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“The Quiet Son,” a French film exploring family dynamics amidst far-right radicalization, has won the 2024 Collateral Impact Award at the 81st Venice Film Festival. The award, presented by Think-Film Impact Production and Impact Europe, recognizes films with significant societal impact potential.

Written and directed by Delphine Coulin and Muriel Coulin, the cast features Vincent Lindon, Benjamin Voisin and Stefan Crepon.

A high-profile jury selected the winner, comprising Adjoa Andoh, Chiwetel Ejiofor (“12 Years a Slave”), Alia Shawkat, Mstyslav Chernov, and Misan Sagay. The jury cited the film’s urgency in sparking conversation about the rise of the far-right and its societal impact.

During a Venice Production Bridge panel, jury members shared their thoughts on cinematic impact. Ejiofor highlighted cinema’s role in communicating real-world situations, stating: “Cinema can inspire leaders and legislators and help facilitate genuine lasting change.”

Andoh added: “The notion of having an intentional organization like Think-Film Impact...

Actors Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alia Shawkat and Adjoa Andoh are among the jurors on the Venice Film Festival’s second annual impact jury.

The impact prize, which has been renamed as the Venice Biennale Impact Award, will again honor a film in the official selection that has the “greatest potential” to affect wider societal changes. Matteo Garrone’s Io Capitano won the inaugural award in 2023, and went on to also take home the festival’s Silver Lion and earn an Oscar nomination for best international feature film.

Ejiofor will next star in the forthcoming social justice drama Rob Peace, while Shawkat...

Tana Gilbert’s ‘Malqueridas’ the other key winner.

Luna Carmoon’s debut feature Hoard led the winners of the 38th Venice Critics’ Week, taking three prizes including the audience award.

The UK film, about a young girl living with her hoarder mother who then reconsiders her youth when a teenager, also won the prize for most innovative film. Lead actress Saura Lightfoot Leon shared a special mention for the grand prize with actress Ariane Labed for The Vourdalak.

Scroll down for the full list of winners

The main grand prize went to Tana Gilbert’s Malqueridas, selected by a jury of Belgian musician Baloji,...

The Venice Film Festival is rolling out a juried impact award that will mark the first time a major film festival has awarded a prize focused solely on impact.

Impact campaigns are crafted around documentaries and some narrative films that have strong social or political messages that can inspire action among audiences and the industry at large. While the field has been around for the last decade, Venice’s Collateral Impact Award, which was created in partnership with ThinkFilm Impact Production, is the first time an impact-specific award is being presented at an A-list festival.

“This is an industry first — it’s not been seen anywhere,” ThinkFilm Impact Production founder and CEO Danielle Turkov Wilson told Variety. “I’ve been working at Cannes at the industry level for years, but to see something like this at the competition level is wonderful.”

Venice organizers said the award will honor a film...

The initiative is intended to foster broader representation in film composition

The US Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has partnered with UK-based music content company Mercury Studios to launch a career development programme for Black British musicians interested in composing for film.

The Jonas Gwangwa Music Composition Initiative is named after late South African musician and composer Jonas Gwangwa, an Oscar nominee in the original song and original score categories for 1987 historical drama Cry Freedom.

The one-year programme, which will begin in October and is open to UK-based Black musicians with at least three years of work experience,...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the launch of the Jonas Gwangwa Music Composition Initiative, a program to help Black British musicians who are interested in developing a career in film composing.

The program begins in October and is in partnership with Mercury Studios. In celebration of the late South African musician, composer and Oscar nominee Jonas Gwangwa (“Cry Freedom”), the program will provide real-world experience, one-on-one mentorship and networking opportunities.

Part of the Academy’s ongoing Aperture 2025 global outreach and engagement efforts, the initiative aims to foster broader representation in film music composition, with an emphasis on Black British talent. The initiative was spearheaded by U.K.-based Academy members Gary Yershon (Music Branch), Misan Sagay (Writers Branch) and Nainita Desai (Music Branch).

“This initiative seeks to correct an imbalance. In contrast to the major contributions Black musicians are making to the music industry in the U.

Click here to read the full article.

Film composition has historically been one of the least diverse crafts in the industry, but the Academy is launching a new program to address the deficit.

The organization has partnered with Mercury Studios, which has offices in London and Los Angeles, to launch the Jonas Gwangwa Music Composition Initiative, a yearlong development program for U.K.-based Black musicians who are interested in a film scoring career.

“This initiative seeks to correct an imbalance. In contrast to the major contributions Black musicians are making to the music industry in the U.K., their presence in the U.K. film industry is significantly lacking,” said U.K.-based Academy members Gary Yershon (music branch), Misan Sagay (writers branch) and Nainita Desai (music branch), who led the creation of the initiative, in a statement. “Through this program, we seek to build community amongst Black artists in the U.

Haley Hope Bartels (Pumping Black), Karin delaPeña Collison (Coming of Age), Byron Hamel (Shade of the Grapefruit Tree), R.J. Daniel Hanna (Shelter Animal) and Laura Kosann (The Ideal Woman) are the screenwriters and scripts chosen as the winners of the 2021 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition, AMPAS announced today.

Each of the five fellows will receive a $35,000 prize, along with mentorship from an Academy member throughout their fellowship year, which will see them complete a feature-length screenplay. (The Academy will acquire no rights to the works of its fellows and does not involve itself commercially in any way with their completed scripts.)

From November 8-12, one fellow per day will be featured on the Academy’s YouTube channel, in conversations with filmmakers Destin Daniel Cretton, Phil Lord, Our Lady J, Rawson Marshall Thurber and Olivia Wilde, and other content.

Bartels, Collison, Hamel, Hanna and Kosann’s scripts were chosen from...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Wednesday revealed the five winners of its 2020 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition. This year’s five scribes, culled from 7,831 submissions and 10 finalists, will receive a $35,000 prize and be a part of an awards ceremony and virtual table read of their work on December 3.

As in past years, recipients are expected to complete a feature-length screenplay during their fellowship year.

The 2020 winners (listed alphabetically):

James Acker, SadBoi

Beth Curry, Lemon

Vanar Jaddou, Goodbye, Iraq

Kate Marks, The Cow of Queens

Jane Therese, Sins of My Father

The 2020 finalists (listed alphabetically):

Kris A. Holmes, The Seeds of Truth

Fred Martenson, Demons in America

Robin Rose Singer, The Lions of Mesopotamia

David Harrison Turner, Safe Haven

Andrew Wankier, Three Heavens

The Academy Nicholl Fellowships Committee is chaired by Academy Short Films and Feature Animation Branch governor Jennifer Yuh Nelson. The members...

The Academy Nicholl Fellowships Committee has selected the five winning fellows of the 2020 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition, who were winnowed from ten finalists out of 7,831 scripts submitted for this year’s competition. Each winner takes home a $35,000 prize. Their scripts will be highlighted at the Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting Awards and Virtual Table Read by an ensemble of actors on Thursday, December 3.

The 2020 winners are (listed alphabetically by author):

James Acker, “SadBoi”

Beth Curry, “Lemon”

Vanar Jaddou, “Goodbye, Iraq”

Kate Marks, “The Cow of Queens”

Jane Therese, “Sins of My Father”

The 2020 finalists are (listed alphabetically by author):

Kris A. Holmes, “The Seeds of Truth”

Fred Martenson, “Demons in America”

Robin Rose Singer, “The Lions of Mesopotamia”

David Harrison Turner, “Safe Haven”

Andrew Wankier, “Three Heavens”

The fellowships support each writer’s completion of a feature-length screenplay within the year. (The Academy neither acquires rights...

The Academy Nicholl Fellowships Committee has selected the five winning fellows of the 2020 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition, who were winnowed from ten finalists out of 7,831 scripts submitted for this year’s competition. Each winner takes home a $35,000 prize. Their scripts will be highlighted at the Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting Awards and Virtual Table Read by an ensemble of actors on Thursday, December 3.

The 2020 winners are (listed alphabetically by author):

James Acker, “SadBoi”

Beth Curry, “Lemon”

Vanar Jaddou, “Goodbye, Iraq”

Kate Marks, “The Cow of Queens”

Jane Therese, “Sins of My Father”

The 2020 finalists are (listed alphabetically by author):

Kris A. Holmes, “The Seeds of Truth”

Fred Martenson, “Demons in America”

Robin Rose Singer, “The Lions of Mesopotamia”

David Harrison Turner, “Safe Haven”

Andrew Wankier, “Three Heavens”

The fellowships support each writer’s completion of a feature-length screenplay within the year. (The Academy neither acquires rights...

The five winners of the 2020 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition were announced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Wednesday. Each fellow will receive $35,000 and be highlighted at the Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting Awards and virtual table read, scheduled to take place on Dec. 3. At the awards, an ensemble of actors will read selected scenes from the winning scripts.

The 2020 winners are:

James Acker, “SadBoi”

Beth Curry, “Lemon”

Vanar Jaddou, “Goodbye, Iraq”

Kate Marks, “The Cow of Queens”

Jane Therese, “Sins of My Father”

There have been 166 fellowships awarded since 1986. Past fellows include Michael Werwie (screenwriter of Netflix’s “Lost Girls”), Alfred Botello (co-writing the upcoming “Space Jam: A New Legacy”), Matt Harris and Melissa Iqbal (currently adapting “The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August”).

A total of 7,831 scripts were submitted for this year’s competition. The Academy selected 10 individual screenwriters as finalists before being judged by the fellowships committee.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has launched a series of virtual panels aimed at addressing issues of race and gender equity in conversations led by Whoopi Goldberg, Lee Daniels and others.

The series called “Academy Dialogues: It Starts With Us” is part of the Academy Aperture 2025 equity and inclusion initiative and is a step toward the Oscars’ continued push for more diversity. The series kicked off with a virtual chat between Goldberg and civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson that was held on July 21 and is available online now.

Other panelists included in the series are Victoria Alonso, Lisa Cortés, Debra Martin Chase, Carmen Cuba, DeVon Franklin, Nadia Hallgren, Taraji P. Henson, Franklin Leonard, Delroy Lindo, Tarell Alvin McCraney, Bao Nguyen, Dawn Porter, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Ivette Rodriguez, Bird Runningwater, Misan Sagay, Bryan Stevenson, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Ligiah Villalobos, Lulu Wang, Emil Wilbekin and Roger Ross Williams.

Also Read: Oscars...

Whoopi Goldberg, Lee Daniels, Marvel executive Victoria Alonso and more Hollywood heavyweights are on board for a new virtual conversation series from the the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The series, titled “Academy Dialogues: It Starts With Us,” is part of the group’s Aperture 2025 equity and inclusion initiative. Topics will include race, ethnicity, gender, history, opportunity and the art of filmmaking.

“With our ‘Academy Dialogues’ series, the Academy is creating a space for our members — and the public — to talk about inclusion in a way that is timely, relevant and allows for a meaningful exchange on how to bring systemic change to Hollywood,” said Lorenza Muñoz, exec VP of member relations and awards. “These conversations may be uncomfortable for some, but they are necessary to broaden the stories that are getting told and increase opportunities for those who have been excluded.”

First up is a chat with...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is taking part of its Academy Aperture 2025 initiative public by expanding its in-house conversation series “Academy Dialogues: It Starts With Us” to include access not only for their entire membership but also the public — which, of course, includes a larger swath of the non-member industry members as well.

Aimed to provide discussions on race, ethnicity, gender, history, opportunity and the art of filmmaking, the series notably included one edition in July featuring AMPAS board member Whoopi Goldberg interviewing civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson on the “Power of Narrative.” It is available for view now on YouTube, but AMPAS is ramping up the volume, as it were, as these issues move front and center in a more urgent way, not only for the Academy...

“If ever there was a time to reimagine the future then we are in it,” said Jamal Joseph, kicking off the 2020 Women in Animation World Virtual Summit by addressing this year’s overriding theme.

The Columbia professor, activist and former Black Panther member moderated Wednesday’s first panel, Black Women in Animation: Looking to the Future.

Taking place on the third day of Annecy’s online festival and running in the festival’s Carte Blanche section, the panel examined the personal experiences of four women working in the industry.

British-Nigerian screenwriter Misan Sagay – best known for the 2013 film ”Belle” and now working on her first animated feature for Netflix – said that the lack of diversity in popular film and TV series of her childhood left her feeling “erased from the narrative.”

She added: “Think about all the fairy tales that you’re not in. It’s not as though you...

The death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police and the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests in the U.S. and around the world has reshaped the agenda at the first ever Women in Animation Virtual Summit, held in conjunction with Annecy 2020 Online, this year’s digital version of the Annecy International Animation Festival and Mifa 2020.

Unveiled by Women in Animation on Thursday, the summit’s program will cover both the global call for justice and the Covid-19 crisis and their momentous effects on the animation industry.

Under the motto, “Reimagining the Future: Race, Solidarity and the Culture of Work,” the Women in Animation Virtual World Summit will post exclusively on Annecy Online on June 17 and be available for festival and Mifa badge holders to view for the rest of the two-week festival.

Wia will make the Summit available to their members and more widely at a later date.

Five promising writers have been selected as winners of the 2019 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition, out of a total of 7,302 scripts and 12 finalists. The fellows will each receive a generous $35,000 prize, the first installment of which will be distributed at the Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting Awards Presentation & Live Read on Thursday, November 7, 2019, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. For the seventh consecutive year, an ensemble of notable actors will read selected scenes from the winning scripts.

The 2019 winners are (listed alphabetically by author): Aaron Chung, “Princess Vietnam”; Karen McDermott, “Lullabies of La Jaula”; Renee Pillai, “Boy with Kite”; Sean Malcolm, “Mother”; and Walker McKnight, “Street Rat Allie Punches Her Ticket.”

Each writer comes from a unique background: Chung is a film intern at Entertainment One, with a master’s in screenwriting; McDermott is an attorney and English professor, according to her Twitter bio; and McKnight is a novelist,...

Michael B. Jordan and his Warner Bros. based Outlier Society production company is set to produce a film adaptation of the Ya fantasy book trilogy Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron.

The story follows a young woman who “must give up her own life, bit by bit, in a magical bargain to save her village–and the world.” The story is said to blend tales of folk magic, voodoo, and Orisha. The script for the film is being written by Misan Sagay (Belle).

The young woman in the story is named Arrah, and she was “born into a family of powerful witch doctors. She yearns for magic of her own, but each year she fails to call forth her ancestral powers, while her ambitious mother watches with growing disapproval. When children begin disappearing, including a boy she’d befriended, Arrah is desperate to find the culprit. She tries a deadly...

Exclusive: After a strong premiere of its first big studio feature Just Mercy at Toronto, Michael B. Jordan’s Warner Bros-based Outlier Society is hungry for more. Warner Bros. has just acquired for Jordan Kingdom of Souls, the first installment of a fantasy novel trilogy by Rena Barron, in which a young woman must give up her own life, bit by bit, in a magical bargain to save her village–and the world. Outlier Society’s Michael B. Jordan and Alana Mayo are producing with Pouya Shahbazian. Misan Sagay is attached to write the screenplay.

Barron spins a darkly magical Ya fantasy tale that blends tales of folk magic, voodoo, and Orisha from her own community. Kingdom of Souls centers on Arrah, a young woman born into a family of powerful witch doctors. She yearns for magic of her own, but each year she fails to call forth her ancestral powers,...

Exclusive: Greenacre Films, the British drama production company behind Netflix’s Michaela Coel-fronted musical Been So Long, is bolstering its TV slate and has set a raft of new projects including the adaptation of Mumbai-set novels The Space Between Us and The Secrets Between Us.

The company, run by Amanda Jenks, exec producer of HBO and BBC’s Sienna Miller-fronted Tippi Hedren biopic The Girl, and Nadine Marsh-Edwards, who worked on John Hurt’s An Englishman In New York, spoke to Deadline for the first of a number of profiles of the leading UK-based drama firms that are working with one eye on the U.S. and the rest of the world.

They have just come off the back of Been So Long, which was the largest single acquisition of a British film by Netflix. The musical, which was written by Che Walker and directed by Tinge Krishnan,...

Movies with diverse casts deliver bigger box office from receptive audiences, but Hollywood has a ways to go before it does what's needed to greenlight the next Black Panther or Crazy Rich Asians.

That was the consensus of a panel on diverse films held on Saturday at the Berlin Film Festival. Misan Sagay, a former doctor and the screenwriter for the 2013 film Belle, said incremental gains had been made for diversity for writers and directors, but more needs to be done to ensure opportunities for minority and female talent.

"There's been a huge change in the last year ...

Movies with diverse casts deliver bigger box office from receptive audiences, but Hollywood has a ways to go before it does what's needed to greenlight the next Black Panther or Crazy Rich Asians.

That was the consensus of a panel on diverse films held on Saturday at the Berlin Film Festival. Misan Sagay, a former doctor and the screenwriter for the 2013 film Belle, said incremental gains had been made for diversity for writers and directors, but more needs to be done to ensure opportunities for minority and female talent.

"There's been a huge change in the last year ...

With the abundance of labs and fellowships designed to give up-and-coming filmmakers a much-needed boost, the Nicholl Fellowship — launched in 1986 — still stands above the fray as being one of the most important opportunities for entry into the industry. Each of the winners receives a $35,000 prize with the understanding that they will complete a feature-length screenplay during their fellowship year. Just as important, their winning project instantly becomes a must-read by every agency in Hollywood.

The global competition has awarded 152 fellowships to date. Recent scripts by Nicholl Fellowship alumni include “The Glass Castle” and “Holy Rollers;” additional program veterans have gone on to receive plum writing assignments in film (Pixar’s “Cars 3”) and television (Netflix’s “The Punisher”).

Nine individuals and one screenwriting team were selected as 2017 fellowship recipients from more than 7,000 submissions; the winners are listed in bold:

Vigil Chime, “Bring Back Girl”

Sj Inwards, “Jellyfish Summer”

Max Lance and Jen Bailey,...

Most compelling tales of war derive their power from their lack of triumph. In armed conflict, successful action is often coupled with grave consequences and seeing a particular battle through all sides only reinforces that idea of loss. Even the momentarily victorious parties are aware that their success, as a rule, must come at the expense of their foes.

For a series built on opposites, that’s the binary emphasized most in “Guerrilla,” the new six-part drama from Showtime and Sky and the latest foray into television for executive producer John Ridley. Charting the evolution of a small, committed group of black power advocates to members of a newly-formed armed resistance group, it’s a show that continuously reevaluates its own battle lines.

Read More: Idris Elba on England’s Black Civil Rights Movement in ‘Guerrilla’ Behind-the-Scenes Video — Watch

Babou Ceesay and Freida Pinto star as Marcus Hill and Jas Mitra,...

Four individuals and one writing team have been selected as winners of the 2016 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition. The Academy Nicholl Fellowships Committee announced the winners via Livestream today. The fellows will each receive a $35,000 prize, the first installment of which will be distributed at the Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting Awards Presentation & Live Read on Thursday, November 3, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. For the fourth consecutive year, an ensemble of actors will be reading selected scenes from the winning scripts.

The 2016 winners are (listed alphabetically by author):

Michele Atkins, “Talking About the Sky” (Seattle, Wa)

Spencer Harvey and Lloyd Harvey, “Photo Booth” (Balgowlah, Australia)

Geeta Malik, “Dinner with Friends” (Los Angeles, CA)

Elizabeth Oyebode, “Tween the Ropes” (Sunnyvale, CA)

Justin Piasecki, “Death of an Ortolan” (Los Angeles, CA)

A total of 6,915 scripts were submitted for this year’s competition. Eleven individual screenwriters and one...

American Crime creator John Ridley has teamed with Luther star Idris Elba for Guerrilla, a six-part limited series, which has been greenlighted by Showtime and Sky Atlantic. Set against the backdrop of the Black Power movement in the UK in the 1970s, Guerrilla centers on a couple (not yet cast) whose passion propels them into making the leap from political activism to radical militancy. Ridley has written most of the episodes and will direct the first two. Misan Sagay (Bel…...

Behold the NAACP Image Awards, where somehow Antoine Fuqua did a better job directing "The Equalizer" than Ava DuVernay on Best Picture winner "Selma" or Gina Prince-Bythewood on "Beyond the Lights." Lots of dubious choices like that throughout this year's 46th annual awards, which tends to be a bit of a tradition, actually. Check out the nominees here, the full list of winners below and the rest of the season's offerings at The Circuit. Film Outstanding Motion Picture "Selma" (Paramount Pictures) Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture Antoine Fuqua, "The Equalizer" (Columbia Pictures) Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture David Oyelowo, "Selma" (Paramount Pictures) Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture Taraji P. Henson, "No Good Deed" (Screen Gems) Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture Common, "Selma" (Paramount Pictures) Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Carmen Ejogo, "Selma" (Paramount Pictures) Outstanding Independent Motion Picture "Belle" (Fox Searchlight Pictures/ DJ...

The 46th NAACP Image Awards aired tonight on TV One and we have the complete list of winners!

Video: Oprah, Kevin Hart Among NAACP Image Awards Nominees

The event, hosted by Anthony Anderson, featured presenters such as Will Smith, Russell Simmons, Keegan-Michael Key, Taraji P. Henson and Tracee Ellis Ross. Prior to the award show, Affion Crockett and Chris Spencer hosted a gala dinner on Thursday announcing the winners for 45 non-televised categories.

Oscar-nominated Selma was awarded the top film honor, while ABC's freshmen series black-ish and How to Get Away With Murder took home the evening's top TV awards. But it was Empire star Taraji P. Henson who stole the show, snagging Entertainer of the Year (presented by Oprah Winfrey), as well as Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for her turn in No Good Deed.

Check out the list below to see who walked away as big winners.

Entertainer Of The Year:

Taraji P. Henson

Literature:...

The Foundation for the Advancement of African-Americans in Film (Faaaf) announced its nominees for the 15th Annual Black Reel Awards Wednesday morning. Justin Simien's "Dear White People" and Ava DuVernay's "Selma" led the way with 10 nominations each. They were joined by "Belle," "Beyond the Lights" and "Top Five" in the organization's best picture category. Check out the full list of nominees below. Winners will be announced on Feb. 22, 2015. And learn more about what's going on this season at The Circuit. Motion Picture Outstanding Motion Picture "Belle" "Beyond the Lights" "Dear White People" "Selma" "Top Five" Outstanding Actor Chadwick Boseman, "Get on Up" David Oyelowo, "Selma" Nate Parker, "Beyond the Lights" Chris Rock, "Top Five" Denzel Washington, "The Equalizer" Outstanding Actress Rosario Dawson, "Top Five" Gugu Mbatha-Raw, "Belle" Gugu Mbatha-Raw, "Beyond the Lights" Tessa Thompson, "Dear White People" Quvenzhané Wallis, "Annie" Outstanding Supporting Actor Nelsan Ellis, "Get On Up" David Oyelowo,...

Nominations for the 46th NAACP Image Awards have been revealed and "Belle," "Beyond the Lights," "Dear White People," "Get On Up," and "Selma" are duking it out for the Outstanding Motion Picture Award.

Winners will be announced on Friday, February 6, 2015 in a two-hour televised event on TV One.

The NAACP Image Awards celebrates the accomplishments of people of color in the fields of television, music, literature and film and also honors individuals or groups who promote social justice through creative endeavors.

Here's the complete list of nominees for the 46th NAACP Image Awards:

Television

Outstanding Comedy Series

. "black-ish" (ABC)

. "House of Lies" (Showtime)

. "Key & Peele" (Comedy Central)

. "Orange is the New Black" (Netflix)

. "Real Husbands of Hollywood" (Bet)

Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series

. Andre Braugher - "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" (Fox)

. Anthony Anderson - "'black-ish" (ABC)

. Don Cheadle - "House of Lies" (Showtime)

. Keegan-Michael Key - "Key & Peele" (Comedy Central)

. Kevin Hart...

