It’s that time of year when we eagerly anticipate the most prestigious award show of the season: The Oscars, also known as the Academy Awards. We’ll witness the announcement of the best actor, movie and other notable categories.
Along with the Emmys, Grammys and Tonys, the Academy Award is one of the most significant award ceremonies, where our favorite A-listers get recognition for their hard work in film. It takes years for many actors to earn such prestigious recognition from their peers, and we get to witness that on this auspicious night. We are cheering for our talented Black actors and actresses to win the best awards of the night at the 96th Oscars, broadcasting live on March 10, 2024.
In case you are unaware of the nominated movies from 2023, we have gathered a list of films celebrating Black excellence. We eagerly await the final results and hope our favorite nominees will emerge victorious.
American Fiction
A satire film nominated in five categories, EBONY cover star Wright plays Monk, an upper-class writer frustrated with his lack of success. Monk’s book, full of stereotypes about deadbeat fathers, drugs and sex in the Black community, becomes a bestseller. Co-star Sterling K. Brown is also nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
Rustin
Colman Domingo has been nominated for his first-ever Oscar in the Best Actor category for his portrayal of Bayard Rustin, a Black openly gay activist who helped Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders orchestrate the 1963 March on Washington. Domingo, a versatile actor, gives flowers to Rustin, a powerful man who advocated for Black rights and the LGBTQ+ community in the 1960s but had long been ignored in Black history.
The Holdovers
This film has received five award nominations, including Best Picture and Film Editing. Best Supporting Actress nominee Da’Vine Joy Randolph’s outstanding performance as Mary Lamb, a grieving mother who lost her son in the Vietnam War, deserves recognition. The movie follows Mary’s journey of coming to terms with her son’s death and coping with the loss of her only child while looking ahead to the future.
The Color Purple
Orange Is the New Black’s Danielle Brooks is up for Best Supporting Actress for her role in this musical remake. She plays Sofia, a confident woman who leaves her abusive husband. Brooks delivers a powerful performance, even reenacting the classic punch scene.
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
This movie is the second installment of the animated series, which follows Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy as they navigate the Multiverse and confront a new threat from other Spidermen. The movie, featuring a Black Latino teenager, has been nominated for Best Animated Feature Film and is receiving praise after the success of the first Spider-Verse film.
Bobi Wine: The People’s President
We enjoy watching documentaries that explore Black cultures in different parts of the world. This one tells the story of Bobi Wine, a Ugandan musician who ran for the presidency against Yoweri Museveni, who had been in power for 35 years. The film is nominated for Best Documentary Feature.
The Barber of Little Rock
This nominated short film documents the story of Arlo Washington from Little Rock, Arkansas, who founded a non-profit community bank called People Trust to bridge the racial gap in banking and provide financial stability to the community.
The Last Repair Shop
Nominated for Best Documentary, Short Film, The Last Repair Shop tells the story of a downtown warehouse that houses 80,000 students’ instruments. The skilled craftspeople there keep them in good repair, so no one is denied the chance to make music, highlighting the power of music in our lives.
Io Capitano
This movie is based on the true story of two Senegalese brothers, Moussa and Seydou, who travel to Italy from Dakar. Despite facing many challenges, their brotherhood remains unbreakable. The film is nominated for Best International Feature Film. It deserves recognition for capturing their incredible endurance.
The Creator
Robots are taking over in this sci-fi film nominated for Best Movie with Visual Effects. Denzel Washinton’s handsome son, John David Washington, plays Joshua, a former special forces agent assigned to hunt down the Creator, an AI architect who has the power to develop a world-ending weapon.
