Selma Wins Best Picture at the AAFCA Awards

AAFCA Founder and President Gil Robertson with Selma producers and cast, winner of Best Picture at the AAFCA Awards

Oprah accepts Best Picture Award at the AAFCA Awards

It was a star studded night of Celebrities from the film, television and news media at the Taglyan Complex in Hollywood Wednesday night, February 4, 2015,  for the 6th Annual African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) Awards Ceremony.  Presenting awards for the best in directing, screenwriting, acting and producing, the AAFCA Awards attendees included Ava DuVernay (Director, Selma), Oprah Winfrey, Alfre Woodard, Tyler Perry, Will Packer,  Kathryn Bigelow, Amy Pascal (Co-Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment); David Oyelowo winner of Best Actor for his critically-acclaimed performance in Selma; Chadwick Boseman, accepting the Best Ensemble award on behalf of the cast of Get On Up; producer Debra Martin Chase, receiving the Ashley Boone Award; J.K. Simmons accepted the award for Best Supporting Actor in Whiplash; Best Screenplay winner Gina Prince-Bythewood, writer Reggie Rock Bythewood and Gugu Mbatha Raw (Beyond the Lights); Tessa Thompson  Best Breakout Star in Dear White People; and Effie Brown  Best Independence Award as Producer of  Dear White People.

 Director of Selma Ava DuVernay

 Director of Selma Ava DuVernay accepting Best Director Award at AAFCA Awards

 Bill Bellamy interviews Director and Presenter Deborah Riley Draper On the Red Carpet at AAFCA Awards

Presenter Chaz Ebert On the Red Carpet at AAFCA Awards

 David Oyelowo accepting Best Actor Award at the AAFCA Awards

 Best Actor David Oyelowo On the Red Carpet at AAFCA  Awards

 Deborah Riley Draper and Alfre Woodard at AAFCA Awards

 Deborah Riley Draper and Chadwick Boseman at AAFCA Awards

 Deborah Riley Draper on the red carpet at AAFCA Awards

Directors Gina Prince-Bythewood and Stephanie Allain On the Red Carpet at AAFCA Awards 

 Chadwick Boseman and Evelyn Bakon Wheeler at the AAFCA Awards

 Evelyn Bakon Wheeler and David Oyelowo at the AAFCA Awards

 Gugu Mbatha Raw at the AAFCA Awards

 Chadwick Boseman and Lacy Barnes at the AAFCA Awards

 Linda Curtis O'Bannon and David Oyelowo at the AAFCA Awards

 Linda Curtis O'Bannon, Deborah Riley Draper and Evelyn Bakon Wheeler at AAFCA Awardes

 Oprah Winfrey, David Oyelowo, Gil Robertson, Ava DuVernay, Tessa Thompson

Salli Richardson performs at the AAFCA Awards

Others in attendance were AAFCA presenters and honorees including producer Stephanie Allain, who received the Legacy Award; presenter Khandi Alexander of Scandal; presenter Mike Epps of Survivor’s Remorse;  Roger Ebert award recipient Susan King;  honoree and presenter Chaz Ebert; producer/director Will Packer; actor Dondre Whitfield; presenter and 2012 best documentary winner Deborah Riley Draper (Versailles 73:American Runway Revolution); actor Andre Royo; Disney Channel’s Gary Marsh; actor/comedian Bill Bellamy;  presenter Wendy Raquel Robinson; and directors Julie Dash and Neema Barnette.

66th Cannes Film Festival 2013 and my 13th Attendance

View of the Palais de Festival 2012
Credit: Festival de Cannes

View of the Palais de Festival 2011

One month from today I will wing my way to the French Riviera and my 13th Cannes Film Festival. Although the festival doesn't begin until May 15-26, I will spend some time at my place in Nice before venturing down the road to Cannes and the biggest and most prestigious film festival in the world.  It has been said that 80 percent of the world's wealth is in Cannes during the 11 days of the festival. Judging by the number of yachts in the Cannes harbor and marina, and the overwhelming number of Rolls', Bentley's, Ferrari's, Lamborghini's and any other fine automobile you can name, I would venture to say it's not far from the truth.  It's fairly easy to get rundown by a Rolls' or Bentley. Trying to board one of the yachts is not so easy and getting invited to a party aboard one of them is even harder.

