The Help, Jumping the Broom, Mooz-Lum, Shame all score multiple film noms
Fishburne, Boyega, Spencer, Oduye, Wayans, DuVernay and McQueen all secure multiple nods
Pariah, the story of a Brooklyn lesbian teenager searching for her sexual expression led the field with nine nominations as the Foundation for the Advancement of African-Americans in Film (FAAAF) announced its nominees Wednesday for its 12th annual Black Reel Awards.
They were followed closely by both The Help and Jumping the Broom, which each garnered seven nominations, Mooz-Lum (which collected six), the sexual addiction drama, Shame which took home five nomination and the educational drama, The First Grader, which received four nods.
The Black Reel Awards comprised of more than 50 voters across the country annually select and spotlight films and performances featuring African-Americans as well as people of color throughout the African Diaspora. In a year with limited major studio releases, independent and international films dominate the awards nomination landscape like no previous campaigns.
Pariah, the debut film from writer/director Dee Rees garnered nine nominations including Outstanding Film, Outstanding Actress for Adepero Oduye as well as Outstanding Supporting Actress for Kim Wayans. In addition, both Wayans and Oduye also were nominated for Outstanding Breakthrough Performance category.
Rees, a protégé of Spike Lee, also received dual nominations for Outstanding Director and Outstanding Screenplay, Original or Adapted for her semi-autobiographical tale in which a young woman struggles as she learns that by accepting her identity, her life becomes increasingly chaotic.
The Help secured several nods including Outstanding Film and nods in the major categories for both Oscar hopefuls Viola Davis (Outstanding Actress) and two for Octavia Spencer (Outstanding Supporting Actress and Outstanding Breakthrough Performance). Meanwhile Laz Alonso (Outstanding Actor), Mike Epps (Outstanding Supporting Actor) and previous Black Reel Awards winner, Angela Bassett (Outstanding Supporting Actress) were also recognized for Jumping the Broom.
Leading the field in the Television category was Five. The film collected four nominations including Outstanding Television Film, and Outstanding Television Performances, Female for Rosario Dawson, Jenifer Lewis and Tracee Ellis Ross. Ross and and her brother, Evan Ross (Outstanding Actor for Mooz-Lum) make history as the first set of siblings to be nominated in the same year for Black Reel Awards. Also vying for this year’s top prize for Outstanding Television or Mini-Series will be the successful stage plays turned films Thurgood and The Sunset Limited, the powerful tale of a determined mother, Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story and the brilliant BBC series, Luther.
In the three Independent categories, nominees were assembled primarily of winners from the four major African-American film festivals, The Pan African Film Festival, Hollywood Black Film Festival, American Black Film Festival and the Urbanworld Film Festival and will contend for Outstanding Independent honors.
Several actors and directors scored multiple nominations including Attack the Block’s John Boyega (Outstanding Actor and Outstanding Breakthrough), Laurence Fishburne (Outstanding Supporting Actor for Contagion and Outstanding Television Performance, Male for Thurgood), director/writer, Ava DuVernay (Outstanding Director and Outstanding Screenplay, Original or Adapted for I Will Follow), British writer/director Steve McQueen (Outstanding Director and Outstanding Screenplay), Wayans, Oduye and Spencer.
In the Outstanding Song category, multiple Grammy Awards winners/nominees will compete against a novice when Mary J. Blige (The Help), Cee-Lo Green (Footloose), Ludacris (Fast Five), four-time Black Reel Awards winner Jamie Foxx (Rio) will square off against past Black Reel Award Outstanding Actress nominee, Nicole Beharie (My Last Day Without You).
Despite winning the equivalent of six African Oscars last year, Viva Riva was only able to secure one nomination this year in the newly-created Outstanding Foreign Film category. The entry from the Democratic Republic of the Congo will compete against entries from the UK (Attack the Block), Rwanda (Kinyarwanda), Kenya (The First Grader) and South Africa (Life, Above All).
The 12th Annual Black Reel Awards winners will be announced on Friday, February 10th in Washington, DC.
