Thursday, March 28, 2024

‘Mudbound,’ ‘Get Out,’ ‘Girls Trip,’ ‘Strong Island’ among Black Film Critics Circle 2017 Winners

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Dee Rees (L) directs Mary J. Blige in "Mudbound" (Netflix)
Dee Rees (L) directs Mary J. Blige in “Mudbound” (Netflix)

*The Black Film Critics Circle has announced its 2017 winners in 13 categories, along with special Signature Awards and an overall list of its Top 10 movies of the year.

Dee Rees’ “Mudbound” has the most recognitions with four: Best Film, Best Supporting Actress (Mary J Blige), Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Ensemble.

Jordan Peele’s “Get Out” nabbed awards for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, while signature awards were given to Peele (Industry Pioneer) and lead actor Daniel Kaluuya (Rising Star).

The Netflix documentary “Strong Island,” which follows filmmaker Yance Ford’s emotional and unflinching look at his family’s devastation after the murder of his brother, nabbed Best Documentary. (See trailer above.)

Girls Trip
Girls Trip

“Girls Trip” was given a Special Mention award for the historic amount of box office it generated, despite its predominantly black and female cast. The film’s success “proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that African-American stories are just as commercially viable as their white counterparts,” BFCC noted in a statement announcing the winners.

Founded in 2010, the Black Film Critics Circle is comprised of film critics of color from daily and weekly newspapers, magazines, radio, television and qualifying online publications. The organization is dedicated to honoring excellence of professionals in the theatrical motion picture industry in U.S. and world cinema.

View its entire list of 2017 winners below:

MAIN PRIZES

Best Film
Mudbound

Best Director
Jordan Peele, Get Out

Best Actor
Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour

Best Actress
Frances McDormand, Three Billboard 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

Says founding member and co-president Mike Sargent, “This has been an enormous year for storytellers of color. For the first time we are seeing a large diversity of films that are not just starring actors, not just being written by, and not just being directed or produced by but written, directed, produced and starring African-Americans, shattering barriers and ushering in a true era of black film.

Never before have we had more African-American directors (Jordan Peele, F Gary Gray, Malcolm Lee) with films grossing over $100M each in the same year. And with Dee Rees, Margaret Betts and Ava DuVernay, all black female directors making studio backed films, change is not coming, change is here. African-American filmmakers are breaking box office records, redefining genres and reminding the world that we have many stories yet to be told.”

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