# Black Reel Awards of 2016

The 2016 Black Reel Awards, which annually recognize and celebrate the achievements of black people in feature, independent and television films, were announced on Thursday, February 18, 2016. Creed and Straight Outta Compton led all films with nine nominations apiece.
Creed was the big winner of the night winning five awards including Outstanding Picture, Director (Ryan Coogler) and Actor (Michael B. Jordan). Bessie took home three awards followed by American Crime, Beasts of No Nation and Straight Outta Compton with two wins.
Dee Rees, Ryan Coogler, Regina King, Rihanna, Michael B. Jordan, Abraham Attah and Kiersey Clemons were some of the winners earning their first Black Reel Award.

## Winners and nominees

Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.
| Best Film | Best Director |
| Creed Beasts of No Nation Chi-Raq Concussion Straight Outta Compton | Ryan Coogler – Creed Rick Famuyiwa – Dope Antoine Fuqua – Southpaw F. Gary Gray – Straight Outta Compton Spike Lee – Chi-Raq |
| Best Actor | Best Actress |
| Michael B. Jordan – Creed Abraham Attah – Beasts of No Nation Chiwetel Ejiofor – Z for Zachariah Samuel L. Jackson – The Hateful Eight Will Smith – Concussion | Teyonah Parris – Chi-Raq Viola Davis – Lila & Eve Kitana Kiki Rodriguez – Tangerine Zoe Saldana – Infinitely Polar Bear Karidja Toure – Girlhood |
| Best Supporting Actor | Best Supporting Actress |
| Idris Elba – Beasts of No Nation Chiwetel Ejiofor – The Martian Corey Hawkins – Straight Outta Compton Jason Mitchell – Straight Outta Compton Forest Whitaker – Southpaw | Tessa Thompson – Creed Angela Bassett – Chi-Raq Zoë Kravitz – Dope Gugu Mbatha-Raw – Concussion Mya Taylor – Tangerine |
| Best Breakthrough Performance, Male | Best Breakthrough Performance, Female |
| Abraham Attah – Beasts of No Nation RJ Cyler – Me and Earl and the Dying Girl O'Shea Jackson Jr. – Straight Outta Compton Jason Mitchell – Straight Outta Compton Shameik Moore – Dope | Kiersey Clemons – Dope Chanel Iman – Dope Kitana Kiki Rodriguez – Tangerine Assa Sylla – Girlhood Mya Taylor – Tangerine |
| Best Ensemble | Best Screenplay, Adapted or Original |
| Victoria Thomas and Cindy Tolan – Straight Outta Compton Kim Coleman – Chi-Raq Kim Coleman – Dope Lindsay Graham and Mary Vernieu – Concussion Francine Maisler – Creed | Ryan Coogler and Aaron Covington – Creed Rick Famuyiwa – Dope Spike Lee and Kevin Willmott – Chi-Raq |
| Best Feature Documentary | Best Voice Performance |
| What Happened, Miss Simone? – Liz Garbus A Ballerina's Tale – Nelson George The Amazing Nina Simone – Jeff L. Lieberman The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution – Stanley Nelson Jr. Sweet Micky for President – Ben Patterson | Rihanna – Home Maya Rudolph – Strange Magic Marelik Walker – The Peanuts Movie Quvenzhané Wallis – The Prophet Jeffrey Wright – The Good Dinosaur |
| Best Independent Feature | Best Independent Documentary |
| Tangerine – Sean S. Baker Blackbird – Patrik-Ian Polk Knucklehead – Ben Bowman The Man in 3B – Trey Haley Somewhere in the Middle – Lanre Olabisi | Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band – Carol Bush Adina Howard 20: A Story of Sexual Liberation – Gezus Zaire Be Known – Dwayne Johnson-Cochran Cody High: A Life Remodeled Project – Walter V. Marshall Romeo is Bleeding – Jason Zeldes |
| Best Independent Short | Best Foreign Film |
| Addiction – Danny Dzhurayev David's Reviere – Neil Creque Williams Sacred Heart – Sol Aponte and Jennia Fredrique | Girlhood (France) – Céline Sciamma Freetown (Liberia) – Garrett Batty Honeytrap (U.K.) – Jonas Carpignano Mediterranea (Italy) – Jonas Carpignano My Friend Victoria (France) – Jean-Paul Civeyrac Samba (France) – Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache |
| Best Original or Adapted Song | Outstanding Original Score |
| "See You Again" from Furious 7 – Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth "Earned It" from Fifty Shades of Grey – The Weeknd "Grip" from Creed – Tessa Thompson "Talking to My Diary" from Straight Outta Compton – Dr. Dre "Waiting for My Moment" from Creed – Childish Gambino, Vince Staples and Jhené Aiko | Joseph Trapanese – Straight Outta Compton Terence Blanchard – Chi-Raq Germaine Franco – Dope Ludwig Göransson – Creed Dan Romer – Beasts of No Nation |
| Best Television Miniseries or Movie | Outstanding Director in a Television Miniseries or Movie |
| Bessie (HBO) – Ron Schmidt American Crime (ABC) – Ed Tapla and Lori-Etta Taub The Book of Negroes (BET) – Damon D'Oliveira and Clement Virgo Luther (BBC) – Marcus Wilson Show Me a Hero (HBO) – Gail Mutrux | Dee Rees – Bessie (HBO) Angela Bassett – Whitney (Lifetime) Regina King – Let the Church Say Amen (BET) John Ridley – American Crime (ABC) Clement Virgo – The Book of Negroes (BET) |
| Best Actor in a TV Movie or Limited Series | Best Actress in a TV Movie or Limited Series |
| David Oyelowo – Nightingale (HBO) Steve Harris – Let the Church Say Amen (BET) James Earl Jones – Great Performances: "Driving Miss Daisy" (PBS) Amin Joseph – Stock Option (TVOne) Michael K. Williams – The Spoils Before Dying (IFC) | Queen Latifah – Bessie (HBO) Yaya DaCosta – Whitney (Lifetime) Aunjanue Ellis – The Book of Negroes (BET) Regina Hall – With This Ring (Lifetime) Shanice Williams – The Wiz Live! (NBC) |
| Best Supporting Actor in a TV Movie or Limited Series | Best Supporting Actress in a TV Movie or Limited Series |
| Bokeem Woodbine – Fargo (FX) Charles S. Dutton – Bessie (HBO) Cuba Gooding Jr. – The Book of Negroes (BET) David Alan Grier – The Wiz Live! (NBC) Michael K. Williams – Bessie (HBO) | Regina King – American Crime (ABC) Angela Bassett – American Horror Story: Hotel (FX) Mary J. Blige – The Wiz Live! (NBC) Mo’Nique – Bessie (HBO) Amber Riley – The Wiz Live! (NBC) |
| Outstanding Screenplay in a TV Movie or Limited Series | Best Television Documentary or Special |
| John Ridley – American Crime (ABC) Christopher Cleveland, Bettina Gilois and Dee Rees – Bessie (HBO) Stacy A. Littlejohn – American Crime (ABC) David Simon and William F. Zorzi – Show Me a Hero (HBO) Clement Virgo – The Book of Negroes (BET) | The Wiz Live! (NBC) – Kenny Leon 3 ½ Minutes (HBO) – Marc Silver Holler If You Hear Me: Black and Gay in the Church (BET) – Clay Cane Kareem: Minority of One (HBO) – Clare Lewins Stevie Wonder Songs in the Key of Life: An All-Star Grammy Tribute (CBS) – Leon Knoles |