Black Reel Awards of 2025

American Film and Television awards ceremony

25th Black Reel Awards

Date| February 17, 2025
Highlights
Most wins| Nickel Boys (6)
Most nominations| Nickel Boys (13)
Outstanding Film| Nickel Boys
| <- 24th · | Black Reel Awards | · 26th ->

|
|

The 25th Annual Black Reel Awards ceremony, presented by the Foundation for the Augmentation of African-Americans in Film (FAAAF) and honoring the best films of 2024, took place on February 17, 2025. The film nominations were announced on December 19, 2024, with the ceremony streamed live on their website.[1]

The historical drama film Nickel Boys led with the most nominations at thirteen, followed closely by The Piano Lesson with twelve. Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor notably received two nominations for Outstanding Supporting Performance for her performances in Exhibiting Forgiveness and Nickel Boys. Zendaya also received duel recognition, both as an actor and producer of Challengers.[2][3]

## Film nominees

[edit]

Outstanding Film | Outstanding Director

|

* Nickel Boys – Joslyn Barnes, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner and David Levin, producers
* Challengers – Luca Guadagnino, Rachel O'Connor, Amy Pascal and Zendaya, producers
* Exhibiting Forgiveness – Stephanie Allain, Derek Cianfrance, Sean Cotton, Titus Kaphar and Jamie Patricof, producers
* The Piano Lesson – Todd Black and Denzel Washington, producers
* Sing Sing – Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar and Monique Walton, producers

* RaMell Ross – Nickel Boys
* Titus Kaphar – Exhibiting Forgiveness
* Zoë Kravitz – Blink Twice
* Steve McQueen – Blitz
* Malcolm Washington – The Piano Lesson

Outstanding Lead Performance | Outstanding Supporting Performance

* Marianne Jean-Baptiste – Hard Truths as Pansy Deacon
* Naomi Ackie – Blink Twice as Frida
* Ryan Destiny – The Fire Inside as Claressa Shields
* Colman Domingo – Sing Sing as John "Divine G" Whitfield
* Cynthia Erivo – Wicked as Elphaba Thropp
* André Holland – Exhibiting Forgiveness as Tarrell
* Regina King – Shirley as Shirley Chisholm
* John David Washington – The Piano Lesson as Boy Willie
* Kerry Washington – The Six Triple Eight as Charity Adams
* Zendaya – Challengers as Tashi Duncan

* Danielle Deadwyler – The Piano Lesson as Berniece
* Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor – Exhibiting Forgiveness as Joyce
* Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor – Nickel Boys as Hattie
* Brian Tyree Henry – The Fire Inside as Jason Crutchfield
* Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing as himself
* Lashana Lynch – Bob Marley: One Love as Rita Marley
* Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez as Rita Mora Castro
* Jurnee Smollett – We Grown Now as Dolores
* Denzel Washington – Gladiator II as Macrinus
* Brandon Wilson – Nickel Boys as Turner

Outstanding Breakthrough Performance | Outstanding Ensemble

* Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing as himself
* Naomi Ackie – Blink Twice as Frida
* Ryan Destiny – The Fire Inside as Claressa Shields
* Ray Fisher – The Piano Lesson as Lymon
* Elliott Heffernan – Blitz as George Hanway
* Ethan Herisse – Nickel Boys as Elwood
* Blake Cameron James – We Grown Now as Malik
* Jharrel Jerome – Unstoppable as Anthony Robles
* Lamorne Morris – Saturday Night as Garrett Morris
* Brandon Wilson – Nickel Boys as Turner

* The Piano Lesson – Lindsay Graham and Mary Vernieu, casting directors
* Exhibiting Forgiveness – Kim Coleman, casting director
* Hard Truths – Nina Gold, casting director
* Nickel Boys – Victoria Thomas, casting director
* Sing Sing – Greg Kwedar, casting director

Outstanding Short Film | Outstanding Documentary Feature

* Chocolate with Sprinkles – Huriyyah Muhammad, director
* Mosiah – Jirard, director
* On a Sunday at Eleven – Alicia K. Harris, director
* Self – Searit Kahsay Huluf, director
* Will I See You Again? – Michael Perez-Lindsey, director

* Luther: Never Too Much – Dawn Porter, director
* Dahomey – Mati Diop, director
* Daughters – Angela Patton and Natalie Rae, directors
* Piece by Piece – Morgan Neville, director
* Seeking Mavis Beacon – Jazmin Renée Jones, director

Outstanding International Film | Outstanding Independent Film

* Hard Truths (United Kingdom) – Mike Leigh, director
* Bird (United Kingdom) – Andrea Arnold, director
* Emilia Pérez (France) – Jacques Audiard, director
* Old Righteous Blues (South Africa) – Muneera Sallies, director
* Nine (South Africa) – Erica Joy, director

* We Grown Now – Minhal Baig, director
* Albany Road – Christine Swanson, director
* Blink Twice – Zoë Kravitz, director
* Hard Truths – Mike Leigh, director
* I Saw the TV Glow – Jane Schoenbrun, director

Outstanding Screenplay | Outstanding First Screenplay

* Nickel Boys – RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes
* Blitz – Steve McQueen
* Exhibiting Forgiveness – Titus Kaphar
* The Fire Inside – Barry Jenkins
* The Piano Lesson – Malcolm Washington and Virgil Williams

* Nickel Boys – RaMell Ross
* Blink Twice – Zoë Kravitz
* Exhibiting Forgiveness – Titus Kaphar
* Parallel – Aldis Hodge and Edwin Hodge
* The Piano Lesson – Malcolm Washington

Outstanding Emerging Director | Outstanding Voice Performance

* RaMell Ross – Nickel Boys
* Titus Kaphar – Exhibiting Forgiveness
* Zoë Kravitz – Blink Twice
* Angela Patton – Daughters
* Malcolm Washington – The Piano Lesson

* Lupita Nyong'o – The Wild Robot as Roz
* Ayo Edebiri – Inside Out 2 as Envy
* Brian Tyree Henry – Transformers One as D-16 / Megatron
* Dwayne Johnson – Moana 2 as Maui
* Aaron Pierre – Mufasa: The Lion King as Mufasa

Outstanding Score | Outstanding Soundtrack

* The Wild Robot – Kris Bowers
* Blink Twice – Chanda Dancy
* Bob Marley: One Love – Kris Bowers
* The Fire Inside – Tamar-kali
* Saturday Night – Jon Batiste

* Wicked
* Bob Marley: One Love
* Mufasa: The Lion King
* Piece by Piece
* The Wild Robot

Outstanding Original Song | Outstanding Cinematography

* "The Journey" from The Six Triple Eight – H.E.R., performer; Diane Warren, writer
* "Bricks" from Exhibiting Forgiveness – Andra Day, performer; Andra Day and Jherek Bischoff, writers
* "El Mal" from Emilia Pérez – Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón and Camille, performers; Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard, writers
* "Like a Bird" from Sing Sing – Adrian Quesada and Abraham Alexander, performers; Adrian Quesada, Abraham Alexander and Brandon Marcel, writers
* "Piece by Piece" from Piece by Piece – Pharrell Williams and Princess Anne High School Fabulous Marching Cavaliers, performers; Pharrell Williams, writer

* Nickel Boys – Jomo Fray
* Ernest Cole: Lost and Found – Wolfgang Held and Moses Tau
* Luther: Never Too Much – Bryan Gentry
* Rez Ball – Kira Kelly
* Suncoast – Bruce Francis Cole

Outstanding Editing  | Outstanding Costume Design

* We Grown Now – Stephanie Filo
* Daughters – Adelina Bichis and Troy Josiah Lewis
* Hard Truths – Tania Reddin
* Seeking Mavis Beacon – Yeelen Nelson Cohen, Jon Fine and Jazmin Renée Jones
* Twisters – Terilyn A. Shropshire

* Wicked – Paul Tazewell
* The Book of Clarence – Antoinette Messam
* The Piano Lesson – Francine Jamison-Tanchuck
* Shirley – Megan Coates
* We Grown Now – Courtney Wheeler

