Black Reel Awards Nominations Announced For 23rd Annual Ceremony; ‘The Woman King’ And ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Lead With 14 Nominations

The Black Reel Awards has revealed its nominations for their 23rd Annual ceremony.

Gina Prince-Bythewood’s The Woman King, about the warrior women of the country of Dahomey, and Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, about a superhero from the fictional African nation of Wakanda and a memorial to Chadwick Boseman, are tied at 14 nominations.

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Two other films joined the ranks of double-digit nominations: MGM’s Till and A24’s The Inspection.

Independent studio A24 garnered 11 nominations across all categories. However, Amazon Studios landed a record three nominations in the Outstanding Independent Film category for Master, Nanny, and Emergency. Perennial powerhouse, Disney Studios nabbed the most nominations for a studio with 15.

Viola Davis landed her sixth Outstanding Actress nomination for her work in The Woman King, becoming the most recognized individual in the Actress category in Black Reel Award (Bolts) history. At the same time, director Elegance Bratton received the most recognition for a single creative this year with four Bolt nominations. Prince-Bythewood, nabs her fourth Outstanding Director nomination, becoming the most recognized woman director in Black Reel Award history. Two of her previous films, The Secret Life of Bees and Love and Basketball resulted in wins.

Grammy and fashion icon Rihanna scored two Bolt nominations in the Outstanding Original Song category for “Born Again” and “Lift Me Up”—both from the Wakanda Forever soundtrack. For the first time in history, all the nominees in the Outstanding Original Song category were performed and, at least, partly written by women.

With an Outstanding Supporting Actor nomination for his work in Breaking, Michael K. Williams joined Chadwick Boseman and Gloria Foster as the third person to receive posthumous acting nominations from the Black Reel Awards.

Black Reel Awards ceremony presented in partnership with idobi radio on February 6, 2023.

OUTSTANDING FILM

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever | Kevin Feige & Nate Moore, producers
Devotion | Molly Smith, Rachel Smith, Thad Luckinbill & Trent Luckinbill, producers
Nope | Jordan Peele & Ian Cooper, producers
Till | Keith Beauchamp, Barbara Broccoli, Whoopi Goldberg, Michael Reilly & Thomas Levin, producers
The Woman King | Maria Bello, Viola Davis, Cathy Schulman & Julius Tennon, producers

OUTSTANDING ACTOR

John Boyega | Breaking
Sterling K. Brown | Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul
Daniel Kaluuya | Nope
Jonathan Majors | Devotion
Jeremy Pope | The Inspection

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS

Viola Davis | The Woman King
Danielle Deadwyler | Till
Anna Diop | Nanny
Regina Hall | Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.
Letitia Wright | Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR
Elegance Bratton | The Inspection
Gina Prince-Bythewood | The Woman King
Chinonye Chukwu | Till
Ryan Coogler | Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Jordan Peele | Nope

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR
Brian Tyree Henry | Causeway
Micheal Ward | Empire of Light
Michael K. Williams | Breaking
Bokeem Woodbine | The Inspection
Jeffrey Wright | The Batman

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Angela Bassett | Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Thuso Mbedu | The Woman King
Janelle Monae | Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Keke Palmer | Nope
Gabrielle Union | The Inspection

OUTSTANDING SCREENPLAY

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever | Ryan Coogler & Joe Robert Cole, writers
The Inspection | Elegance Bratton, writer
Nanny | Nikyatu Jusu, writer
Nope | Jordan Peele, writer
Till | Michael Reilly, Keith Beaucham & Chinonye Chukwu, writers

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever | Sarah Finn, casting director
Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul | Shannon Reis, casting director
The Inspection | Kim Coleman, casting director
Till | Kim Coleman, casting director
The Woman King | Aisha Coley, casting director

OUTSTANDING INTERNATIONAL FILM

Neptune Frost (Rwanda) | Saul Williams & Anisia Uzeyman, directors
Our Father, The Devil (France) | Ellie Foumbi, director
Saint Omer (France) | Alice Diop, director

