Will Smith, Angela Bassett and More Attend the AAFCA Awards

Danielle Deadwyler, Will Smith, Angela Bassett and more attended the African American Film Critics Association annual AAFCA awards on March 1.

With honorees previously announced in January, the star-studded ceremony was held at the Beverly Wilshire, Four Seasons Hotel and marked a moment of celebration off the heels of an awards season that many believe had Black creators snubbed for lack of nominations at numerous organizations including The Academy. Elegance Branton’s The Inspection starring Jeremy Pope, Gina-Prince Bythewood’s The Woman King, and Danielle Deadwyler along with the cast and creators from Till were glaringly missing from nominations. BAFTA did not have any Black winners at their recent awards show.

With that said, for 20 years, Co-founders Gil L. Robertson, Kathy Williamson, Daryle Lockhart, and Kevin Heard, continue to lead the organization with the idea “to amplify Black voices in film criticism and arts entertainment journalism from across the African Diaspora.”

Attendees and honored guests included Will Smith, Viola Davis, Angela Bassett, Ryan Coogler, Daniel Deadwyler and presenters included Meagan Good, Courtney B. Vance, Jordan Peele, Omarion, and Vanessa Bell Calloway, to name just a few.

Will Smith made an elegant yet complete media frenzy as bulbs were flashing pre-show on the ballroom floor, dressed in an all-brown slim fitted suit as he was met with hugs and congratulations from his peers and critics. He posed for photos with Jayln Hall (Till) and Angela Bassett (Wakanda Forever) to name a few.

This marked Smith’s first appearance at an awards show since his infamous Oscars incident with Chris Rock, and he appeared to be made to feel completely welcome. Critics have pointed out that many men in Hollywood that have made similar mistakes or much worse are still given access and accolades in the industry and that Smith put the work in to apologize and seek the help he needed.

Words cannot express what an amazing night I had at the @aafca awards. It was a night to celebrate + was a pleasure from the moment I walked in the door. The love was in the room. The films, cast, composers, song writers + show runners honored are pure excellence.

Congrats to… https://t.co/j1WHClvsTc pic.twitter.com/Xvw66h8s4s

— Nikki Fowler (@NikkiFowler28) March 3, 2023

Roy Wood Jr.

Roy Wood Jr. hosted the event and had the crowd laughing throughout the night with his candid and witty banter. Wood made sure to let the crowd know to put selfies in their Instagram grid, not just their stories, joking, “This is forever, these ain’t no 24-hour pictures,” He also noted the Black excellence in the room announcing that “Angela Bassett and Jordan Peele were in the building…We are in here tonight with our heroes, colleagues and friends, and everyone that’s been dodging our calls all year.” 

Wood also mentioned that we are in the room with the critics who watched all the Black films and that these films speak to those persons from a cultural perspective. He mentioned that these are not movies that you can cram into a few weeks of viewing, that they are profound and weighty films, and applauded the voters putting in the work who make up the AAFCA.

He joked that he needed to put a little Abbott Elementary in between Emancipation and The Woman King, noting the critics did the heavy lifting. He shared the encumbrances of making Black movies with the financial and ‘greenlit’ hurdles, especially those focused on Black pain. “Pitching a Black film is the only time you will hear white Hollywood say, ‘Who all gonna be there,’ as he had the crowd roaring as he kept his monologue real and unfiltered. 

#WillSmith showed up for the 14th anniversary of @theaafca Awards! I’m SO happy for co-founder @gilrobertson!! Happy 14th Anniversary #AAFCA! 👏🏽👏🏽🎉 pic.twitter.com/MsAFqr0Zfb

— Leshelle Sargent (@Publicist_LVS) March 2, 2023

Till

The night began with the Emerging Face award, which went to the mighty Jalyn Hall, who was honored for his role as Emmit Till opposite Danielle Deadwyler in Till and for his work in Brusier. Jalyn was very thankful for the award on behalf of Danielle and his family and made a special thanks to the AAFCA. 

Danielle Deadwyler gave a passionate speech winning Best Actress for her portrayal of Mamie Till-Mobley in Till, which included comparing centuries past to present-day politicians looking to ban African American history, which spans over 400 years in this country.

Some critics online mentioned that Till was a tough watch, as an explanation for why it was shut out of nominations at The Academy, but it’s been pointed out that Stephen Spielberg’s Schindler’s List was no less or more painful to watch and received numerous accolades and awards.

She stated, “The act of looking, the act of witnessing is present a dire choice.” Deadwyler called out the “forces that seek to exclude our work.” As a nod to AAFCA critics and as an artist she stated that “we pursue that which has been prohibited. We read the banned books, we watch the dire films at the encouragement of the caring critic. We share them still.”

Black female directors were celebrated during the night including the Impact Award going to Till directed by Chinonye Chukwu, written by Michael Reilly, Keith Beauchamp, and Chukwu, and produced by Beauchamp, Reilly, and Whoopi Goldberg. Till is a stunning film with beautiful cinematography and production. The film stars Danielle Deadwyler as Mamie Till-Bradley, with Jalyn Hall, Frankie Faison, Haley Bennett, and Goldberg in supporting roles. 

Keith Beauchamp accepted the award on behalf of Chukwu, stating he was overwhelmed by the film and Mamie Till-Bradley’s story, whose decision to show photos of her son’s brutalized corpse ignited the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and ’60s. Beauchamp championed that many filmmakers attempted and failed to make this film, but this team prevailed.

Emancipation

AAFCA co-founder Gil L Robertson joined the stage with Emancipation’s Charmaine Bingwa to present The Beacon Award to Antoine Fuqua and Will Smith for their work on Emancipation which was celebrated as a cinematic masterpiece. Smith stated, “Emancipation was the individual most difficult film of my entire career … It’s really difficult to transport a modern mind to that time period. It’s difficult to imagine that level of inhumanity.” 

Next, the actor then gave a riveting account of a scene filmed repeatedly with one of his costars adlibbing on set, mimicking the inhumanity of the time period that the film portrays, which included actually spitting on him with no warning. Smith made light of the moment, stating that if he had pearls on, he would have clutched them simultaneously creating a barrage of welcome laughter during a tense story that had Will actually overwhelmed and teary-eyed on stage.

He continued, “In this room are people who really suffer for the art, to bring these stories to the screen — and to deliver them in a way that has emotional impact for the telling of our stories and hopefully just the subtle possibility to change a heart, or a mind.” 

Smith praised Apple for their dedication to the project in not flinching at the budget, stating “the story was more important than how much it costs to get it done,” to which Smith had the crowd chuckling as he joked, “so we added some more stuff that we wanted, they make iPhones, they can do it.”

Will shared that he was blown away at the lengths he was made to go to for this film by Antoine Fuqua and that his knowledge of his real-life character Peter has changed his life, finishing with a thank you to Charmaine, his costar. 

Glass Onion

Rian Johnson was celebrated for Netflix’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery for best writing and best ensemble which included Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Kate Hudson, and Dave Bautista. Rian sent a video message thanking the AAFCA and compared shooting the film to “theater camp” with how pleasant the experience was. 

Nanny

Nikyatu Jusu, who wrote and directed Nanny and previously was awarded Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, which made it the first horror film to ever win this award, was honored with Best Independent Feature and mentioned that she is a first-generation American with parents from Sierra Leone.

She stated that this award “hits different when your community sees you.” She described that she wants to be a bridge to the gap that often divides the Black diaspora.” She continued, “We are so much stronger together than we are fractured.”