Nominations for the 46th annual NAACP Image Awards were announced today across categories in film, television, music and the literary world. In the film arena, top nominees were Amma Asante's "Belle," Gina Prince-Bythewood's "Beyond the Lights," Justin Simien's "Dear White People," Tate Taylor's "Get On Up" and Ava DuVernay's "Selma." Check out the full list of nominees below. Winners will be announced on Feb. 6. And remember to keep track of the season via The Circuit! Film Outstanding Motion Picture "Belle" (Fox Searchlight Pictures/ DJ Films) "Beyond The Lights" (Relativity Media) "Dear White People" (Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions) "Get On Up" (Universal Pictures) "Selma" (Paramount Pictures) Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture Amma Asante, "Belle" (Fox Searchlight Pictures/ DJ Films) Antoine Fuqua, "The Equalizer" (Columbia Pictures) Ava DuVernay, "Selma" (Paramount Pictures) John Ridley, "Jimi: All Is By My Side" (XLrator Media) Gina Prince-Bythewood, "Beyond The Lights...

Gearing up for another year of excitement, the 46th Annual NAACP Image Awards just unveiled the first round of hopefuls and there are plenty of worthy contenders.

In the television categories, Shonda Rhimes’ series “Scandal” and “How to Get Away With Murder” are among the most nominated, though “Black-ish” is also up there. Meanwhile, “Selma” and “Get on Up” are the top two movies on the docket, ahead of the big event on Friday, February 6th, 2015. Per the official website, “The NAACP Image Awards honors the accomplishments of people of color in the fields of television, music, literature and film, and honors those who promote social justice through creative endeavors.”

And the nominees are:

Outstanding Comedy Series

“Orange is the New Black” (Netflix)

“black-ish” (ABC)

“House of Lies” (Showtime)

“Key & Peele” (Comedy Central)

“Real Husbands of Hollywood” (Bet)

Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series

Andre Braugher – “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” (Fox)

Anthony Anderson...

Paramount’s Selma, Universal’s Get On Up and Lionsgate’s Dear White People are among the Outstanding Motion Picture nominees for the NAACP’s Image Awards, which will be bestowed live on TVOne on February 6. On the TV side, Shonda Rhimes’ ABC trifecta of Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal and How To Get Away With Murder are all up for best drama. Here is the full list:

Film

Outstanding Motion Picture

“Belle” (Fox Searchlight Pictures/ DJ Films)

“Beyond The Lights” (Relativity Media)

“Dear White People” (Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions)

“Get On Up” (Universal Pictures)

“Selma” (Paramount Pictures)

Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture

Chadwick Boseman – “Get On Up” (Universal Pictures)

David Oyelowo – “Selma” (Paramount Pictures)

Denzel Washington – “The Equalizer” (Columbia Pictures)

Idris Elba – “No Good Deed” (Screen Gems)

Nate Parker – “Beyond The Lights” (Relativity Media)

Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture

Gugu Mbatha-Raw – “Belle” (Fox Searchlight Pictures/ DJ Films)

Quvenzhané Wallis...

The nominees for the 46th annual NAACP Image Awards were announced Tuesday, lauding the year's best films and television shows -- among other artforms -- featuring people of color.

"Selma" led the pack with eight nominations, including nods for best picture, best actor (David Oyelowo), three supporting actor nods (André Holland, Common, and Wendell Pierce), and two supporting actress nods (Carmen Ejogo and Oprah Winfrey). Director Ava DuVernay was also nominated for her work behind the camera.

On the television front, "Scandal" and "Orange Is the New Black" tied with six nominations apiece, while fellow freshman series "black-ish" and "How to Get Away with Murder" each received five nods.

A partial list of nominees in television and movies is below. For the full list -- including nominees in the music and literature categories -- click here.

The NAACP Image Awards, presented by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People,...

Update: Get the most updated list of Oscar contending screenplays available for download here. It's a good day when I can bring you more screenplays to download and today we have seven new scripts added to the mix, including one of the year's most talked about movies with Richard Linklater's screenplay for Boyhood. Twelve years in the making and now you can peruse the 181-page screenplay for what many believe to be the current Best Picture frontrunner. Adding to that, Dreamworks Animation has made available the screenplay for their animation hopeful How to Train Your Dragon 2, written by Dean DeBlois and inspired by the novels by Cressida Cowell. Focus has also added one more to their list by offering Peter Landesman's script for Kill the Messenger. Finally, Fox Searchlight has released a mother-load, bringing us screenplays for Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel, John Michael McDonagh's script for Calvary,...

Amma Asante delivers some sharp lessons on slavery in this true story of Britain's first black aristocrat

Amma Asante's powerful, moving and gently subversive romantic melodrama is a finely wrought tale of a woman out of time, a film that plays eloquently upon the heartstrings as it interweaves familiar personal intrigue with stirring social history. Intelligently combining the enticing pleasures of a ripe costume drama with the still shameful legacy and lessons of the slave trade, Belle dresses its entryist agendas in the fashionable finery of a multiplex crowd-pleaser. The result is a handsomely mounted and emotionally engaging drama that smartly examines issues of race, class and gender while leaving nary a dry eye in the house.

