One of black Hollywood’s biggest nights took place on Sunday, March 5th, as the American Black Film Festival Honors honored major players in the industry as well as an iconic film.
Kerry Washington, Courtney B. Vance, Charles D. King, and Janelle Monáe were the biggest stars of the night as each one of them were recognized for their work not only in front of the screen but behind the screen as well.
Washington was honored with the Excellence in the Arts Award (Female) while Vance was honored with the Excellence in the Arts Award (Male), King was honored with the Industry Leadership Award, and Monáe was honored with the Renaissance Award. But they were not the only honorees of the night, the ABFF also honored the cast and director Kasi Lemmon for their work on the film ‘Eve’s Bayou’ with the Classic Cinema Award honoring their 25th anniversary.
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The American Black Film Festival originally called the Acalpulco Black Film Festival, created by Jeff Friday, has been around since 1997, changing the name from Acalpulco to American in 2002. Its’ roots stem from Friday’s desire to use them “as a vehicle to strengthen the Black entertainment community by fostering resource sharing, education, and artistic collaboration.”
From the festivals’ 27 years of service came the ABFF Honors which in the past 5 years has honored names like Denzel Washington, Ava DuVernay, Regina King, Tiffany Haddish, Ryan Coogler, Don Cheadle, Will Packer, Queen Latifah, Lena Waithe, television shows including Martin, Love Jones and more.
Congratulations to this year’s honorees!