The 20th Annual Black Reel Awards ceremony, presented by the Foundation for the Augmentation of African-Americans in Film (FAAAF) and honoring the best films of 2019, took place on February 6, 2020. During the ceremony, FAAAF presented the Black Reel Awards in 23 categories. The nominations were announced on December 11, 2019.
Queen & Slim earned a leading fourteen nominations, followed by Us and Dolemite Is My Name with eleven and ten nominations, respectively.
The 4th Annual Black Reel Awards for Television was presented on August 6, 2020. The nominations were announced on June 18, 2020. HBO's Watchmen & Insecure lead the nominees with 10 each. Watchmen became the biggest winner, earning 5 BRATs including Outstanding TV Movie or Limited Series and Outstanding Actress, TV Movie/Limited Series for Regina King. Insecure took home the top Comedy prize for Outstanding Comedy Series for a second consecutive year while Pose won the award for Outstanding Drama Series for its second season.
Film winners and nominees Outstanding Film Outstanding DirectorDolemite Is My Name – Eddie Murphy, John Fox, and John DavisJust Mercy – Asher Goldstein and Gil Netter Queen & Slim – Pamela Addy, Andrew Coles, James Frey, Michelle Knudsen, Melina Matsoukas, Lena Waithe and Brad Weston Us – Jordan Peele, Jason Blum, Ian Cooper, and Sean McKittrick Waves – Trey Edward Shults, Kevin Turen, and James Wilson | valign="top" | Jordan Peele – Us Mati Diop – Atlantics Kasi Lemmons – Harriet Melina Matsoukas – Queen & Slim Julius Onah – Luce Outstanding Actor Outstanding Actress Eddie Murphy – Dolemite Is My Name as Rudy Ray Moore Jimmie Fails – The Last Black Man in San Francisco as Jimmie Fails Kelvin Harrison Jr. – Luce as Luce Edgar Kelvin Harrison Jr. – Waves as Tyler Williams Daniel Kaluuya – Queen & Slim as Earnest "Slim" Hines Lupita Nyong'o – Us as Adelaide Wilson/Red Cynthia Erivo – Harriet as Harriet Tubman Gugu Mbatha-Raw – Fast Color as Ruth Jodie Turner-Smith – Queen & Slim as Angela "Queen" Johnson Alfre Woodard – Clemency as Warden Bernadine Williams Outstanding Supporting Actor Outstanding Supporting Actress Wesley Snipes – Dolemite Is My Name as D'Urville Martin Sterling K. Brown – Waves as Ronald Williams Jamie Foxx – Just Mercy as Walter McMillian Aldis Hodge – Clemency as Anthony Woods Jonathan Majors – The Last Black Man in San Francisco as Montgomery "Mont" Allen Da'Vine Joy Randolph – Dolemite Is My Name as Lady Reed Shahadi Wright Joseph – Us as Zora Wilson/Umbrae Janelle Monáe – Harriet as Marie Buchanon Taylor Russell – Waves as Emily Williams Octavia Spencer – Luce as Harriet Wilson Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Male Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Female Kelvin Harrison Jr. – Waves as Tyler Williams Tituss Burgess – Dolemite Is My Name as Theodore Toney Jimmie Fails – The Last Black Man in San Francisco as Jimmie Fails Aldis Hodge – Clemency as Anthony Woods Jonathan Majors – The Last Black Man in San Francisco as Montgomery "Mont" Allen Da'Vine Joy Randolph – Dolemite Is My Name as Lady Reed Mame Bineta Sane – Atlantics as Cheikh Shahadi Wright Joseph – Us as Zora Wilson/Umbrae Taylor Russell – Waves as Emily Williams Jodie Turner-Smith – Queen & Slim as Angela "Queen" Johnson Outstanding Ensemble Outstanding Screenplay, Adapted or Original Dolemite Is My Name – Lindsey Graham and Mary Vernieu The Last Black Man in San Francisco – Julia Kim Just Mercy – Carmen Cuba Us – Terri Taylor Waves – Avy Kaufman | valign="top" | Us – Jordan Peele Clemency – Chinonye Chukwu Les Misérables – Ladj Ly, Giordano Gederlini, and Alexis Manenti Luce – J.C. Lee and Julius Onah Queen & Slim – Lena Waithe |- ! width="50%"| Outstanding Documentary ! width="50%"| Outstanding Independent Film |- | valign="top" | The Black Godfather – Reginald Hudlin The Apollo – Roger Ross Williams Knock Down the House – Rachel Lears Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool – Stanley Nelson Jr. Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am – Timothy Greenfield-Sanders | valign="top" | The Last Black Man in San Francisco – Joe Talbot, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Christina Oh, and Khaliah Neal Burning Cane – Phillip Youmans, Ojo Akinlana, Wendell Pierce, Mose Mayer, Isaac Webb, Cassandra Youmans, Jakob Johnson, and Karen Kaia Livers Clemency – Chinonye Chukwu, Timur Bekbosunov, Julian Cautherley, Bronwyn Cornelius, and Peter Wong Guava Island – Hiro Murai, Donald Glover, Carmen Cuba, Jennifer Roth, and Fam Udeorji Luce – Julius Onah, John Baker, and Andrew Yang |- ! width="50%"| Outstanding Independent Short Film ! width="50%"| Outstanding Independent Documentary |- | valign="top" | Hair Love – Matthew A. Cherry America – Garrett Bradley It's Not About Jimmy Keene – Caleb Jaffe Suicide by Sunlight – Nikyatu Jusu Zahra and the Oil Man – Yucef Mayes | valign="top" | No Lye: An American Beauty Story – Bayer Mack 16 Bars – Sam Bathrick The Remix: Hip Hop x Fashion – Lisa Cortes and Farah X |- ! width="50%"| Outstanding Foreign Film ! width="50%"| Outstanding Voice Performance |- | valign="top" | Atlantics (Senegal) The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (United Kingdom) Farming (United Kingdom) In Fabric (United Kingdom) Les Misérables (France) | valign="top" | Chiwetel Ejiofor – The Lion King as Scar Donald Glover – The Lion King as Simba James Earl Jones – The Lion King as Mufasa Keegan-Michael Key – Toy Story 4 as Ducky Jordan Peele – Toy Story 4 as Bunny |- ! width="50%"| Outstanding Emerging Director ! width="50%"| Outstanding First Screenplay |- | valign="top" | Melina Matsoukas – Queen & Slim Chinonye Chukwu – Clemency Nia DaCosta – Little Woods Mati Diop – Atlantics Julius Onah – Luce Queen & Slim – Lena Waithe Atlantics – Mati Diop and Olivier Demangel The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind – Chiwetel Ejiofor Burning Cane – Phillip Youmans Clemency – Chinonye Chukwu Outstanding Original Song Outstanding Original Score "Collide" from Queen & Slim – Tiana Major9 and EarthGang "Don't Turn Back" from The Apollo – Robert Glasper and Ledisi "Guarding the Gates" from Queen & Slim – Lauryn Hill "It's Not Over" from Brian Banks – Gizzle and Sam Fisher "Spirit" from The Lion King – Beyoncé Us – Michael Abels Dolemite Is My Name – Scott Bomar The Last Black Man in San Francisco – Emile Mosseri Queen & Slim – Devonté Hynes Waves – Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross Outstanding Cinematography Outstanding Costume Design Queen & Slim – Tad Racliffe Harriet – John Toll The Last Black Man in San Francisco – Adam Newport-Berra Us – Mike Gioulakis Waves – Drew Daniels Dolemite Is My Name – Ruth E. Carter Harriet – Paul Tazewell Hustlers – Mitchell Travers Queen & Slim – Shiona Turini Us – Kym Barrett Outstanding Production Design Dolemite Is My Name – Clay A. Griffith Harriet – Warren Alan Young The Lion King – James Chinlund Queen & Slim – Karen Murphy Us – Ruth de Jong
Films with multiple nominations and wins Film Wins Nominations Outstanding Film Nominee/Winner Queen & Slim 4 14Nominee Us 4 11Nominee Dolemite Is My Name 8 10Winner Waves 1 9Nominee The Last Black Man in San Francisco 1 8 Clemency 0 7 Harriet 0 6 Luce 0 6 Atlantics 1 5 The Lion King 1 5 Just Mercy 0 3Nominee The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind 0 2Burning Cane 0 2 Les Misérables 0 2 Toy Story 4 0 2The Apollo02
Television winners and nominees Comedy Outstanding Comedy Series Insecure (HBO) Ballers (HBO) Black-ish (ABC) Dear White People (Netflix) High Fidelity (Hulu) Outstanding Actor, Comedy Series Outstanding Actress, Comedy SeriesDon Cheadle as Maurice Monroe on Black Monday (Showtime) Anthony Anderson as Andre "Dre" Johnson Sr. on Black-ish (ABC) DeRon Horton as Lionel Higgins on Dear White People (Netflix) Dwayne Johnson as Spencer Strasmore on Ballers (HBO) Tracy Morgan as Tray Leviticus Barker on The Last O.G. (TBS)Issa Rae as Issa Dee on Insecure (HBO) Logan Browning as Samantha White on Dear White People (Netflix) Rashida Jones as Joya Barris on #blackAF (Netflix) Zoë