The 14th Annual Black Reel Awards Nominations

The most competitive year in Black film did not disappoint as a record three film shared top honors as the nominations for the 14th Annual Black Reel Awards were unveiled this morning.

12 Years A Slave, Fruitvale Station and Lee Daniels’ The Butler all received nine nominations each with all three films also being nominated for Outstanding Picture. Also vying for top picture honors are Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and 42.

One of the more interesting anomalies this year is the fact that all five of the Outstanding Picture nominees are based on real individuals, baseball pioneer, Jackie Robinson, slain Bay-area resident, Oscar Grant, recently deceased political icon, Nelson Mandela, former-slave-turned-author, Solomon Northup and long-time White House butler, Eugene Allen.

Other films receiving multiple nominations included the crowd-pleasing favorite The Best Man Holiday, which received five nominations and 42, Blue Caprice and Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom which all received four nominations each.

Voters were just as conflicted on the television side with three films leading the pack, Being Mary Jane, Pastor Brown and The Watsons Go to Birmingham all nabbing six nominations. Close on their heels were Crazy, Sexy, Cool: The TLC Story and Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth, which both received four nominations each.

With three high-profile releases, The Weinstein Company received a record-breaking 24 nominations with the closest studio, Fox Searchlight nabbing ten. On the television side, Lifetime was at the head of the class with ten nominations with their nearest competitors being BET, the Hallmark Channel and HBO taking home six each.

In a year that saw a record 17 actors receive multiple nominations, the most impressive feat is the affinity and consistency that voters have with Spike Lee. The most nominated person in Black Reel Awards history received his 24th nomination, more than any individual, for Outstanding Television Director for HBO documentary, Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth.

For a complete list of the Black Reel Award Nominees, see the list below:

Outstanding Motion Picture
• 12 Years a Slave | Brad Pitt, Steve McQueen, Anthony Katagas, Jeremy Kleiner, Bill Pohlad, Arnon Milchan
• 42 | Thomas Tull
• Fruitvale Station | Nina Yang Bonogivoi & Forest Whitaker
• Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom | Anant Singh & David M. Thompson
• Lee Daniels’ The Butler | Lee Daniels, Pam Williams & Laura Ziskin

Outstanding Actor, Motion Picture
• Chiwetel Ejiofor | 12 Years a Slave
• Idris Elba | Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
• Michael B. Jordan | Fruitvale Station
• Isaiah Washington | Blue Caprice
• Forest Whitaker | Lee Daniels’ The Butler

Outstanding Actress, Motion Picture
• Halle Berry | The Call
• Rosario Dawson | Trance
• Danai Gurira | Mother of George
• LisaGay Hamilton | Go for Sisters
• Nia Long | The Best Man Holiday

Outstanding Supporting Actor, Motion Picture
• Barkhad Abdi | Captain Phillips
• David Oyelowo | Lee Daniels’ The Butler
• Nate Parker | Ain’t Them Bodies Saints
• Tequan Richmond | Blue Caprice
• Keith Stanfield | Short Term 12

Outstanding Supporting Actress, Motion Picture
• Melonie Diaz | Fruitvale Station
• Naomie Harris | Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
• Lupita Nyong’o | 12 Years a Slave
• Octavia Spencer | Fruitvale Station
• Oprah Winfrey | Lee Daniels’ The Butler

Outstanding Director, Motion Picture
• Ryan Coogler | Fruitvale Station
• Lee Daniels | Lee Daniels’ The Butler
• Malcolm D. Lee | The Best Man Holiday
• Steve McQueen | 12 Years a Slave
• George Tilman Jr. | The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete

Outstanding Screenplay (Original or Adapted), Motion Picture
• Ryan Coogler | Fruitvale Station
• Malcolm D. Lee | The Best Man Holiday
• Kasi Lemmons | Black Nativity
• John Ridley | 12 Years a Slave
• Michael Starburry | The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete

Outstanding Documentary
• 20 Feet From Stardom | Morgan Neville
• Free Angela and All Political Prisoners | Shola Lynch
• God Loves Uganda | Roger Ross Williams
• The Trials of Muhammad Ali | Bill Siegel
• Venus & Serena | Maiken Baird & Michelle Major

Outstanding Ensemble
• 12 Years a Slave | Francine Maiser
• 42 | Victoria Thomas
• The Best Man Holiday | Julie Hutchinson
• Fruitvale Station | Nina Henninger
• Lee Daniels’ The Butler | Leah Daniels & Billy Hopkins

Outstanding Foreign Film
• Better Mus Come | Jamaica
• Home Again | Canada
• Nairobi Half Life | Kenya
• Storage 24 | UK
• War Witch | Canada

Outstanding Score
• Stanley Clarke | The Best Man Holiday
• Ludwig Goransson | Fruitvale Station
• Mark Isham | 42
• Rodrigo Leao | Lee Daniels’ The Butler
• Hans Zimmer | 12 Years a Slave

