The first Shadow and Act RISING Awards brunch was held Friday, February 22, in downtown Los Angeles, where we honored 32 of the entertainment industry’s rising stars in four categories: Actors/Actresses, Executives, Creators (filmmakers, writers, producers) and Behind-the-Scenes stars (stylists, make-up artists, publicists and crew members). Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk director and screenwriter Barry Jenkins received the 2019 Game-Changer Award and keynoted the event. (Watch his epic keynote speech here.)
Though it had been eight years between his first feature film, Medicine for Melancholy, and his follow-up, Moonlight, Jenkins said in his acceptance speech, “I never felt outside the culture because I didn’t have to look outside the culture for inspiration over the course of those eight years,” and, “That’s directly tied to Shadow and Act,” he said.
Shadow and Act Managing Editor Brooke Obie described the community-based awards show as “a family reunion.”
“For the past decade, Shadow and Act has been promoting and celebrating content created by and about people of African descent throughout the world. We’ve emerged as the premier digital destination for Black entertainment news, covering film, TV, webseries and Broadway, and the RISING Awards is the latest fulfillment of our mission,” she said.
Acting honoree Logan Browning, star of Dear White People on Netflix, said of her award:
“It is a dream really because ever since I have started working, Shadow and Act has always been in support of me. They feel like a big brother or big sister, always kind of cheering me on and sometimes in my career I’ve done things that aren’t in the biggest public eye of the industry, and Shadow and Act always makes me feel special and seen,” Browning told The Hollywood Reporter, who covered the event.
“Whatever walks across the stage is one thing, but I think what’s getting on the screen, what’s getting into audience’s hearts and minds as evidenced by a film with an all-Black cast grossing a billion dollars this year and then you go to Get Out and Hidden Figures the years before, it’s like, yeah the progress is definitely a runaway train, and there’s nothing that anybody can do about it,” Jenkins told The Hollywood Reporter.
The event was highlighted by Fox 11:
You can view the full list of honorees below, as well as photos from the event:
ACTORS/ACTRESSES
Carvens Lissaint – Hamilton Broadway
Lil Rel – Get Out; Bird Box; Rel
Logan Browning – Dear White People
Lovie Simone – Greenleaf; Selah and the Spades
Marcus Scribner – Black-Ish
Nafessa Williams – Black Lightning
Tequan Richmond – Boomerang
Tetona Jackson – Boomerang
EXECUTIVES
Alana Mayo – Outlier Society, Head of Production
Franklin Leonard – The Blacklist, Founder
Jermaine Johnson – 3 Arts Management, Manager, Producer
John Agbaje – FX, Manager of Animated Series
Jon Gist – Universal, Director of Multicultural Publicity and Promotions
Joy Ganes – BBC Studios, VP, Business/Legal Affairs
Olivia Morris – TBS, Director of Development, Original Scripted Programming
Paige Simpson – Will Packer Studios, Manager of Scripted TV
CREATORS (writers, filmmakers, directors, producers, etc.)
Amanda Jones – Composer
Ben Cory Jones – Writer, Insecure; Showrunner, Boomerang
James Bland – Producer of Giants series
Kelley Kali – Filmmaker, Lalo’s House
Kemiyondo Coutinho – Filmmaker, Kyenvu
Lucien Christian – Writer, David Makes Man
Nijla Mu’min – Writer/Filmmaker, Jinn
Sam Bailey – Writer/ Director- Web Series, You’re So Talented
BEHIND-THE-SCENES STARS
Apuje Kalu – Wardrobe Stylist
Bryon Javar – Wardrobe Stylist
Candis Welch – Executive Assistant
Evan Seymour – Allied Global Marketing, Multicultural Publicity Team Lead
James Ward, III – OWN, Senior Manager, Communications
Jennifer Austin – Wardrobe Stylist
Larry Sims – Hair Stylist
Takisha Sturdivant-Drew – Hair Stylist
READ MORE:
WATCH: Barry Jenkins Gives Epic Keynote Speech At The Inaugural Shadow And Act RISING Awards