Like Girl with a Pearl Earring (both Tracy Chevalier's novel and Peter Webber's subsequent film), Misan Sagay's inventive script takes inspiration from an enigmatic painting upon which the writer...

Wonderful true story about a mixed-race woman raised in an aristocratic British family in the late 18th century; like the best Jane Austen romance with an angry social conscience. I’m “biast” (pro): I’m hungry for stories about women

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)

Warning: I am about to get sweary about a genteel romantic costume drama.

To everyone who has ever said or believed that white men built the world on their own and bestowed civilization on the rest of us? Fuck you. To anyone who has ever said or believed that the stories of women and everyone not-white haven’t been told because they’re not worth telling because, obvs, they did nothing significant? Fuck you.

That the stories of women and nonwhite people — and nonwhite women! — have been erased from the history books does not...

Director: Amma Asante; Screenwriter Misan Sagay; Starring: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Tom Wilkinson, Emily Watson, Penelope Wilton, Sarah Gadon; Running time: 104 mins; Certificate: 12A

Longtime rising star Gugu Mbatha-Raw injects some much-needed fire into the belly of Amma Asante's period drama, playing the illegitimate mixed-race daughter of a Navy admiral who is raised in semi-seclusion by aristocratic English relatives. It's a potentially breakthrough performance that is by far the high point in a film that otherwise does little justice to its fascinating source story.

That true story takes place in late 18th century London, where Mbatha-Raw's astute, inquisitive Dido is brought up by her great uncle, Lord Mansfield (Tom Wilkinson) in the lush surroundings of Kenwood House. Her mixed ethnicity and noble birth affords her a strangely paradoxical existence: she ranks too highly to eat with the servants, but not highly enough to eat with her own family.

Her father's death leaves her a wealthy heiress,...

Belle

Written by Misan Sagay

Directed by Amma Asante

UK, 2013

There is no question about the absolute elegance and cautionary observations that captures the provocative essence of the well-received 19-century costume drama Belle. British-Ghanaian filmmaker Amma Asante oversees an inviting and lyrical exposition entrenched in the societal shades of rejection, feminism, racism and cultural identity crisis. Interestingly, the examination of the color barrier controversies usually associated with the historical backbone of America’s sordid past is now punctuated across the pond where colonial England is placed under the revealing microscope involving its early days into institutionalized slavery among the high society class. Belle not only is a radiant piece of entertainment but also skillfully serves as a global history lesson into the darkness of humanity demonstrated well beyond the American shorelines.

Asante and screenwriter Misan Sagay, a British-Nigerian product, forge a creative and quietly captivating sisterhood as they examine the...

Watching Belle, the refreshingly atypical costume drama released nationwide this weekend, I was reminded of a quote from a book I finished recently. In Jill Lepore's biography of Jane Franklin (Ben's sister), she writes: "History is what is written and can be found; what isn't saved is lost, sunken and rotted, eaten by the earth." [Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin]

If Misan Sagay hadn't seen this portrait in a Scottish castle, we may never have learned about the life of Dido Elizabeth Belle. Based on the limited facts the screenwriter was able to find in her research -- given that Dido was a female in the 18th Century, there's unfortunately not a large amount known about her -- Sagay crafted a tale about this real woman, illegitimately born of a black woman and a white admiral, who was raised by the Murray family.

Dido (Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Touch) is left as a child with her great-uncle Lord Mansfield (Tom Wilkinson,...

A few months after 12 Years A Slave took home the Oscar gold as Best Picture comes another historical drama centering on the issue of slavery, but from a very different perspective. For one thing, it’s set in England where slavery was abolished nearly a hundred years before we “yanks” got with the program. Oh, and the person instrumental, according to this film, was a woman of mixed race. Let’s emulate Peabody and Sherman and jump in our cinematic “way-back” machine and drop in an a great debate spurred on in part by the beauty named, appropriately enough, Belle.

About 100 years before Solomon Northrup went back to his family, an officer of the British Royal Navy, Sir John Lindsay (Matthew Goode) pays a visit to his uncle and aunt, William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield and the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales (Tom Wilkinson) and Lady Mansfield...

Belle is inspired by the true story of Dido Elizabeth Belle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), the illegitimate mixed race daughter of Admiral Sir John Lindsay (Matthew Goode). Raised by her aristocratic great-uncle Lord Mansfield (Tom Wilkinson) and his wife (Emily Watson), Belle’s lineage affords her certain privileges, yet her status prevents her from the traditions of noble social standing.

While her cousin Elizabeth (Sarah Gadon) chases suitors for marriage, Belle is left on the sidelines wondering if she will ever find love. After meeting an idealistic young vicar’s son bent on changing society, he and Belle help shape Lord Mansfield’s role as Lord Chief Justice to end slavery in England.

Directed by Amma Asante (A Way Of Life) and written by Misan Sagay (The Secret Laughter Of Women), Belle opens in St. Louis on May 16th.