Outstanding Original Song
• “Desperation” from 20 Feet From Stardom | Written & Performed by: Judith Hill
• “Happy” from Despicable Me 2 | Written & Performed by: Pharrell Williams
• “In the Middle of the Night” from Lee Daniels’ The Butler | Performed by: Fantasia Barrino,
Written by: F. Barrino, K. Washington, A. Terry & K. McMasters
• “Queen of the Field (Patsey’s Song)” from 12 Years a Slave | Written & Performed by: Alicia Keys
• “You and I Ain’t No More” from Lee Daniels’ The Butler | Performed by: Gladys Knight, Written by:
Lenny Kravitz

Outstanding Breakthrough Actor Performance
• Barkhad Abdi | Captain Phillips
• Chadwick Boseman | 42
• Skylan Brooks | The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete
• Tequan Richmond | Blue Caprice
• Keith Stanfield | Short Term 12

Outstanding Breakthrough Actress Performance
• Melonie Diaz | Fruitvale Station
• Danai Gurira | Mother of George
• Lindiwe Matshikiza | Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
• Lupita Nyong’o | 12 Years a Slave
• Tashiana Washington | Gimme the Loot

Outstanding Voice Performance
• Keith David | Free Birds (Relativity Media)
• Snoop Dogg | Turbo (20th Century Fox)
• Samuel L. Jackson | Turbo (20th Century Fox)
• Beyonce Knowles | Epic (20th Century Fox)
• Maya Rudolph | Turbo (20th Century Fox)

INDEPENDENT

Outstanding Independent Feature
• An Oversimplification of Her Beauty | Terence Nance
• Blue Caprice | Alexandre Moors
• Go for Sisters | John Sayles
• Mother of George | Andrew Dosumu
• Things Never Said | Charles Murray

Outstanding Independent Documentary
• Africa: The Beat | Javier Arias Bal, Polo Vallejo, Pablo Vega, Manuel Velasco
• I Want My Name Back | Roger Paradiso
• Lenny Cooke | Benny & Joshua Safdie
• The New Black | Yoruba Richen
• Unheard: Black Women in Civil Rights | Nev Nnaji

Outstanding Independent Short
• African Cowboy | Rodney Charles
• Black Girl in Paris | Kiandra Parks
• A Different Tree | Steven Caple Jr.
• Sweet Honey Child | Talibah Newman
• They Die by Dawn | Jeymes Samuel

TELEVISION

Outstanding Television Documentary
• Dark Girls | Bill Duke & Dr. Channsin Berry
• Jimi Hendrix: Hear My Train A Comin | Bob Smeaton
• Made in America | Ron Howard
• Venus vs. | Ava DuVernay
• Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley | George Schlatter

Outstanding TV Movie or Mini-Series
• Being Mary Jane | Claire Brown
• Betty & Coretta| Yves Simoneau & Jacqueline Lavoie
• Crazy, Sexy, Cool: The TLC Story | Bill Diggins, Lyyn Hylden, Maggie Malina, Rozonda “Chili” Thomas,
Tionne “T-Boz Watkins”
• Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth | Emily Cohen
• The Watsons Go to Birmingham | Philip Kleinbart, Tonya Lewis Lee, Nikki Silver

Outstanding Actor, TV Movie or Mini-Series
• Keith David | Pastor Brown
• Chiwetel Ejiofor | “Dancing on the Edge”
• Omari Hardwick | A Christmas Blessing
• Ernie Hudson | Pastor Brown
• Mike Tyson | Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth

Outstanding Actress, TV Movie or Mini-Series
• Angela Bassett | Betty & Coretta
• Keke Palmer | Crazy, Sexy, Cool: The TLC Story
• Anika Noni Rose | The Watsons Go to Birmingham
• Gabrielle Union | Being Mary Jane
• Salli Richardson-Whitfield | Pastor Brown

Outstanding Supporting Actor, TV Movie or Mini-Series
• Richard Brooks | Being Mary Jane
• Danny Glover | Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight
• Omari Hardwick | Being Mary Jane
• Wood Harris | The Watsons Go to Birmingham
• Ernie Hudson | Call Me Crazy: A Five Film

Outstanding Supporting Actress, TV Movie or Mini-Series
• Loretta Devine | Saving Westbrook High
• Audra McDonald | The Sound of Music
• Nicole Ari Parker | Pastor Brown
• LaTonya Richardson | The Watsons Go to Birmingham
• Octavia Spencer | Call Me Crazy: A Five Film

Outstanding Director, TV Movie or Mini-Series
• Salim Akil | Being Mary Jane
• Rockmond Dunbar | Pastor Brown
• Spike Lee | Mike Tyson: Undisputed: Truth
• Kenny Leon | The Watsons Go to Birmingham
• Charles Stone III | Crazy, Sexy, Cool: The TLC Story

Outstanding Screenplay (Adapted or Original), TV Movie or Mini-Series
• Mara Brock Akil | Being Mary Jane
• Rhonda Baraka | Pastor Brown
• Caliope Brattlestreet, Stephen Glantz & Tonya Lee Lewis | The Watsons Go to Birmingham
• Kate Lanier | Crazy, Sexy, Cool: The TLC Story
• Kiki Tyson | Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth