“Nickel Boys,” director RaMell Ross’ dramatic adaptation of the Colson Whitehead novel about a brutal reform school for teenage boys in Florida, won three of the eight honorary awards announced by the African American Film Critics Association on Wednesday.
In the 2025 Special Achievement Awards, the film was named recipient of the Karen & Stanley Kramer Social Justice Award, while its two young stars, Brandon Wilson and Ethan Herisse, will receive the Gen Next Award. In special honors at the 16th Annual AAFCA Awards, director Ross will receive the Spotlight Award.
Two awards went to the August Wilson adaptation “The Piano Lesson,” with director Malcolm Washington receiving the Emerging Director Award and costar Ray Fisher the Breakout Performance Award.
Other winners of the 2025 Special Achievement Awards are Lynn Whitfield, the Legacy Award for her decades-long body of work; and MGM executive Amber Rasberry, the Horizon Award for her work elevating Black stories in film.
Nicole Avant, producer of the upcoming Tyler Perry film “The Six Triple Eight,” will receive the Beacon Award.
“Our honorees set a high standard of discipline, talent, and hard work that inspires others to strive for greatness,”AAFCA president Gil Robertson said in a statement. “In our present environment, it’s more important than ever to acknowledge the examples that they’ve set. Their contributions reflect a level of excellence that propels our industry forward.”
The AAFCA will present the two types of honorary awards separately. The Special Achievement Awards honorees — Whitfield, Wilson and Herisse, “Nickel Boys” and Rasberry — will receive their awards on Feb. 2, 2025 during a lunch at the Los Angeles Athletic Club. The AAFCA Awards honorees — Avant, Washington, Fisher and Ross — will be given theirs at the AAFCA Awards on Feb. 19 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, which will also honor the films and performances of 2024 as voted by the members at a later date.
The Special Achievement Awards were created as a standalone ceremony eight years ago as part of the group’s Black History Month activities. The AAFCA Awards have been going for twice as long. Both sets of honorary awards are chosen by a committee within the AAFCA, with the full membership voting in the annual competitive categories.
In previous years, the two groups of special awards were announced separately.
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