While the history of Best Picture nominees directed or produced by Black filmmakers is not extensive, it is growing at a rapid pace. Lee Daniels “Precious”The 2009 Best Picture nomination for Best Picture was the first by a Black director. Since then, nine other films by Black directors have been included in the Oscars’ Best Picture list. Here is the complete list.
Lionsgate
Lee Daniels “Precious” (2009) •Daniels’ Harlem-set drama was the first to be nominated for Best Picture. Mo’Nique was nominated for best supporting actress, while Geoffrey Fletcher was awarded the Best Adapted Screenplay award. “The Hurt Locker”The top prize was won.
Fox Searchlight
Steve McQueen’s “12 Years a Slave” (2013) • Although McQueen lost the Best Director trophy to Alfonso Cuarón for “Gravity,”He did win Best Picture as a Black producer for his gritty portrayal of the South.
Paramount
Ava DuVernay “Selma” (2014) •DuVernay’s Martin Luther King Jr. biopic was lost to “Birdman”Best Picture was not awarded, but Common’s song won. “Glory.”
Paramount
Denzel Washington’s “Fences” (2016) •Washington directed and starred on this acclaimed adaptation from August Wilson’s play. Viola Davis was the only one to go home with gold.
A24
Barry Jenkins “Moonlight” (2016) •Jenkins was awarded the adapted screenplay trophy. Damien Chazelle won the directing award. “La La Land,”He then won Best Picture, one of the most surprising upsets in Oscar History (a surprise that was exacerbated by some envelope confusion).
Universal
Jordan Peele “Get Out” (2017) •Peele was awarded Best Original Screenplay, but he lost the top prize for his socially conscious horror story. “The Shape of Water.”
Disney
Ryan Coogler’s “Black Panther” (2018) • Coogler’s Marvel epic is the first superhero movie to earn a Best Picture nomination. But South Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite”The top prize was won by the winner.
Highlight Features
Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman” (2018) •Lee was nominated for his first directing award for this fact-based drama that follows an African American cop who attempts to enter the Ku Klux Klan in 1970s. Lee was not nominated for the directing category but he did receive a competitive Oscar nomination for his screenplay. He shared it with Charlie Wachtel and David Rabinowitz.
Warner Bros.
Shaka King “Judas and the Black Messiah” (2021) •Shaka King’s second feature film was based on Fred Hampton’s true story and received six Oscar nominations. King, along with Kenny Lucas and Keith Lucas, won two Oscar nominations.
Warner Bros.
Reinaldo Marcus Green’s “King Richard” (2022) •Reinaldo Marc Green was at the forefront of the story about Richard Williams, Venus and Serena Williams’ father, who was a pioneer in this field.”Monsters and Men”() led the film to six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor For Will Smith and Best Supporting Actress For Aunjanue Ellis.