The Black Reel Award for Outstanding Director is an award presented annually by the Black Reel Awards (BRA). It is given in honor of a film director who has exhibited outstanding directing while working in the film industry.
History Director, Malcolm D. Lee took home the first award for The Best Man at the 1st Annual Black Reel Awards.
The Black Reel Awards for Outstanding Director and Black Reel Award for Outstanding Film has been closely linked throughout their history. Out of the 22 films that have been awarded Outstanding Film, 10 have also been awarded Outstanding Director.
Since its inception, the award has been given to 18 directors or directing teams. Ava DuVernay, Ryan Coogler, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Jordan Peele & Steve McQueen has received the most awards in this category with two. Spike Lee has been nominated eleven times, more than any other individual. At age 29, Ryan Coogler became the youngest director to win this award for his work on Creed. Thomas Carter holds the record for the oldest director to win at 52 for Coach Carter.
Brothers, Albert Hughes & Allen Hughes are the only directing team to share this award as they won for The Book of Eli at the 11th Annual Black Reel Awards. Gina Prince-Bythewood became the first woman to be nominated and win in this category for Love & Basketball.
Winners and nominees Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.
2000s Year Director Film Ref 2000 Malcolm D. Lee The Best Man Rick Famuyiwa The Wood Spike Lee Summer of Sam 2001 Gina Prince-Bythewood Love & Basketball Kwyn Bader Loving Jezebel Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes American Pimp Spike Lee Bamboozled John Singleton Shaft 2002 Antoine Fuqua Training Day Thomas Carter Save the Last Dance Gary Hardwick The Brothers Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes From Hell John Singleton Baby Boy 2003 Denzel Washington Antwone Fisher Malcolm D. Lee Undercover Brother Spike Lee 25th Hour Charles Stone III Drumline Tim Story Barbershop 2004 F. Gary Gray The Italian Job Carl Franklin Out of Time Antoine Fuqua Tears of the Sun Gary Hardwick Deliver Us From Eva John Singleton 2 Fast 2 Furious 2005 Mario Van Peebles BAADASSSSS! Ernest Dickerson Never Die Alone Antoine Fuqua Lighting in a Bottle Spike Lee She Hate Me Charles Stone III Mr. 3000 2006 Thomas Carter Coach Carter Malcolm D. Lee Roll Bounce John Singleton Four Brothers Tim Story Fantastic Four 2007 Spike Lee Inside Man Bryan Barber Idlewild Sanaa Hamri Something New Clark Johnson The Sentinel Chris Robinson ATL 2008 Gina Prince-Bythewood The Secret Life of Bees Malcolm D. Lee Soul Men Spike Lee Miracle at St. Anna Darnell Martin Cadillac Records Gabriele Muccino Seven Pounds
2010s Year Director Film Ref 2010 Lee Daniels Precious Bill Duke Not Easily Broken Spike Lee Passing Strange Scott Sanders Black Dynamite George Tillman Jr. Notorious 2011 Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes The Book of Eli Antoine Fuqua Brooklyn's Finest Tanya Hamilton Night Catches Us Sanaa Hamri Just Wright Tyler Perry For Colored Girls 2012 Steve McQueen Shame Salim Akil Jumping the Broom Qasim Basir Mooz-lum Ava DuVernay I Will Follow Dee Rees Pariah 2013 Ava DuVernay Middle of Nowhere Salim Akil Sparkle Spike Lee Red Hook Summer Peter Ramsey Rise of the Guardians Tim Story Think Like a Man 2014 Steve McQueen 12 Years a Slave Ryan Coogler Fruitvale Station Lee Daniels The Butler Malcolm D. Lee The Best Man Holiday George Tillman Jr. The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete 2015 Ava DuVernay Selma Amma Asante Belle Gina Prince-Bythewood Beyond the Lights Chris Rock Top Five Justin Simien Dear White People 2016 Ryan Coogler Creed Rick Famuyiwa Dope Antoine Fuqua Southpaw F. Gary Gray Straight Outta Compton Spike Lee Chi-Raq 2017 Barry Jenkins Moonlight Don Cheadle Miles Ahead Antoine Fuqua The Magnificent Seven Nate Parker The Birth of a Nation Denzel Washington Fences 2018 Jordan Peele Get Out Maggie Betts Novitiate Reginald Hudlin Marshall Malcolm D. Lee Girls Trip Dee Rees Mudbound 2019 Ryan Coogler Black Panther Barry Jenkins If Beale Street Could Talk Steve McQueen Widows Spike Lee BlacKkKlansman Boots Riley Sorry to Bother You
