Inside 2025 African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) Awards

Awards season is in full swing and continued this week with the 2025 African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) Awards, held on Wednesday (Feb. 19) at the Beverly Wilshire in Los Angeles. Hosted by comedian Amber Ruffin, she kicked off the affair by addressing the DEI rollback and taking jabs at Elon Musk’s influence on the current administration.

“I have to be honest, things, they feel really bad right now. Between the rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion, the price of eggs and the price of Cowboy Carter tickets, it’s insane. Ticketmaster needs to be canceled. I don’t trust anything with ‘master’ in the name,” she quipped, per The Hollywood Reporter.

She continued, “It can be hard to celebrate when it feels like our country is taking one hundred steps back. Do you all remember the good old days when you were proud to say, ‘My President is Black?’” she asked before referencing billionaire businessman Elon Musk. “Now, it’s ‘My President is a South African Nazi oligarch.’”

Ruffin then set the tone for the evening by redirecting the energy back to the honorees and attendees. “This group proves that no matter what they think they can take from us we will continue to spread joy through the power of faith, and our joy is our resilience. She jokingly referenced Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” before actually using his 2015 hit “Alright” to empower the audience.

“We’re going to be more than alright,” Ruffin expressed. “We create in spite of. We love to tell our stories in spite of. We excel in spite of, and tonight we celebrate with each other in spite of.”

Among the winners were Colman Domingo, Danielle Deadwyler, Nicole Avant, The Piano Lesson, Malcolm Washington, and Marianne Jean-Baptiste.

She spoke on the pride she felt playing the complex character of Pansy Deacon in Hard Truths and spoke on what it means to her being recognized by the AAFCA. “I’ve lived in the U.S. for 22 years now, and I remember when I first moved out here, I bumped into a group of people who recognized me for being in something and I was kind of surprised because I was new here […] But now I’ve heard that on many occasions, and over the years I’ve come to realize that sometimes it’s the only acknowledgment we get. So, with that said, I would like to thank you, AAFCA, for your support of the film and for my performance. Thank you for seeing me.”

Other attendees included Ted Sarandos, Questlove, Lynn Whitfield, Kym Whitley, Tyler Lepley, Glynn Turman, and more.

See the full list of winners and more highlights below.

Best Actor: Colman Domingo (Sing Sing)

Best Actress: Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Hard Truths)

Best Supporting Actor: Clarence Maclin (Sing Sing)

Best Supporting Actress: Danielle Deadwyler (The Piano Lesson)

Best Ensemble: The Piano Lesson

Best Original Score: The Wild Robot (Kris Bowers)

Best Original Song: “Bricks,” Exhibiting Forgiveness (Andra Day, Cassandra Batie & Jherek Bischoff)

Best Screenplay: Sing Sing (Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar)

Best Documentary: *TIE* Daughters (Netflix), Dahomey (Mubi)

Best Animated Feature: The Wild Robot

Best International Film: Emilia Pérez

Best Independent Feature: She Taught Love

Beacon Award: Nicole Avant

Emerging Director Award: Malcolm Washington

Breakout Performance Award: Ray Fisher

Spotlight Award: RaMell Ross

Innovator Award: Paul Tazewell