The 23rd Annual Black Reel Awards ceremony, presented by the Foundation for the Augmentation of African-Americans in Film (FAAAF) and honoring the best films of 2022, took place on February 6, 2023, and streamed on its website at 5:00 p.m. PST / 8:00 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, FAAAF presented the Black Reel Awards in 24 categories. The film nominations were announced on December 15, 2022.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and The Woman King led the film nominations with fourteen each, with the latter winning a total of six awards, the most wins by any film, including Outstanding Film.
With her third win for Outstanding Costume Design for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ruth E. Carter became the most awarded technical award winner in Black Reel Awards history. Actress Angela Bassett became the first woman to win an acting and honorary award in the same year; she won for her work in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and also received the Sidney Poitier Trailblazer Award, recognizing her career of acting excellence.
The 7th Annual Black Reel Awards for Television nominations were announced on June 15, 2023; the performance categories were merged into gender neutral ones while five technical categories were added. The miniseries The Best Man: The Final Chapters received 18 nominations, becoming the most nominated program in a single year in the history of the awards. The ceremony was initially scheduled for August 14, 2023, but due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, the ceremony was delayed and rescheduled for January 16, 2024, combining both the film and television ceremonies.
Representatives for the Foundation for the Augmentation of African-Americans in Film (FAAAF) explained that temporarily rescheduling the television awards "gives the opportunity for the resolution of the strikes to occur and allow for the presence and participation of all the honorees".
"The best part about recognizing excellence in anything is giving those who have done the work the opportunity to shine," stated Tim Gordon, the Black Reel Awards' founder and executive director. "We felt announcing the winners on our site or in a press release would not appropriately honor the fantastic work of those in our entertainment community," he concluded.
Film winners and nominees Outstanding Film Outstanding Director The Woman King – Maria Bello, Viola Davis, Cathy Schulman and Julius Tennon, producers Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Kevin Feige and Nate Moore, producers Devotion – Molly Smith, Rachel Smith, Thad Luckinbill and Trent Luckinbill, producers Nope – Jordan Peele and Ian Cooper, producers Till – Keith Beauchamp, Barbara Broccoli, Whoopi Goldberg, Michael Reilly and Thomas Levine, producers | valign="top"| Gina Prince-Bythewood – The Woman King Elegance Bratton – The Inspection Chinonye Chukwu – Till Ryan Coogler – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Jordan Peele – Nope Outstanding Actor Outstanding Actress Jeremy Pope – The Inspection as Ellis French John Boyega – Breaking as Lance Corporal Brian Brown-Easley Sterling K. Brown – Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. as Lee-Curtis Childs Daniel Kaluuya – Nope as Otis "OJ" Haywood Jr. Jonathan Majors – Devotion as Jesse L. Brown Danielle Deadwyler – Till as Mamie Till-Mobley Viola Davis – The Woman King as General Nanisca Anna Diop – Nanny as Aisha Regina Hall – Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. as Trinitie Childs Letitia Wright – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as Shuri / Black Panther Outstanding Supporting Actor Outstanding Supporting Actress Brian Tyree Henry – Causeway as James Aucoin Micheal Ward – Empire of Light as Stephen Michael K. Williams – Breaking as Eli Bernard Bokeem Woodbine – The Inspection as Leland Laws Jeffrey Wright – The Batman as Lt. James Gordon Angela Bassett – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as Ramonda Thuso Mbedu – The Woman King as Nawi Janelle Monáe – Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery as Helen Brand / Cassandra "Andi" Brand