Founded by film critic Tim Gordon and Sabrina McNeal in 2000, the
first annual Black Reel Awards presentation was held on February 16, 2000, online courtesy of
Reel Images Magazine. Two years later, the
third annual Black Reel Awards held its first live presentation at a private dinner function at the Cada Vez in
Washington, DC, with an audience of about 150 people. Twenty statuettes were awarded, honoring African American artists, directors and other participants in the filmmaking industry, for their works in 2001. The ceremony ran for 90 minutes. In subsequent years, the Black Reel Awards have largely been presented in the nation's capital, with the exception of one year when the awards were moved to New York. The awards have been presented live several times: the
fourth annual Black Reel Awards presentation was held at H2O on the Southwest waterfront in
Washington, DC with an audience of about 200 people; the
sixth annual Black Reel Awards presentation was held at the
French Embassy with an audience of about 350 people; and the
thirteenth annual Black Reel Awards presentation was held at the MIST Harlem with an audience of about 200 people. Initially winners were announced online. Later, the live awards presentations would use a sealed envelope to reveal the name of each winner. The Black Reel Awards benefit the Foundation for the Advancement of African-Americans in Film (FAAAF), a non-profit arts organization whose mission is to provide educational opportunities to future minority film executives. Through the FAAAF programs "Reel Kids", and "Producer's Institute", scholarships are awarded to minority junior high, high school and college graduate students pursuing careers in the movie and television industries. In 2015, the foundation changed its name to the Foundation for the Augmentation of African-Americans in Film.
Institutions The first
Outstanding Actor award was given to
Denzel Washington for his performance in
The Hurricane. He subsequently received the same honor the next two years, for his performances in
Remember the Titans and
Training Day. At the
3rd Annual Black Reel Awards ceremony, held on February 16, 2002, the
Outstanding Foreign Film category was introduced. The
6th Annual Black Reel Awards, held in 2005, presented the first Vanguard Award for entertainer of the year to
Jamie Foxx for his performances in
Collateral,
Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story, and
Ray. Each of the Black Reel Awards ceremonies has ended with the
Black Reel Award for Outstanding Film. ==Black Reel Awards statuette==