2020s Year Director Film Ref 2020 Jordan Peele Us Mati Diop Atlantics Kasi Lemmons Harriet Melina Matsoukas Queen & Slim Julius Onah Luce 2021 Regina King One Night in Miami... Radha Blank The Forty-Year-Old Version Shaka King Judas and the Black Messiah Spike Lee Da 5 Bloods Channing Godfrey Peoples Miss Juneteenth 2022 Jeymes Samuel The Harder They Fall The 22nd Black Reel Awards Honors its Winners, Led by The Harder They Fall|Festival & Awards|Roger Ebert Halle Berry Bruised Nia DaCosta Candyman Reinaldo Marcus Green King Richard Rebecca Hall Passing 2023 Gina Prince-Bythewood The Woman King 23rd Black Reel award winners: 'The Woman King', 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever', 'The Inspection' - AwardsWatch Elegance Bratton The Inspection Chinonye Chukwu Till Ryan Coogler Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Jordan Peele Nope 2024 Cord Jefferson American Fiction Blitz the Ambassador The Color Purple Ava DuVernay Origin Michael B. Jordan Creed III A. V. Rockwell A Thousand and One 2025 RaMell Ross Nickel Boys Titus Kaphar Exhibiting Forgiveness Zoë Kravitz Blink Twice Steve McQueen Blitz Malcolm Washington The Piano Lesson 2026 Ryan Coogler Sinners Nia DaCosta Hedda Spike Lee Highest 2 Lowest Rungano Nyoni On Becoming a Guinea Fowl R. T. Thorne 40 Acres
Multiple nominations and wins Multiple wins 3 wins Ryan Coogler Gina Prince-Bythewood
2 wins Ava DuVernay Steve McQueen Jordan Peele
Multiple Nominees
12 nominations Spike Lee
6 nominations Antoine Fuqua Malcolm D. Lee
5 nominations Ryan Coogler
4 nominations Ava DuVernay Steve McQueen Gina Prince-Bythewood John Singleton
3 nominations Albert Hughes Allen Hughes Jordan Peele Tim Story
2 nominations Salim Akil Thomas Carter Nia DaCosta Lee Daniels Rick Famuyiwa F. Gary Gray Sanaa Hamri Gary Hardwick Barry Jenkins Dee Rees Charles Stone III George Tillman Jr. Denzel Washington
Age superlatives
Record Director Film Age (in years) Oldest winner Thomas Carter Coach Carter 52 Oldest nominee Spike Lee Highest 2 Lowest 68 Youngest winner Ryan Coogler Creed 29 Youngest nominee Rick Famuyiwa The Wood 26
Diversity of Nominees
Female nominees/winners Twenty female directors have been nominated for a total twenty-eight times in this category, and three have won the award.
2001 - Gina Prince-Bythewood for Love & Basketball‡ 2007 - Sanaa Hamri for Something New 2008 - Gina Prince-Bythewood for The Secret Life of Bees† 2008 - Darnell Martin for Cadillac Records‡ 2011 - Tanya Hamilton for Night Catches Us‡ 2011 - Sanaa Hamri for Just Wright† 2012 - Ava DuVernay for I Will Follow 2012 - Dee Rees for Pariah† 2013 - Ava DuVernay for Middle of Nowhere† 2015 - Ava DuVernay for Selma‡ 2015 - Amma Asante for Belle† 2015 - Gina Prince-Bythewood for Beyond the Lights† 2018 - Maggie Betts for Novitiate 2018 - Dee Rees for Mudbound † 2020 - Mati Diop for Atlantics 2020 - Kasi Lemmons for Harriet 2020 - Melina Matsoukas for Queen & Slim † 2021 - Regina King for One Night in Miami... † 2021 - Radha Blank for The Forty-Year-Old Version 2021 - Channing Godfrey Peoples for Miss Juneteenth 2022 - Halle Berry for Bruised 2022 - Nia DaCosta for Candyman 2022 - Rebecca Hall for Passing † 2023 - Gina Prince-Bythewood for The Woman King 2023 - Chinonye Chukwu for Till 2024 - Ava DuVernay for Origin † 2024 - A. V. Rockwell for A Thousand and One 2025 - Zoë Kravitz for Blink Twice 2026 - Nia DaCosta for Hedda 2026 - Rungano Nyoni for On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
Documentary nominees/winners Three directors of a documentary film have been nominated in this category.
2001 - Albert Hughes & Allen Hughes for American Pimp 2005 - Antoine Fuqua for Lightning in a Bottle
Animated nominees/winners One director of an animated film has been nominated in this category.
2013 - Peter Ramsey for Rise of the Guardians
Non-English language nominees/winners One director of a non-English film has been nominated in this category.
2020 - Mati Diop for Atlantics, Wolof & French
bold — Indicates winner † — Film nominated for Outstanding Film ‡ — Film won for Outstanding Film
References