Keke Palmer – Nope as Emerald "Em" Haywood Gabrielle Union – The Inspection as Inez French Outstanding Breakthrough Male Outstanding Breakthrough Female Jeremy Pope – The Inspection as Ellis French Jalyn Hall – Till as Emmett Till Daryl McCormack – Good Luck to You, Leo Grande as Leo Grande / Connor Quintessa Swindell – Black Adam as Maxine Hunkel / Cyclone Micheal Ward – Empire of Light as Stephen Thuso Mbedu – The Woman King as Nawi Sheila Atim – The Woman King as Amenza Charmaine Bingwa – Emancipation as Dodienne Anna Diop – Nanny as Aisha Dominique Thorne – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as Riri Williams Outstanding Ensemble Outstanding Screenplay The Woman King – Aisha Coley, casting director Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Sarah Finn, casting director Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. – Shannon Reis, casting director The Inspection – Kim Coleman, casting director Till – Kim Coleman, casting director | valign="top"| Till – Keith Beauchamp, Michael Reilly, and Chinonye Chukwu Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole The Inspection – Elegance Bratton Nanny – Nikyatu Jusu Nope – Jordan Peele |- ! width="50%"| Outstanding Documentary Feature ! width="50%"| Outstanding Independent Film |- | valign="top"| Sidney – Reginald Hudlin, director Aftershock – Paula Eislet and Tonya Lewis Lee, directors Descendant – Margaret Brown, director Is That Black Enough for You?!? – Elvis Mitchell, director Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues – Sacha Jenkins, director | valign="top"| The Inspection – Elegance Bratton, director Emergency – Carey Williams, director Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. – Adamma Ebo, director Master – Mariama Diallo, director Nanny – Nikyatu Jusu, director |- ! width="50%"| Outstanding Short Film ! width="50%"| Outstanding International Film |- | valign="top"| North Star – P.J. Palmer, director Angola Do You Hear Us? Voices from a Plantation Prison – Cinque Northern, director Elegy: My Two Months in Harlem – Andre Lambertson, director Fannie – Christine Swanson, director New Moon – Jeremie Balais, Raúl Domingo and Jeffig Le Bars, directors | valign="top"| Saint Omer (France) – Alice Diop, director Neptune Frost (Rwanda) – Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman, directors |- ! width="50%"| Outstanding Voice Performance ! width="50%"| Outstanding Soundtrack |- | valign="top"| Zoe Saldaña – Avatar: The Way of Water as Neytiri Zazie Beetz – The Bad Guys as Diane Foxington / The Crimson Paw Idris Elba – Sonic the Hedgehog 2 as Knuckles the Echidna Keke Palmer – Lightyear as Izzy Hawthorne Gabrielle Union – Strange World as Meridian Clade | valign="top"| Black Panther: Wakanda Forever A Jazzman's Blues Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story Till The Woman King Outstanding Emerging Director Outstanding First Screenplay Nikyatu Jusu – Nanny Elegance Bratton – The Inspection Adamma Ebo – Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. Elvis Mitchell – Is That Black Enough for You?!? Carey Williams – Emergency The Inspection – Elegance Bratton Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. – Adamma Ebo Nanny – Nikyatu Jusu Master – Mariama Diallo On the Come Up – Kay Oyegun Outstanding Original Song Outstanding Score "Lift Me Up" from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Rihanna, performer; Rihanna, Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Göransson and Tems, writers "Born Again" from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Rihanna, performer; Rihanna, The-Dream, Ludwig Göransson and James Fauntleroy, writers "Keep Rising" from The Woman King – Jessy Wilson and Angélique Kidjo, performers; Jessy Wilson, Angélique Kidjo and Jeremy Lutito, writers "Paper Airplanes" from A Jazzman's Blues – Ruth B., performer; Ruth B. and Terence Blanchard, writers "Stand Up" from Till – Jazmine Sullivan, performer; Jazmine Sullivan and D'Mile, writers The Woman King – Terence Blanchard Alice – Common End of the Road – Craig Deleon Nanny – Tanerélle and Bartek Gliniak Nope – Michael Abels Outstanding Cinematography Outstanding