Sonny agrees, though only after Ruben asks if Sonny wants a chance to show that he’s the best in the world.  Sonny may be one of the oldest guys on the track but he’s still got something to prove.

If F1 came out in 80s, the 90s, or even the Aughts, it would be viewed as a well-made but predictable racing film, one in which a fairly by-the-numbers script was held together by Brad Pitt’s overwhelming charisma and Joseph Kosiniski’s kinetic direction.  And that certainly is a legitimate way to view the film in 2025.  On the other hand, coming after both the scoldy Woke Era and the authoritarian COVID Era, a film that celebrates competing without guilt, that says that it’s more fun to win than to lose, and which doesn’t apologize for embracing a culture of driving fast and breaking the rules feels almost revolutionary.  Just as he did with Top Gun: Maverick, director Joseph Kosinski reminds the audience that it’s okay to be entertained.  Not everything has to be a struggle session.  Not everything has to be a rejection of the things that once made you happy.  F1 is a film that invites you to cheer without guilt or shame.

It’s a good film, one that is full of exciting racing scenes and gasp-inducing crashes.  After both this film and Top Gun: Maverick, there’s little doubt that director Joseph Kosinski knows how to harness the power of Hollywood’s few true movie stars.  That said, as good as Brad Pitt is, Damson Idris is equally impressive, playing Joshua, a young driver who learns that there’s more to being a great driver than just getting good press.  When we first meet Joshua, he’s young and cocky and arrogant and one thing that I respect about the film is that, even after Joshua learns the importance of teamwork and trust, he’s still more than a little cocky.  He never stops believing in himself.  He doesn’t sacrifice his confidence on the way to becoming the best.  Though the film is definitely on Sonny’s side when it comes to their early conflicts (one can practically here the film saying, “Put down your phone, you young whippersnapper!”), it’s smart enough to not make Joshua into a caricature.  Instead, he’s just a young man trying to balance celebrity and talent.  Kerry Condon also gives a good performance as APEX’s technical director, though her romance with Sonny does feel a bit tacked on.  (Far too often, whenever a female character says that she’s not looking for a relationship, movies refuse to take her word for it.)

When I first heard about F1, I have to admit that I wondered if Kosinski was deliberately following up the Top Gun sequel with a remake of Days of Thunder.It is true that F1 does have a lot in common with other racing films but, in the end, it doesn’t matter.  Brad Pitt’s star turn and Joseph Kosinski’s direction makes F1 into an absolutely thrill ride and one of the best of 2025.

The African American Film Critics Association Honors Sinners

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The African American Film Critics Association has announced its picks for the best of 2025!  And here they are:

AAFCA’S TOP 10 FILMS OF THE YEAR
1. Sinners (Warner Bros.)
2. One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
3. Hedda (Amazon MGM)
4. Frankenstein (Netflix)
5. Hamnet (Focus Features)
6. Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)
7. F1 (Apple/Warner Bros.)
8. One of Them Days (Sony Pictures Releasing)
9. The Knife (Relativity Media)
10. The Smashing Machine (A24)

BEST ACTOR – Michael B. Jordan – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
BEST ACTRESS – Tessa Thompson – Hedda (Amazon MGM)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – Damson Idris – F1 (Apple/Warner Bros.)
BEST DOCUMENTARY – The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix)
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE – KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix)
BEST DIRECTOR – Ryan Coogler – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
BEST WRITING – Ryan Coogler – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
EMERGING FACE (ACTOR) – Miles Caton – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
EMERGING FACE (ACTRESS) – Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
BEST INDEPENDENT FEATURE – Hedda (Amazon MGM)
BEST ENSEMBLE – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT – The Rebel Girls
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT – Hoops, Hopes & Dreams
BEST ANIMATED SHORT – Black Man, Black Man
BEST MUSIC – Ludwig Göransson – Sinners (Warner Bros.)

Playing Catch-Up With The Films of 2017: Megan Leavey (dir by Gabriela Cowperthwaite)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

One of the best (and, in my opinion, overlooked) films of 2017 was Megan Leavey.

Based on a true story, Megan Leavey tells the true story of … well, Megan Leavey.  When the film starts, Megan (played, in one of the best performances of 2017, by Kate Mara) is living a somewhat directionless life in upstate New York.  Her parents are divorced and she’s closer to her father (Bradley Whitford) even though she has more contact (and shares a much more strained relationship) with her mother (Edie Falco).  Speaking as a child of divorce, the scenes of Megan trying to navigate the mine field between her parents rang painfully true at times. I spent the entire movie waiting for Megan and her parents to have some sort of big moment where, in typical artificial movie fashion, all conflicts would be solved and everything would suddenly be okay.  To the film’s credit, that moment never comes.

Instead, Megan enlists in the Marines.  She finds herself assigned as a Military Police K9 handler.  What that means is that Megan finds herself in Iraq, working with a dog named Rex.  Rex’s job is to sniff out explosives and other threats.  One wrong move by either Megan or Rex will result in not only their deaths but also the deaths of everyone around them.  Remember how tense some of the scenes in The Hurt Locker were?  Well, that’s nothing compared to the intensity of the bomb-sniffing scenes in Megan Leavey.  After all, in The Hurt Locker, we only had Jeremy Renner to worry about.  Megan Leavey, however, features a truly adorable dog.

When Megan returns home from serving two tours in Iraq, she struggles with PTSD and the adjustment to civilian life.  Rex is assigned to a different handler and continues his duties, leaving Megan without the one creature that she felt she could trust.  And again, Megan Leavey deserves a lot of credit for not offering up any easy or pat solutions for Megan’s difficulties to adjusting to life back in the States.  It’s too honest a film and has too much respect for it audience to cheapen its narrative with easy or manipulative sentiment.

When Rex develops facial paralysis, he is retired from active duty.  With the help of her U.S. Senator, Megan adopted Rex and gave him a home until he passed away in 2012.  That senator was Chuck Schumer and thankfully, Megan Leavey resisted the temptation to cast Chuck Schumer as himself.  Instead, when Megan approaches her Senator on the Capitol steps, the senator is played by a professional-looking character actor who looks and sounds absolutely nothing like Chuck Schumer.  By making this simple casting decision, the film keeps the focus off of the politicians and on Megan and Rex, where it belongs.

Did Megan Leavey make me cry?  You better believe it did.  However, it earned every one of these tears.  This is a wonderfully sweet and moving film, one that works largely because it refuses to overemphasize the sentimental aspects of the story.  Instead, Megan Leavey always remains rooted in reality.  It’s a gritty film about a dog and a soldier who survived being sent to one of the most dangerous places n the world.  It’s the story of how Rex saved Megan’s life and how Megan returned the favor by saving Rex’s.  It’s a sweet, straight forward story that can be appreciated even by people, like me, who prefer cats.