"12 Years a Slave" Has Record Night at Black Reel Awards

by Leroy Douresseaux

The evening of Thursday, February 13, 2014 in the Nation’s Capital (Washington D.C., for some of you), the 14th Annual Black Reel Awards ceremony took place.  The Black Reel Awards handed out their prizes for the finest accomplishments and achievements of African-Americans and people of the African Diaspora in feature and independent films and television in 2013.

The runaway winner of the night was 12 Years a Slave.  Directed by Steve McQueen, the film is a harrowing story of a free black man who is kidnapped from his Northern home and family and forced into more than a decade of slavery.  The film won 8 awards, besting previous record-holder, Precious, which won 7 Black Reel Awards out of 10 nominations at the 2010 awards.

12 Years a Slave’s wins included “Outstanding Motion Picture,” “Outstanding Actor” for Chiwetel Ejiofor (who also won “Outstanding TV Movie Actor” for Dancing on the Edge), “Outstanding Supporting Actress” for newcomer Lupita Nyong’o (who also won “Outstanding Female Breakthrough Performance”), “Outstanding Director” for Steve McQueen, “Outstanding Screenplay” for John Ridley, “Outstanding Ensemble,” and “Outstanding Score,” an apparently unexpected win for maestro Hans Zimmer.

Outstanding TV Movie or Mini-Series was awarded to Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth, which also an earned an “Outstanding Director, TV Movie” award for Spike Lee.

2014 / 14th BLACK REEL AWARDS WINNERS (for the year in film and television 2013):

Outstanding Motion Picture
12 Years a Slave

Outstanding Actor
Chiwetel Ejiofor | 12 Years a Slave

Outstanding Actress
Danai Gurira | Mother of George

Outstanding Supporting Actor
Barkhad Abdi | Captain Phillips

Outstanding Supporting Actress
Lupita Nyong’o | 12 Years a Slave

Outstanding Director
Steve McQueen | 12 Years a Slave

Outstanding Screenplay
John Ridley | 12 Years a Slave

Outstanding Documentary
20 Feet From Stardom | Morgan Neville

Outstanding Ensemble
12 Years a Slave | Francine Maiser

Outstanding Foreign Film
War Witch | Canada

Outstanding Score
Hans Zimmer | 12 Years a Slave

Outstanding Original Song
“Desperation” by Judith Hill | 20 Feet From Stardom

Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Male
Barkhad Abdi | Captain Phillips

Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Female
Lupita Nyong’o | 12 Years a Slave

Outstanding Voice Performance
Samuel L. Jackson | Turbo

Outstanding Independent Feature
Blue Caprice | Alexandre Moors

Outstanding Independent Documentary
The New Black | Yoruba Richen

Outstanding Independent Short
Black Girl in Paris | Kiandra Parks

Outstanding Television Documentary
Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley | Whoopi Goldberg

Outstanding TV Movie or Mini-Series
Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth

Outstanding TV Movie Actor
Chiwetel Ejiofor | Dancing on Edge

Outstanding TV Movie Actress
Anika Noni Rose | The Watsons Go to Birmingham

Outstanding Supporting Actor, TV Movie
Omari Hardwick | Being Mary Jane

Outstanding Supporting Actress, TV Movie
Octavia Spencer | Call Me Crazy: A Five Film

Outstanding Director, TV Movie
Spike Lee | Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth

Outstanding Screenplay, TV Movie
Mara Brock Akil | Being Mary Jane

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