AAFCA Awards

The African American Film Critics have announced the winners of their annual awards! AAFCA actively reviews and spotlights cinema with a 100-plus member voting body. The organization, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2023, will be announcing additional special events and programming in the coming months. The critic group is set to host an annual award show in Los Angeles on March 1st.

“AAFCA is deeply honored to recognize some of the most captivating films and performances of the year,” said AAFCA president and co-founder Gil Robertson. “These thought-provoking stories of strength, determination and courage lift us and entertain us. It’s an honor to recognize the incredible, visionary work both in front of and behind the camera of this year’s AAFCA Award winners.”

A ceremony to honor the winners is set for March 1 at the Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills.

Here are some of the AAFCA Awards 2023 winners:

Best Picture

The Woman King

In the 1800s, a group of all-female warriors protects the African kingdom of Dahomey with skills and fierceness, unlike anything the world has ever seen. Faced with a new threat, Gen. Nanisca trains the next generation of recruits to fight against a foreign enemy that’s determined to destroy their way of life.

Best Director

Gina Prince-Bythewood
The Woman King

Gina Maria Prince-Bythewood is an American film director and screenwriter. She is known for directing the films Love & Basketball, Disappearing Acts, The Secret Life of Bees, Beyond the Lights, The Old Guard, and The Woman King.

Best Actor

Jeremy Pope
The Inspection

Jeremy Pope is an American actor and singer. Pope is the sixth person in Tony Award history to be nominated in two categories for separate performances during the same year. The Inspection is the tale of a young, gay Black man with few options for his future who decides to join the Marines, willing to do whatever it takes to prove himself to his estranged mother and triumph in a system that would otherwise cast him aside.

Best Actress:

Danielle Deadwyler
Till
The true story of Mamie Till-Mobley’s relentless pursuit of justice for her 14-year-old son, Emmett Till, who was brutally lynched in 1955 while visiting his cousins in Mississippi. Danielle Deadwyler is an American actress. She began her career appearing on the Atlanta stage, notably the 2009 production of For Colored Girls, before making her screen debut in the 2012 drama film A Cross to Bear.

Best Supporting Actor

Brian Tyree Henry
Causeway

Lynsey, a U.S. soldier, experiences a traumatic brain injury after an IED explosion during her tour in Afghanistan which forces her to return home to New Orleans. She struggles to return to her daily life with her mother as she waits for her wish to return for redeployment. Her doctor is reluctant to sign her waiver to return as he feels that trauma is a strong link to her depression. As she improves with rehabilitation, she becomes unlikely friends with James, an auto mechanic, who also has physical and mental trauma

Best Supporting Actress

Angela Bassett
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Queen Ramonda, Shuri, M’Baku, Okoye, and the Dora Milaje fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with Nakia and Everett Ross to forge a new path for their beloved kingdom.

Emerging Face

Jalyn Hall
Till & Bruiser

Jalyn Hall is an American actor best known for his role as Dillon James on All American. He was cast as Emmett Till in the 2022 film Till.

The full list of the AAFCA Awards winners can be found on the AAFCA home page. Congratulations to all of the winners of these prestigious awards!