16th Annual Black Reel Award Nominations Announced; "Creed," "Straight Outta Compton" Lead

CREED AND STRAIGHT OUTTA LEADS WITH 9 NOMINATIONS EACH FOR THE 16TH ANNUAL BLACK REEL AWARDS

DOPE, CHI-RAQ AND BEASTS OF NO NATION ALSO TOP CONTENDERS

HBO LEAD WITH 12 TELEVISION NOMINATIONS

BESSIE LEADS ALL TV MOVIES WITH SEVEN NOMINATIONS

(Washington, DC) – The Foundation for the Augmentation of African-Americans in Film (FAAAF) has announced the nominees for The 16th Annual Black Reel Awards. The winners will be revealed live in Washington, DC on Thursday, February 18th, 2016 at 8PM ET/ 5PM PT.

The spin-off of the popular Rocky franchise, “Creed” was nominated for Outstanding Picture, Michael B. Jordan for Outstanding Actor; co-star Tessa Thompson for Outstanding Supporting Actress, Ryan Coogler for Outstanding Director as well as sharing an Outstanding Screenplay nomination with co-writer, Aaron Covington. In addition, the film also was nominated for Outstanding Ensemble, Outstanding Score and two Outstanding Song nominations, “Grip” and “Waiting for My Moment.”

The biopic of the World’s Most Dangerous Rap Group, “Straight Outta Compton” also flexed its muscle as a front-runner with nominations for Outstanding Picture, Outstanding Supporting Actor nominations for co-stars Corey Hawkins and Jason Mitchell, and an Outstanding Director nomination for F. Gary Gray. The film also received nominations for Outstanding Ensemble, two nods for Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Male for O’Shea Jackson, Jr. and Mitchell, Outstanding Score and Outstanding Song for “Talking to My Diary.”

“Chi-Raq,” “Beasts of No Nation,” and “Concussion” rounded out the list of contenders with each receiving Outstanding Film, plus nominations for Teyonah Parris (Outstanding Actress), Idris Elba (Outstanding Supporting Actor), Abraham Attah (Outstanding Actor and Outstanding Breakthrough, Male), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Outstanding Supporting Actress) and Will Smith (Outstanding Actor).

“Dope” earned eight nominations, followed by “Chi-Raq” with seven, and “Beasts of No Nation” and “Tangerine” each with five nominations and “Concussion” earned four.

Angela Bassett, Ryan Coogler, and Spike Lee are each up for three awards, for their work in several notable films including “Chi-Raq,” “Whitney,” “American Horror Story: Hotel“and “Creed” while a distinguished group of actors each took home two nominations including Abraham Attah, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Idris Elba, Regina King, Jason Mitchell, Tessa Thompson and Michael K. Williams.

In the television race, HBO led all studios with 12 nominations, followed by BET with 8. Topping the list of nominated movies is “Bessie” (HBO) with seven. “American Crime” (ABC), “The Book of Negroes” (BET) and “The Wiz Live!” (NBC) follow closely behind with five each. Other top films with multiple nominations include “Let the Church Say Amen” (BET), “Show Me a Hero” (HBO), and “Whitney” (Lifetime).

“There were a rich and diverse pattern of stories that captivated audiences this year in the movies,” says Black Reel Awards founder and President Tim Gordon. “The top two nominated films are a perfect example of familiar stories that are executed extremely well and were also box-office hits. It was also refreshing to see a mix of familiar seasoned talent and a crop of new, rising future stars.”

“The Black Reel Awards” are bestowed annually by FAAAF to honor African-American film achievement in feature, independent and television film. The Black Reel Awards voting membership consists of 80 national film critics, independent filmmakers and music professionals who comprise the four voting branches, film, independent, television and music. For more information, visit: www.BlackReelAwards.com

Follow the 16th Annual Black Reel Awards on Twitter @BlackReelAwards, on Facebook/BlackReelAwards, and on Instagram @BlackReelAwards.

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