Black Film Critics Awards 2021: Will Smith, Tessa Thompson, Aunjanue Ellis Among Winners

On Wednesday, the Black Film Critics Circle announced its winners for the 2021 season.

The Will Smith-led King Richard racked up the most wins, with Will Smith and Aunjanue Ellis taking home the award for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress, respectively. The film also received the award for Best Original Screenplay, the top prize of Best Picture, and ranked number one on the critic groups Top 10 films of the year.

Tessa Thompson was recognized with Best Actress for her role as Irene Redfield in the Rebecca Hall-directed film, Passing. The film placed number 10 on the list of Top 10 films of the year.

On the documentary front, Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) was recognized for Best Documentary and placed number six on the Top 10 list. Director Questlove also received the Special Mention award for his groundbreaking work as well. The cast of the popular Netflix western The Harder They Fall won the award for Best Ensemble (a prize they were also given at the Gotham Awards just last month) with Director Jeymes Samuel receiving the Rising Star award from the critics’ group. The Harder They Fall also placed number two on their list of Top 10 films.

Director Janizca Bravo also took home the Pioneer Award for her work on the A24-produced film, Zola.

Additional films that placed on the Black Film Critics Top 10 Films list include the Jennifer Hudson-led Aretha Franklin biopic Respect and The Tragedy of Macbeth starring Denzel Washington.

With awards season just around the corner, it’ll be interesting to see how these films are recognized in the months to come. Congratulations to all the winners; here’s to more honors, awards and accolades!

To view the complete list, head on over to variety.com.