Academy AwardⓇ Winner Jamie Foxx to Receive “Excellence in the Arts‟ Award at American Black Film Festival Honors
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Los Angeles, CA (February 5, 2020) – The American Black Film Festival (ABFF) Honors today announced Academy Award® winner Jamie Foxx (“Ray,” “Just Mercy,” “Django Unchained”) as the recipient of the Excellence in the Arts Award, which honors a contemporary artist whose stellar work has received critical acclaim. Jamie Foxx is a multi-award-winning actor, singer, and comedian whose career spans over 30 years. Just this year, he received multiple nominations and honors for his portrayal of Walter McMillian in the powerful drama “Just Mercy,” which is also among the nominees for the ABFF Honors “Movie of the Year” Award.
Previous honorees for the Excellence in the Arts Award include Academy Award nominee Terrence Howard (“Hustle & Flow”), Academy Award nominee Don Cheadle (“Hotel Rwanda”), Academy Award winner Regina King (“If Beale Street Could Talk”), and Director F. Gary Gray (“Straight Outta Compton”).
“We are honoring Jamie Foxx for his phenomenal body of work, which spans comedy, music, television and film,” said ABFF Ventures CEO Jeff Friday. “We are honored to celebrate his achievements and contributions to Black culture and entertainment.”
Foxx began his career in entertainment as a stand-up comic, which soon led to his being cast in “In Living Color” (1990) and from 1996 to 2001, Foxx starred in his own comedy, “The Jamie Foxx Show.” For his stunning portrayal of Ray Charles in the 2004 biographical film “Ray,” Foxx won an Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, a BAFTA® Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, a Golden Globe® Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical, and a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award® for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role. The same year, he was also nominated for an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe and SAG Award, for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, for his work in the thriller “Collateral.”
He also is a Grammy Award®- winning musician, releasing four albums which have charted high on the Billboard 200 chart: Unpredictable (2005), which topped the chart; Intuition (2008); Best Night of My Life (2010); and Hollywood: A Story of a Dozen Roses (2015).
Presented by ABFF Ventures, the 2020 ABFF Honors, hosted by Emmy-nominated comedian and actor Deon Cole (Black-ish), will take place on February 23 in Los Angeles. Previously announced honorees include Academy Award winner Louis Gossett, Jr. with the Hollywood Legacy Award, Emmy Award® winner Lena Waithe with the Industry Renaissance Award, Academy Award nominee Cynthia Erivo with the Rising Star Award, and HBO’s “The Wire” with the Classic Television Award. Sponsors to date include American Airlines, BET, Cadillac and Hilton (Red Carpet), Crown Royal (Official Spirit), Accenture, Curated By Media, Focus Features, FX, Motion Pictures Association (MPA), Prudential Financial, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. (Supporting) and Variety (Media).
ABOUT ABFF HONORS:
ABFF Honors is an annual awards season gala dedicated to saluting excellence in the motion picture and television industry. The ceremony celebrates Black culture by recognizing artists who have made distinguished contributions to American entertainment through their work, as well as those who champion diversity and inclusion. Individual recognition awards include Hollywood Legacy, Excellence in the Arts, Rising Star, Industry Renaissance and Pro Hollywood. Recognition of outstanding content awards include Movie of the Year and Classic Television Award. Previous honorees and presenters include Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, Robert Downey, Jr. Regina King, Will Packer, Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay, Tiffany Haddish, Issa Rae, Viola Davis, Cicely Tyson, Octavia Spencer, Armie Hammer, the late Diahann Carroll and more. To learn more about ABFF Honors and to stay up-to-date on upcoming announcements for the 2020 ceremony, visit www.ABFFHonors.com
ABOUT ABFF VENTURES:
ABFF Ventures LLC (ABFFV) is a Los Angeles-based entertainment company founded by its CEO Jeff Friday as a platform to produce live events, television and film focused on African American culture. Its mission is to entertain and inspire communities of color while promoting diversity and inclusion in Hollywood. Its tentpole properties are the American Black Film Festival (ABFF), cited by MovieMaker magazine as “One of the Coolest Festivals in the World,” and “ABFF Honors,” an annual awards ceremony saluting career achievement in film and television.
In creating ABFF Ventures, Friday channeled his passion for entertainment, as well as his discomfort with the under representation of people of color in Hollywood, into an organization with the ultimate goal of advocating for diversity within the industry. Through his vision and perseverance, ABFFV has become a highly respected enterprise, generating goodwill throughout the entertainment and corporate communities.
ABFF’s momentum continues to build. In 2019, the company expanded its international footprint with the highly successful launch of the ABFF London as part of its Global Film Series. In addition, the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington, D.C., acquired ABFF photographs and other archival materials to be included in its permanent collection.
At the heart of the ABFF organization is its commitment to community – unifying artists in appreciation of one another’s work, to encourage, uplift and come together. With the support of the world’s leading entertainment, media and consumer product companies, the ABFF continues to lead the way promoting diversity and inclusion in the motion picture and television industries.
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