Outstanding Production Design | Outstanding Hairstyling & Makeup

* The Piano Lesson – David J. Bomba, Chardae Adams and Patrick Cassidy
* Nickel Boys – Nora Mendis, Elizabeth Herberg and Monique Champagne
* Nine – Gilbert Ekow Ampah and Edmund Johnson

* The Piano Lesson – Andrea 'Mona' Bowman and Para Shardé Malden
* Bob Marley: One Love – Nadia Stacey and Carla Farmer
* The Book of Clarence – Matiki Anoff, Nakoya Yancey and Wayne Jolla Jr.
* Nickel Boys – Iganica Soto-Aguilar and Shandrea Williams
* Shirley – Nakoya Yancey and Debi Young

## Films with multiple nominations and awards

[edit]

The following films received multiple nominations:

| Nominations  | Film

|

13  | Nickel Boys
12  | The Piano Lesson
9  | Exhibiting Forgiveness
7  | Blink Twice
6  | Sing Sing
5  | The Fire Inside
Hard Truths
We Grown Now
4  | Bob Marley: One Love
3  | Blitz
Daughters
Emilia Pérez
Piece by Piece
Shirley
Wicked
The Wild Robot
2  | The Book of Clarence
Challengers
Luther: Never Too Much
Mufasa: The Lion King
Nine
Saturday Night
Seeking Mavis Beacon
The Six Triple Eight

The following films received multiple awards:

| Nominations  | Film

|

6  | Nickel Boys
4  | The Piano Lesson
2  | Hard Truths
We Grown Now
Wicked
The Wild Robot

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "25th Annual Black Reel Awards Nominees". Black Reel Awards. December 19, 2024. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
2. ^ Jackson, Angelique (December 19, 2024). "'Nickel Boys' Leads Black Reel Awards Nominees". Variety. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
3. ^ Pedersen, Erik (December 19, 2024). "'Nickel Boys' Leads 2025 Black Reel Awards Nominations; 'Piano Lesson' Close Second". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 10, 2025.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Black Reel Awards

Film|

* Film
* Director
* Lead Performance
* Supporting Performance
* Breakthrough Performance
* Ensemble
* Screenplay
* Documentary
* International Film
* Independent Film
* Independent Documentary
* Cinematography
* Costume Design
* Editing
* Hairstyling & Makeup
* Original Score
* Original Song
* Original Soundtrack
* Production Design
* Voice Performance
* Short Film
* Emerging Director
* First Screenplay

Television|

* Comedy Series
* Drama Series
* Movie or Limited Series
* Documentary
* Variety, Sketch, or Talk – Series or Special
* Lead Performance in a Comedy Series
* Lead Performance in a Drama Series
* Lead Performance in a TV Movie/Limited Series
* Supporting Performance in a Comedy Series
* Supporting Performance in a Drama Series
* Supporting Performance in a TV Movie/Limited Series
* Guest Performance in a Comedy Series
* Guest Performance in a Drama Series
* Directing, Comedy Series
* Directing, Drama Series
* Director, TV Movie/Limited Series
* Writing, Comedy Series
* Writing, Drama Series
* Writing, TV Movie/Limited Series
* Cinematography
* Costume Design
* Editing
* Makeup & Hairstyling
* Musical Score
* Music Supervision
* Original Song
* Production Design

Retired|

* Actor
* Actress
* Supporting Actor
* Supporting Actress
* Breakthrough Performance, Male
* Breakthrough Performance, Female
* Actor, Independent Film
* Actress, Independent Film
* Actor, Drama Series
* Actress, Drama Series
* Supporting Actor, Drama Series
* Supporting Actress, Drama Series
* Guest Actor, Drama Series
* Guest Actress, Drama Series
* Actor, Comedy Series
* Actress, Comedy Series
* Supporting Actor, Comedy Series
* Supporting Actress, Comedy Series
* Guest Actor, Comedy Series
* Guest Actress, Comedy Series
* Actor, TV Movie/Limited Series
* Actress, TV Movie/Limited Series
* Supporting Actor, TV Movie/Limited Series
* Supporting Actress, TV Movie/Limited Series
* Original Television Program
* Film Poster

Ceremonies|

* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template