Costume Design Nope – Hoyte van Hoytema Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Autumn Durald Arkapaw Emancipation – Robert Richardson Till – Bobby Bukowski The Woman King – Polly Morgan Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Ruth E. Carter Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. – Lorraine Coppin Nanny – Charlese Antoinette Jones Till – Marci Rodgers The Woman King – Gersha Phillips Outstanding Editing Outstanding Production Design The Woman King – Terilyn A. Shropshire Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Michael P. Shawver, Kelley Dixon, and Jennifer Lame Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues – Jason Pollard and Alma Herrera-Pazmino Thirteen Lives – James D. Wilcox Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody – Daysha Broadway Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Hannah Beachler Devotion – Wynn Thomas Nope – Ruth De Jong Till – Curtis Beech The Woman King – Akin Mckenzie
Honorary awards Vanguard Award – Effie T. Brown Sidney Poitier Trailblazer Award – Angela Bassett Ruby Dee Humanitarian Award – Kerry Washington Oscar Micheaux Impact Award – Debra Martin Chase
Films with multiple nominations and awards
The following films received multiple nominations:
+ Nominations Film 14 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever The Woman King 11 Till 10 The Inspection 8 Nanny Nope 7 Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. 3 Devotion 2 Breaking Emancipation Emergency Empire of Light Master Is That Black Enough for You?!? A Jazzman's Blues Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues
The following films received multiple awards:
Wins Film 6 The Woman King 5 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 4 The Inspection 2 Till
Television winners and nominees
Comedy Outstanding Comedy Series Abbott Elementary – Quinta Brunson, showrunner (ABC) Atlanta – Donald Glover, showrunner (FX) Harlem – Tracy Oliver, showrunner (Prime Video) Unprisoned – Yvette Lee Bowser, showrunner (Hulu) The Upshaws – Regina Y. Hicks, showrunner (Netflix) Outstanding Lead Performance in a Comedy Series Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Comedy Series Quinta Brunson – Abbott Elementary as Janine Teagues (ABC) Tichina Arnold – The Neighborhood as Tina Butler (CBS) Cedric the Entertainer – The Neighborhood as Calvin Butler (CBS) Donald Glover – Atlanta as Earnest "Earn" Marks (FX) Meagan Good – Harlem as Camille Parks (Prime Video) Jasmine Cephas Jones – Blindspotting as Ashley Rose (Starz) Delroy Lindo – Unprisoned as Edwin Alexander (Hulu) Robin Thede – A Black Lady Sketch Show as Various Characters (HBO) Kerry Washington – Unprisoned as Paige Alexander (Hulu) Patricia "Ms. Pat" Williams – The Ms. Pat Show as Patricia "Pat" Ford Carson (BET+) Sheryl Lee Ralph – Abbott Elementary as Barbara Howard (ABC) Zazie Beetz – Atlanta as Vanessa "Van" Kiefer (FX) William Stanford Davis – Abbott Elementary as Mr. Johnson (ABC) Ayo Edebiri – The Bear as Sydney Adamu (FX on Hulu) Brian Tyree Henry – Atlanta as Alfred "Paper Boi" Miles (FX) Janelle James – Abbott Elementary as Ava Coleman (ABC) Toheeb Jimoh – Ted Lasso as Samuel "Sam" Obisanya (Apple TV+) Danielle Pinnock – Ghost as Alberta Haynes (CBS) LaKeith Stanfield – Atlanta as Darius Epps (FX) Tyler James Williams – Abbott Elementary as Gregory Eddie (ABC) Outstanding Guest Performance in a Comedy Series Taraji P. Henson – Abbott Elementary as Vanetta Teagues (ABC) Quinta Brunson – Saturday Night Live as Host (NBC) Don Cheadle – Dave as Himself (FXX) Zach Fox – Abbott Elementary as Tariq Temple (ABC) Whoopi Goldberg – Harlem as Dr. Elise Pruitt (Prime Video) Lil Rel Howery – Poker Face as Taffy Boyle (Peacock) Orlando Jones – Abbott Elementary as Martin Eddie (ABC) S. Epatha Merkerson – Poker Face as Joyce Harris (Peacock) Leslie Odom Jr. – Abbott Elementary as Draemond Winding (ABC) Issa Rae – A Black Lady Sketch Show as Various Characters (HBO) Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series Atlanta ("The Goof Who Sat By the Door") – Directed by Donald Glover (FX) Abbott Elementary ("Mom") – Directed by Ken Whittingham (ABC)