Alyssa Sage/Variety:
The Black Film Critics Circle (BFCC) has voted “Creed “ as the best film of 2015, BFCC co-president Mike Sargent announced Monday.
“Rocky’s” seventh installment, which follows the son of late boxing champion Apollo Creed as he seeks guidance from the famed Rocky Balboa, also won BFCC’s best actor award for Michael B. Jordan’s portrayal of Adonis Johnson Creed. Best supporting actor and actress honors were awarded to Sylvester Stallone and Tess Thompson for their performances as Rocky Balboa and Creed’s love interest, respectively.
Universal’s “Straight Outta Compton,” a biographical drama that centers around the origins of rap group N.W.A, picked up the awards for best screenwriting in an original screenplay and best ensemble performance.
Brie Larson won BFCC’s best actress award for her performance in A24’s “Room “ as a mother forced to raise her son in confinement.
The best directing award was given to George Miller for post-apocalyptic epic “Mad Max: Fury Road.”
“Creed” led group’s top 10 films list, followed by “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “Straight Outta Compton,” “Spotlight,” “The Martian,” “Room,” “Beasts of No Nation,” “The Hateful Eight,” “The Big Short” and “Ex Machina.”
Additional BFCC winners include Ice Cube for the pioneer award and Abraham Attah for the rising star award. Special mention went to Netflix’s “Beasts of No Nation.”
“This has been a very interesting and unique year for black film,” said Sargent, adding that the future outlook for the genre “looks brighter than its ever been.”
Here’s the complete list of BFCC’s 2015 award winners:
Best Picture: “Creed”
Best Directing: George Miller “Mad Max: Fury Road “
Best Actor: Michael B. Jordan “Creed”
Best Actress: Brie Larson “Room”
Best Supporting Actor: Sylvester Stallone “Creed”
Best Supporting Actress: Tessa Thompson “Creed”
Best Screenwriting (Original Screenplay): “Straight Outta Compton”
Best Screenwriting (Adapted Screenplay): “The Martian”
Best Cinematography: “Mad Max: Fury Road “
Best Foreign Language Film: “Son of Saul”
Best Documentary Feature: “What Happened, Miss Simone?”
Best Animated Feature: “Inside Out”
Best Ensemble Performance: “Straight Outta Compton”
BFCC’s Top 1o Films of 2015 are as follows in order of distinction:
1. “Creed”
2. “Mad Max: Fury Road “
3. “Straight Outta Compton”
4. “Spotlight”
5. “The Martian”
6. “Room”
7. “Beasts of No Nation”
8. “The Hateful Eight”
9. “The Big Short”
10. “Ex Machina”
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