The nominations for the 2012 Black Reel Awards:
Outstanding Actor
John Boyega – Attack the Block
Demián Bichir– A Better Life
Laz Alonso – Jumping the Broom
Oliver Litondo – The First Grader
Evan Ross – Mooz-Lum
Outstanding Actress
Viola Davis – The Help
Adepero Oduye – Pariah
Zoe Saldana – Columbiana
Nia Long – Mooz-Lum
Naomie Harris – The First Grader
Outstanding Supporting Actor
Anthony Mackie – The Adjustment Bureau
Don Cheadle – The Guard
Isiah Whitlock Jr. – Cedar Rapids
Laurence Fishburne – Contagion
Mike Epps – Jumping the Broom
Outstanding Supporting Actress
Octavia Spencer – The Help
Maya Rudolph – Bridesmaids
Kim Wayans – Pariah
Pernell Walker – Pariah
Angela Bassett – Jumping the Broom
Outstanding Screenplay, Original or Adapted
Steve McQueen and Abi Morgan – Shame
Qasim Bashir – Mooz-Lum
Dee Rees – Pariah
Ava DuVernay – I Will Follow
Elizabeth Hunter and Arlene Gibbs – Jumping the Broom
Outstanding Director
Steve McQueen – Shame
Dee Rees – Pariah
Qasim Bashir – Mooz-Lum
Ava DuVernay – I Will Follow
Salim Akil – Jumping the Broom
Outstanding Film
Pariah
Shame
The Help
Attack the Block
Jumping the Broom
Outstanding Breakthrough Performance
Octavia Spencer – The Help
Adepero Oduye – Pariah
John Boyega – Attack the Block
Kim Wayans – Pariah
Gugu Mbatha-Raw – Larry Crowne
Outstanding Ensemble
Pariah
Attack the Block
The Help
Mooz-Lum
Fast Five
Jumping the Broom
Outstanding Original Song
The Living Proof – Mary J. Blige (The Help)
Walkin’ Blues – Cee-Lo Green featuring Kenny Wayne Shepherd (Footloose)
Furiously Dangerous – Ludacris (Fast Five)
Fly Love – Jamie Foxx (Rio)
My Last Day Without You – Nicole Beharie (My Last Day Without You)
Outstanding Score
Harry Escott – Shame
Steven Price – Attack the Block
Misha Segal – Mooz-Lum
Thomas Newman – The Help
Alex Heffes – The First Grader
Outstanding Foreign Film
Attack the Block
The First Grader
Kinyarwanda
Life, Above All
Viva Riva!
Outstanding Feature Documentary
Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey – Constance Marks
Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest – Michael Rapaport
The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 – Goran Olsson
Undefeated – Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin
The Interrupters – Steve James
Outstanding Independent Feature Film
My Last Day Without You – Stefan C. Schaefer
The Tested – Russell Constanzo
Mamitas – Nicholas Ozeki
Besouro – João Daniel Tikhomiroff
Billy – Winston Washington Moxam
Outstanding Independent Short Film
Fig – Ryan Coogler
Wolf Call – Rob Underhill
Wake – Bree Newsome
The Abyss Boys – Jan-Hendrik Beetge
The Tombs – Jerry Lamonthe
Outstanding Independent Documentary
Infiltrating Hollywood: The Rise and Fall of the Spook Who Sat By the Door – Christine Acham and Clifford Ward
Gang Girl: A Mother’s Journey to Save Her Daughter – Valerie Goodloe
Brown Babies – Regina Griffin
Zero Percent – Tim Skousen
The Manuscripts of Timbuktu – Zola Maseko
Burn: The Evolution of An American City – Harold Jackson III
Outstanding Television or Mini-Series Performance, Male
Idris Elba – Luther
Laurence Fishburne – Thurgood
Samuel L. Jackson – The Sunset Limited
Eric Benet – Trinity Goodheart
Mykelti Williamson – Have A Little Faith
Outstanding Television or Mini-Series Performance, Female
Taraji P. Henson – Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story
Anika Noni Rose – Bag of Bones
Rosario Dawson – Five
Jenifer Lewis – Five
Tracee Ellis Ross – Five
Outstanding Television Documentary
Planet Rock: The Story of Hip Hop and the Crack Generation – VH1 (Richard Low and Martin Torgoff)
Pray the Devil Back to Hell – PBS (Gini Reticker)
The Fab Five – ESPN (Jason Hehir)
Black in Latin America – PBS (Henry Louis Gates)
The Latino List – HBO (Timothy Greenfield-Sanders)
Outstanding Television or Mini-Series Film
Thurgood – HBO (Michael Stevens)
Luther – BBC (Katie Swinden)
Five – Lifetime (Nellie Nugiel)
The Sunset Limited – HBO (Barbara A. Hall)
Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story – Lifetime (Harvey Kahn)
THE FIRST GRADER should be leading this pack and how is SHAME nominated so many times?… I don’t recall the African American elements in that movie other than the one girl Michael Fassbender hooks up with… Weird…
Mr. Jones, The First Grader only was able to generate enough voter support for both of it’s lead but the overall elements of the story must have not appeal to the voters. Shame is nominated so many times because our awards honor African-American or people of color’s participation in front of and behind the camera. Director/writer Steve McQueen’s participation makes that film eligible for Best Picture and Screenplay honors.
I would have gone with Besouro for Outstanding film and Score