This year because of my enthusiasm for past festivals, a number of people I have met are making the trek this year. I think the festival owes me for my PR work. My Cannes friend and sidekick for the past three years, Yolonda Brinkley (YRB International Exposure) is also upping her visibility at this years festival with her 4th Beyond Borders: Diversity In Cannes Filmmaker Symposium and her 1st Diversity in Cannes Short Film Showcase and Awards (check out her web site, www.diversityincannes.com). Last year during the festival an article in the UK Guardian mentioned her Diversity in Cannes Symposium because of the number of women on the panel and why so few women filmmakers were not being featured in the overall festival. Yolonda also received a 2012 European Diversity Award nomination.

This is looking to be a pretty big festival this year with Australian director Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby"opening the festival (starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan and the musical score by Jay-Z that also features a song by Beyonce, all of whom are expected to walk the famous red carpeted stairs). You can view the movie trailer on the Video Bar in my blog.

Just announced a few minutes ago via Festival de Cannes - Page Officiele that French actress Audrey Tautou will host the opening and closing ceremonies. Last year was my first time actually attending the opening ceremony. Steven Spielberg is President of the Festival Jury this year. Remember in 2011 when Robert De Niro was President of the Jury people were mistaking me for "Madame De Niro," to my delight.

As in the past, I will be blogging here during the Festival trying to keep everyone abreast of all the happenings and fun that I am sure I will be getting into this year. Stay tuned.

See you at Nikki Beach at the 66th Annual Cannes International Film Festival May 15-25 2013

Scenes from 65th Festival de Cannes 2012

Cast of Madagascar 3, Jada Pinkett Smith, Ben Stiller
Jessica Chastain and Chris Rock
Credit: Festival de Cannes

Cast and Director of Madagascar 3, Jada Pinkett Smith, Chris Rock
Ben Stiller, Martin Short, Jessica Chastain
Credit: Festival de Cannes

Director and Cast of Beast of the Southern Wild, Quvenzhane Wallis
Credit: Festival de Cannes

Director and Cast of Beast of the Southern Wild, Quvenzhane Wallis
Credit: Festival de Cannes

Cast of The Paperboy, John Cusack, Matthew McConaughey,
Nicole Kidman, Zack Efron, David Oyelowo, Macy Gray and Director Lee Daniels
Credit: Festival de Cannes

Cast of Red Tails, Cuba Gooding, David Oyelowo
and Director George Lucas and Mellody Hopkins
Credit: Festival de Cannes

Cast of The PaperBoy, Macy Gray, Nicole Kidman, Matthew McConaughey,
John Cusack, Zack Efron and Director Lee Daniels
Credit: Festival de Cannes

Combined PAFF and AAFCA Awards Los Angeles

Landed in Los Angeles, Thursday, February 7, 2013 for the AAFCA Awards where my friend Deborah Riley Draper will be receiving the award for best documentary.  LA is practically in shutdown mode while the LAPD is staging a manhunt for a cop killer who happens to be a former cop himself.  No one does cop drama like LA.  The only thing to rival the LAPD is the cities hosting of the most revered red carpet events in the world.