The Belle screening will be on Wednesday, May 14th at 7Pm in the St.

Belle tells the inspiring true story of Dido Elizabeth Belle, the illegitimate mixed-race daughter of a Royal Navy officer in 18th century England who is taken in by her uncle. However, little was known about Dido’s life besides a 1779 painting made of her and her cousin Lady Elizabeth Murray. In this exclusive featurette, writer Misan Sagay, director Amma Asante, and star Gugu Mbatha-Raw explain how they were inspired by the painting and how the work of art has influenced the film’s creative message and story and place in history. Take a look below:

In addition to Mbatha-Raw, Belle stars Tom Wilkinson,...

Chicago – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 25 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to the film festival hit “Belle” starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw (“Dr. Who”) and Tom Wilkinson (“The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”)!

“Belle,” which is rated “PG” and opens in Chicago on May 9, 2014, also stars Matthew Goode, Emily Watson, Alan McKenna, Penelope Wilton, Cara Jenkins, Sarah Gadon, Miranda Richardson, James Norton, Tom Felton and Sam Reid from director Amma Asante and writer Misan Sagay.

To win your free “Belle” passes courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, just get interactive with our social media widget below. That’s it! This screening is on Wednesday, May 7, 2014 at 7 p.m. in downtown Chicago. The more social actions you complete, the more points you score and the higher yours odds of winning! Completing these social actions only increases your odds of winning; this doesn’t intensify your competition!

Preferably, use your...

Editor's note: Fox Searchight will open its period drama Belle, directed by Amma Asante, in the USA this Friday, May 2, 2014. The period drama about the trials and tribulations of a mixed-race girl, in the 1700s, which made its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall, stars Mbatha-Raw, Miranda Richardson, Tom Wilkinson, Sarah Gadon, Sam Claflin, and Matthew Goode. Tom Felton (from the Harry Potter movies), Sam Reid (playing Belle's love interest), James Norton and Penelope Wilton (Downton Abbey) co-star. Misan Sagay penned the...

But Your Picture On My Wall: Asante’s Sophomore Feature Revisits Compelling Historical Episode

A decade after her 2004 directorial debut, A Way of Life, director Amma Asante returns with compelling follow-up, Belle, an account of Dido Elizabeth Belle, who in 1769 was an absolute rarity as a mixed race heiress more or less allowed to mingle with the rigid aristocracy. A captivating chronicle related to us with fascinating and melodramatic aplomb, you’ll most likely want to research the eponymous woman at the center of Asante’s tale and be disappointed that there’s actually very little known about her. We can assume that many liberties were taken in the rendering of Asante’s film, though despite some heavy handed clichés here and there, screenwriter Misan Sagay, who previously adapted Zora Neale Thurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, writes a superbly plum role inhabited gloriously by Gugu Mbatha-Raw. You may...

Title: Belle Director: Amma Asante Starring: Gugu Mbatha Raw, Tom Wilkinson, Sam Reid, Sarah Gadon, Miranda Richardson, Penelope Wilton, Tom Felton, James Norton, Matthew Goode, Emily Watson. After Steve McQueen, another Afro-British film director deals with historical racial issues through the period movie ‘Belle’: Amma Asante. It all begins with a painting portraying two young aristocratic women in 18th century England, one is fair and blonde whilst the other is also enchanting but black. Curiosity as to why and how a woman of colour could be member of a noble family in the epoch of slavery is what triggered both the screenwriter, Misan Sagay, and the director to unveil the [ Read More ]

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Title: Belle Fox Searchlight Pictures Reviewed for Shockya by Harvey Karten. Data-based on Rotten Tomatoes Grade: A- Director: Amma Asante Screenplay: Misan Sagay Cast: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Tom Wilkinson, Emily Watson, Matthew Goode, Sarah Gadon, Penelope Wilton Screened at: Dolby88, NYC, 4/23/14 Opens: May 2, 2014 After taking American History, every high school kid should be able to tell you what caused the American War for Independence: middle-class rebellions against taxation like the Stamp Act and the Hat Act, all passed by the British Parliament without representation by voters in the Thirteen Colonies. At the same time, one wonders how many college graduates can discuss changes, yes even a social revolution,that  [ Read More ]

The post Belle Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Go behind the scenes of the upcoming British period drama, ‘Belle,’ in the new featurette and stills from the film. The video features director Amma Asante, lead actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw and other cast members discussing the groundbreaking story of Dido Elizabeth Belle, the illegitimate mixed race daughter of Admiral Sir John Lindsay. The stills also offer a glimpse into the costumes and scenery of 1780s England. The movie, which was written by Misan Sagay, is set to be released on May 2. The drama’s distributor, Fox Searchight, has released the following synopsis for the film: ‘Belle’ is inspired by the true story of Dido Elizabeth Belle (Mbatha-Raw), the illegitimate mixed [ Read More ]

The post See the Inspiration Behind the Drama Belle in Featurette and Stills appeared first on Shockya.com.