Wakanda Forever

Angela Bassett won the award for Best Supporting Actress for Black Panther, Wakanda Forever as she took the stage in a gorgeous white suit fitted with a white feather boa across the front. She shared a stirring and inspiring speech, stating, “Every role that I have taken on has been to break through those perceptions of us as Black women, to show our humanity, to tell the diversity of our stories, and to share the complexities of what it means to be Black and woman.”

Bassett continued to mention the women who have continued to inspire her like Diahann Carroll, Ruby Dee, and Rosalind Cash. “I hope that the work I’ve done and continue to do in my career will one day be the bright light at the end of a long tunnel for someone who needs the confidence and comfort in knowing that by remaining true to your purpose, you’re showing the world who you are, rather the world deciding for you,” Bassett declared.

Rihanna took home the win for Best Song for “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther, Wakanda Forever, which was accepted on her behalf by Nate Moore, producer for the film. He mentioned how important the song is to the film and how personal it is to Ryan Cooglar, who serves as one of the song’s co-writers. Ryan also presented The Ashley Boone Award to fellow producer, Nate Moore for the same film and gave a background on how the two met and Wakanda Forever came to be.

Production Designer and Academy Award winner Hannah Beachler was also honored with the Building Change Award, presented by Lowes and it was a delight to see her montage on the miraculous strides she has overcome to sit where she is in the industry. Beachler was the first to be nominated in the Production Design category by the Academy and she is best known for her work on Creed, Miles Ahead, and Beyonce’s TV special and visual album Lemonade.

The Woman King

Gina Prince-Bythewood was awarded the best director award for her Sony masterpiece The Woman King streaming now on Netflix at the number one spot starring Viola Davis. The film stars Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, and John Boyega and had some of the best action, cinematography, costumes, and action scenes. The hair and makeup were incredible and noted by fans of the film across social media.

She mentioned in her speech that, “The Woman King was such a profound experience … It was absolutely the hardest shoot of my career, but also the most beautiful.”

She continued, “I truly loved making this film. And what amplified the love is that we got to reframe history, our history, which has been so bombarded with historically inaccurate information. For so many of us, our history is talked about as enslavement and victimization, and savagery. Being able to do The Woman King and tell our story the right way machetes that.”

Sidney

Sidney, Apple’s film on Sidney Poitier, won Best Documentary. Director Reginald Hudlin’s daughter took the stage along with Poitier’s daughters, Anika and Sidney Poitier, who were very thankful to the team for “the deep care and respect” that they had for their father’s story and “allowing him to tell it in his own words to the best of their abilities.”

Nope

Composer Kathryn Bostic was in attendance and was part of a montage that honored the incredible composer Michael Abels with The Innovator Award for his score of Jordan Peele’s Nope. Abels worked on other Peele projects including both Get Out and Us which was short-listed for the Oscars. Abels also had his hand in the highly acclaimed opera Omar.

See below for the full list of winners.

WINNERS | 14TH ANNUAL AAFCA AWARDS
Best Picture: The Woman King
Best Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Woman King)
Best Actor: Jeremy Pope (The Inspection)
Best Actress: Danielle Deadwyler (Till)
Best Supporting Actor: Brian Tyree Henry (Causeway)
Best Supporting Actress: Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
Emerging Face: Jayln Hall (Till & Bruiser)
Emerging Filmmaker: Carey Williams (Emergency)
Best Independent Feature: Nanny
Best Animated Feature: Wendell & Wild
Best Documentary: Sidney
Best Ensemble: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Best Writing: Rian Johnson (Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery)
Best International Feature: Saint Omer
Best Song: “Lift Me Up” (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
Best Live Action Short: We Cry Together
Best Animated Short: New Moon

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT HONOREES | 14TH ANNUAL AAFCA AWARDS
Impact Award: Till
The Innovator Award: Composer, Michael Abels (Nope)
Building Change Award, presented by Lowes: Production Designer, Hannah Beachler (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
The Beacon Award: Antoine Fuqua and Will Smith (Emancipation)
The Ashley Boone Award: Producer, Nate Moore (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)