Staying at the Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard across from TCL Chinese Theatre which used to be Grauman's Chinese Theatre and the Dolby Theatre which used to be the Kodak Theatre (Do you see a trend here?) where the Academy Awards are held.  It turns out the evening is a combined Pan African Film Festival tribute and the African American Film Critics Association Awards at the Taglyan Center in Hollywood.  My party arrived for the reception and red carpet at 6:00 p.m. and there was quite a few stars who turned out for the event.  Danny Glover, Richard Rountree, Lynn Whitfield, Janet Dubois, Sallie Richardson, Jordin Sparks, Holly Robinson Peete, Omari Hardwick, Kem, David Oyelowo, Reginald Hudlin, Nate Parker (Best Actor Nominee for Arbitrage), Jesse Williams (Greys Anatomy), Emayatzy Cornealdi (Best actress nominee for Middle of Nowhere), Nicole Beharie and director Deborah Riley Draper (Best documentary).

AAFCA Award Winners:
Best Actor                      Denzel Washington, “Flight” (Paramount)  
Best Actress                  Emayatzy Corinealdi, “Middle of Nowhere” (AFFRM)  
Best Supporting Actress Sally Field, “Lincoln” (Touchstone)
Best Supporting Actor    Nate Parker, “Arbitrage” (Roadside Attractions)
Best Foreign Film           Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, “The Intouchables” (Weinstein Company)  
Breakout Performance     Quvenzhané Wallis for “Beast of the Southern Wild”
(Fox Searchlight)
Best Director                   Ben Affleck, “Argo” (Warner)
Best Screenplay             Ava DuVernay, “Middle of Nowhere”(AFFRM)
Best Music                    Kathryn Bostic & Morgan Rhodes, “Middle of Nowhere” (AFFRM)
Best Independent Film  “Middle of Nowhere” (AFFRM)  
Best Animation             “Rise of the Guardians,” (Paramount)
Best Documentary    tie   “The House I Live In” (Charlotte Street Films) &
“Versailles ’73” (Coffee Bluff Pictures) 

This is also Grammy weekend in LA so there is a lot going on.  Stars are all over the place and parties are popping up everywhere.  My hotel is a hot spot so I barely slept Friday and Saturday night because of the parties going on in the hotel including the room next to mine.  Of course that was a no no, so I called the front desk who promptly sent security to quite things down.  Turns out it was just a bunch of drunk teenage girls whose parents apparently let them loose for the weekend.  Only in LA.

Deborah Riley Draper's acceptance speech at the AAFCA Awards for her Best Documentary Award was the best of the night.  She gave a shout out to our Table 18 which gave us a chance to make some noise.  Versailles 73: American Runway Revolution comes out on VOD and DVD  February 12, 2013.  Make sure you get your copy because you need this in your black history collection.  This documentary follows the events leading up to what was coined as the "Battle of Versailles" a landmark fashion show on November 28, 1973, that pitted a fashion showdown between American ready-to-wear designers, Bill Blass, Anne Klein, Oscar de la Renta, Stephen Burrows and Halston, against five French haute couture designers, Yves St. Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy, Pierre Cardin, Christian Dior and Emanuel Ungaro.  It was also the first time African American models appeared on high fashion European runways.  The documentary recounts that event that began as a fundraiser to restore the roof of the Palace of Versailles that ended up being a complete blowout by the American designers led by the unbelievable sashaying of 12 African American models.  The runways of the world would never be the same again.

 Director of Versailles 73: American Runway Revolution, Deborah Riley Draper

 Janet Dubois, founder of Pan African Film Festival

Actress/Singer Janet Dubois and daughter

Actress Salli Richardson

Evelyn Bakon Wheeler

Actor Nate Parker

Actress Emayatzy Cornealdi star of Middle of Nowhere

Actor Jesse Williams star of Greys Anatomy

 Director Deborah Riley Draper

 Actor David Oyelowo

 Actresses Salli Ricardson and Lynn Whitfield

 Singer Jordin Sparks

 

 Actress Nicole Beharie

Hostess Salli Ricardson; Honorees Nicole Baharie, Omari Hardwick and Lynn Whitfield; Founders of Pan African Film Festival Danny Glover and Janet Dubois

See you on the next red carpet 66th Cannes Film Festival 16-26 May 2013.  

Au revoir.