Kravitz as Robyn "Rob" Brooks on High Fidelity (Hulu) Tracee Ellis Ross as Dr. Rainbow "Bow" Johnson on Black-ish (ABC) Outstanding Supporting Actor, Comedy Series Outstanding Supporting Actress, Comedy SeriesKenan Thompson as Various Characters on Saturday Night Live (NBC) Mahershala Ali as Sheikh Ali Malik on Ramy (Hulu) Jay Ellis as Lawrence Walker on Insecure (HBO) J.B. Smoove as Leon Black on Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO) John David Washington as Ricky Jerret on Ballers (HBO)Yvonne Orji as Molly Carter on Insecure (HBO) Regina Hall as Dawn Darcy on Black Monday (Showtime) Jenifer Lewis as Ruby Johnson on Black-ish (ABC) Marsai Martin as Diane Johnson on Black-ish (ABC) Natasha Rothwell as Kelli Prenny on Insecure (HBO) Outstanding Guest Actor, Comedy Series Outstanding Guest Actress, Comedy SeriesEddie Murphy as Various Characters on Saturday Night Live (NBC) Neil Brown Jr. as Chad Kerr on Insecure (HBO) Sterling K. Brown as Reggie on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon Prime Video) J.B. Smoove as Carl on The Last O.G. (TBS) Blair Underwood as Prof. Moses Brown on Dear White People (Netflix)Maya Rudolph as Judge Gen on The Good Place (NBC) Angela Bassett as Mo on A Black Lady Sketch Show (HBO) Yvette Nicole Brown as Evelyn Conners on Dear White People (Netflix) Issa Rae on A Black Lady Sketch Show (HBO) Wanda Sykes as Moms Mabley on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Video) Outstanding Directing, Comedy Series Outstanding Writing, Comedy SeriesDear White People (Episode: "Chapter V"), Directed by Cheryl Dunye (Netflix) #blackAF (Episode: "still....because of slavery"), Directed by Rashida Jones (Netflix) #blackAF (Episode: "Yo, between you and me....this is because of slavery"), Directed by Kenya Barris (Netflix) Black-ish (Episode: "Hair Day"), Directed by Anya Adams (ABC) Insecure (Episode: "Lowkey Movin' On"), Directed by Stella Meghie (HBO)High Fidelity (Episode: "Uptown"), Written by E.T. Feigenbaum and Zoë Kravitz (Hulu) #blackAF (Episode: "hard to believe, but still because of slavery"), Written by Allison McDonald (Netflix) Black-ish (Episode: "Hair Day"), Written by Marquita J. Robinson (ABC) Insecure (Episode: "Lowkey Happy"), Written by Natasha Rothwell (HBO) Insecure (Episode: "Lowkey Movin' On"), Written by Syreeta Singleton (HBO)
Drama Outstanding Drama Series Pose (FX) All Rise (CBS) For Life (ABC) Godfather of Harlem (Epix) Wu-Tang: An American Saga (Hulu) Outstanding Actor, Drama Series Outstanding Actress, Drama SeriesSterling K. Brown as Randall Pearson on This Is Us (NBC) Nicholas Pinnock as Aaron Wallace on For Life (ABC) Billy Porter as Pray Tell on Pose (FX) Kofi Siriboe as Ralph Angel Bordelon on Queen Sugar (OWN) Forest Whitaker as Bumpy Johnson on Godfather of Harlem (Epix)Zendaya as Rue Bennett on Euphoria (HBO) Viola Davis as Annalise Keating on How to Get Away with Murder (ABC) Simone Missick as Judge Lola Carmichael on All Rise (CBS) Janelle Monáe as Jacqueline Calico / Alex Eastern on Homecoming (Prime Video) Rutina Wesley as Nova Bordelon on Queen Sugar (OWN)Outstanding Supporting Actor, Drama SeriesOutstanding Supporting Actress, Drama SeriesGiancarlo Esposito as Adam Clayton Powell Jr. on Godfather of Harlem (Epix) Delroy Lindo as Adrian Boseman on The Good Fight (CBS All Access) Ashton Sanders as Bobby Diggs/RZA on Wu-Tang: An American Saga (Hulu) Larenz Tate as Rashad Tate on Power (Starz) Jeffrey Wright as Bernard Lowe on Westworld (HBO)Thandie Newton as Maeve Millay on Westworld (HBO) Zoë Kravitz as Bonnie Carlson on Big Little Lies (HBO) Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Hannah Shoenfeld on The Morning Show (Apple TV+) Simone Missick as Trepp on Altered Carbon (Netflix) Susan Kelechi Watson as Beth (Clarke) Pearson on This Is Us (NBC) Outstanding Guest Actor, Drama Series Outstanding Guest Actress, Drama SeriesChad L. Coleman as Corey James on All American (The CW) Asante Blackk as Malik Hodges on This Is Us (NBC) David Alan Grier as Jimmy Dale on Queen Sugar (OWN)