Jordan Peele & Ava DuVernay Get Their Blessings At AAFCA 2018 + ‘Queen Sugar’ Cast, Keegan-Michael Key & More In The Mix

Jordan Peele and Ava DuVernay won the night during 2018 African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) Awards. Soak in their #Black Excellence and see more YBF stars in the mix, including the “Queen Sugar” cast & Keegan-Michael Key, inside…

The ninth annual AAFCA Awards was a black love fest to recognize and honor all of our black professionals doing it big in their lane.

Inside the Taglyan Theater in LA, YBF leaders were praised for their outstanding contributions to the entertainment industry as well as their commitment to civil rights, telling stories with global perspectives, breaking barriers of inclusion and more.

Jordan Peele’s Get Out horror-comedy film is undeniably one of the most talked about movies across several genres of film (especially since folks can't agree on what genre it actually is). The comedian/actor/writer/producer/writer/director was awarded the top Horizon Award. He also swept up three other awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay. Nice!

His former “Key & Peele” co-creator Keegan-Michael Key presented him with the award, reflecting on their TV run. He told the audience, the series had a lot to do with the fact that they’re both “blerds” aka black nerds. Ha.

During his acceptance speech, he explained his thought process behind Get Out and why it sparked so many conversations.

“It was designed to provoke conversation and encourage conversation," he said. "We knew if we could identify the thing that was missing from our culture; that we could fill that void and we gave people a context and a ability to talk about the issues in a new way. There was a film that we were asking for, that we were begging for; that wasn’t there for us.”

He perfectly explained why he categorized Get Out as a horror film:

“Horror is my favorite genre and it’s an important genre because that’s where we face our fears. We go to a theater collectively and in as safe an environment as possible, we face our fears. We face our horrors,” he said.

“As Black people, we are subjected to horrors every day so despite the fact that we did not see the representation of our ideas, of our faces, of our point of view, on screen, we are a loyal horror film audience, so I wanted to fill that gap and fill that void.”

Loves it.

Also scooping up awards...

It’s no surprise Ava DuVernay was honored for her extraordinary work. The fab directress was presented with the AAFCA Innovator Award and the AAFCA award for Best TV Series for “Queen Sugar.”

During her speech, she shared how she almost didn’t do A Wrinkle In Time for a number of reasons. In the beginning she felt she couldn’t do it because she doesn’t do kids books and she had never read the novel inspired by the film. Ava said she had a change of heart when Disney she could create “whole worlds.” She spoke about how important it is to depict Black joy as well as Black pain on the big screen.

Actors Sheryl Lee Ralph and Paula Patton also hit the stage to present.

On the carpet...

Hottie Kofi Siriboe showed off his eclectic side on the red carpet before his series nabbed an award.

"Shots Fired" star Mack Wilds kept it dapper in all black everything.

Comedian Mike Epps and his girlfriend Kyra Robinson were all smiles on the carpet.

Paula Patton snapped it up with actress Roselyn Sanchez on the carpet.

COME THRU! "Moesha" alum Sheryl Lee Ralph slayed this Tadashi Shoji look.  And slayed it 10 years ago too:

 

My husband @senvincenthughes found the picture on the left that I took 10years ago at the 17th Annual Divas Simply Singing in the @tadashishoji dress that @ivycoco23 styled me in this week for the @aafca awards. I look like my own twin 10 years later.

A post shared by Sheryl Lee Ralph (@diva3482) on Feb 9, 2018 at 10:10pm PST

Because black certainly don't crack.

 

Two Ralph Angels! #lastnight @aafca awards. #bts it was a packed ballroom @taglyancomplex @kofisiriboe of @Queensugar @FrancesMcDormand 3 Billboards is an actress to experience Founder @GilRobertson is a man of vision and my son @walkgoodetienne wrapped up the show as director without a glitch.thank you to my daughter @ivycoco23 for styling me in a throwback @Tadashi and rocking the red carpet as host thank you hair by Julius Nash Big up @mackwilds and @elvisnasco was in the building thank you for the legacy of honored screenwriter/playwright Richard Wesley for believing in me as a 16 y/o actress in training. You said I'd make it back then.

A post shared by Sheryl Lee Ralph (@diva3482) on Feb 8, 2018 at 8:55pm PST

TV personality Sherri Shepherd and actor Laz Alonzo were all smiles on the carpet.

Here's the full list of winners: 

BEST PICTURE: GET OUT (Universal Pictures)

BEST DIRECTOR: JORDAN PEELE – GET OUT (Universal Pictures)

BEST ACTOR: DANIEL KALUUYA – GET OUT (Universal Pictures)

BEST ACTRESS: FRANCES McDORMAND – THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING MISSOURI (Fox Searchlight)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: LAURENCE FISHBURNE – LAST FLAG FLYING (Amazon Studios/Lionsgate)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: TIFFANY HADDISH – GIRLS TRIP (Universal Pictures)

BEST COMEDY: GIRLS TRIP (Universal Pictures)

BEST ENSEMBLE: DETROIT (Annapurna Pictures)

BEST INDEPENDENT: CROWN HEIGHTS (Amazon Studios/IFC Films)

BEST ANIMATED: COCO (Disney/Pixar)

BEST DOCUMENTARY: STEP (Fox Searchlight)

BEST FOREIGN: THE WOUND (Kino Lorber)

BEST SCREENPLAY: GET OUT (Universal Pictures)

BEST SONG: “IT AINT FAIR" – DETROIT – THE ROOTS featuring BILAL (Motown Records)

BEST NEW MEDIA: MUDBOUND (Netflix)

BEST TV SERIES (COMEDY): BLACKISH (ABC)

BEST TV SERIES (DRAMA): QUEEN SUGAR (OWN)

BREAKOUT: LAKEITH STANFIELD – CROWN HEIGHTS (Amazon Studios/IFC Films)

Congrats!

Photos: Sheri Determan