OUTSTANDING DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Aftershock | Tonya Lewis Lee & Paula Eiselt, directors
Descendant | Margaret Brown, director
Is That Black Enough for You? | Elvis Mitchell, director
Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues | Sacha Jenkins, director
Sidney | Reginald Hudlin, director

OUTSTANDING VOICE PERFORMANCE

Zazie Beetz | The Bad Guys
Idris Elba | Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Keke Palmer | Lightyear
Zoe Saldana | Avatar: The Way of Water
Gabrielle Union | Strange World

OUTSTANDING SCORE
Alice | Common, composer
End of Road | Craig DeLeon, composer
Nanny | Tanerélle & Bartek Gliniak, composers
Nope | Michael Abels, composer
The Woman King | Terence Blanchard, composer

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG
“Born Again” (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) Rihanna, performer; Rihanna, The-Dream, Ludwig Goransson & James Fauntleroy, writers

“Keep Rising” (The Woman King) Jessy Wilson & Angelique Kidjo, performers; Jessy Wilson, Angelique Kidjo & Jeremy Lutito, writers

“Lift Me Up” (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) Rihanna, performer; Rihanna, Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Goransson & Tems, writers

“Paper Airplanes” (A Jazzman’s Blues) Ruth B., performers; Ruth B. & Terence Blanchard, writers

“Stand Up” (Till) Jazmine Sullivan, performer; Jazmine Sullivan, D’Mile, writers

OUTSTANDING SOUNDTRACK

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
A Jazzman’s Blues
Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story
Till
The Woman King

OUTSTANDING INDEPENDENT FILM

Emergency | Carey Williams, director
Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. | Adamma Ebo, director
The Inspection | Elegance Bratton, director
Master | Mariama Diallo, director
Nanny | Nikyatu Jusu, director

OUTSTANDING SHORT FILM

Angola Do You Hear Us? Voices from A Plantation Prison | Cinque Northern, director
Elegy: My Two Months in Harlem | Andre Lambertson, director
Fannie | Christine Swanson, director
New Moon | Jeremie Balais, Raúl Domingo & Jeffig Lebars, directors
North Star | P.J. Palmer, director

OUTSTANDING EMERGING DIRECTOR

Elegance Bratton | The Inspection
Adamma Ebo | Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.
Nikyatu Jusu | Nanny
Elvis Mitchell | Is That Black Enough for You?
Carey Williams | Emergency

OUTSTANDING BREAKTHROUGH ACTRESS

Sheila Atim | The Woman King
Charmaine Bingwa | Emancipation
Anna Diop | Nanny
Thuso Mbedu | The Woman King
Dominque Thorne | Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

OUTSTANDING FIRST SCREENPLAY
Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. | Adamma Ebo, writer
The Inspection | Elegance Bratton, writer
Master | Mariama Diallo, writer
Nanny | Nikyatu Jusu, writer
On The Come Up | Kay Oyegun, writer

OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever | Autumn Durald Arkapaw, cinematographer
Emancipation | Robert Richardson, cinematographer
Nope | Hoyte Van Hoytema, cinematographer
Till | Bobby Bukowsk, cinematographer
The Woman King | Polly Morgan, cinematographer

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever | Ruth E. Carter, costume designer
Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. | Lorraine Coppin, costume designer
Nanny | Charlese Antoinette Jones, costume designer
Till | Marci Rodgers, costume designer
The Woman King | Gersha Phillips, costume designer

OUTSTANDING EDITING

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever | Michael P. Shawver, Kelley Dixon & Jennifer Lame, editors
Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody | Daysha Broadway, editor
Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues | Jason Pollard & Alma Herrera Pazmino, editors
Thirteen Lives | James D. Wilcox, editor
The Woman King | Terilyn A. Shropshire, editor

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION DESIGN

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever | Hannah Beachler, production designer
Devotion | Wynn Thomas, production designer
Nope | Ruth De Jong, production designer
Till | Curt Beech, production designer
The Woman King | Akin McKenzie, production designer

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