The African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) was founded in New York City back in 2003, due to the lack of the African diaspora found in Hollywood. As much progress has been made, there’s still work to be done. 2016 was stacked with stellar films, as the AAFCA crowned this year the best ever recorded in black cinema, applauding the increase in volume as well as the diversity in storylines presented.
“The studios and major film distributors really gave it to us this year,” says Gil Robertson, AAFCA co-founder/president, in a statement. “By any measurement, it’s been an exceptional year for Blacks in film. From comedies to high-quality dramas and documentaries, 2016 will forever represent a bonanza year for Black cinema and all cinema really.”
Comedies such as Ride Along 2, Barbershop 3, and Central Intelligence anchored the box office for much of 2016. The critically-acclaimed indie Moonlight has made headlines as a movie to receive multiple Oscar nominations including best picture, in addition to the approval of its viewers with a 98 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
“The amount of quality feature films, documentaries and TV shows released in 2016 about the black experience easily make it the best year ever,” says Shawn Edwards AAFCA co-founder. “It has truly been an unapologetically black year in the industry as filmmakers brought to life some of the cultures most fascinating stories and subjects with bold storytelling perspective.”
Is this an anomaly, or is Hollywood finally making a commitment to the underscored minority communities?
#OscarsSoWhite looks to be on hold for a while.