Jamie Foxx Awarded Vanguard At Black Reel Awards Posted: Feb 26, 2005

The Foundation for the Advancement of African Americans in Film (FAAAF) hosted the Sixth Annual Black Reel Awards, hosted by Omarosa Stallworth-Manigault in Washington D.C. on February 19.  Amon the 24 awards presented, the governing body of FAAAF presented Jamie Foxx the Vanguard Award for Entertainer of the Year.  In light of his absence, Foxx sent a video acceptance.

During 2004, Foxx impressed audiences with strong performances in three films, Redemption: The Stan 'Tookie' Williams Story, Collateral and

Ray.  Foxx is the first actor to receive the award and was honored by a video montage and musical tribute by Grammy® award-winning, writer/producer, Gordon Chambers. 

The Vanguard Award is the third Special Achievement Award presented by the organization in its six-year history.  Previous Special Achievement Award recipients include City of God (Best Foreign Film) and Amandla! ARevolution in Four-Part Harmony (Best Foreign Documentary), both presented during the 2004 Black Reel Awards.

The list of presenters included eight-year old C.J. Sanders (Ray) who delivered a poignant speech on his preparation for the role of "Young Ray."  Gordon Chambers, veteran actress Suzzanne Douglas (Sounder, The Parenthood, Inkwell), producer/scribe Gregory Allen Howard (Remember the Titans, Ali), acclaimed director, Michael Schultz (Woman Thou Art Loosed) and producer, G. Marq Roswell (Baadasssss!) were some of the presenters for this year's awards. 

Clayton LeBouef (Something the Lord Made/HBO) received the Supporting Actor television award.  In his acceptance speech he honored his wife, children and took a moment to pay homage to his deceased parents and the memory of medical genius, Vivien Thomas.  At the close of his acceptance he introduced surprise guest Katie McCabe as she received a standing ovation from the audience.  McCabe compiled 18 years of research and wrote the first magazine article, "Like Something The Lord Made," on which the HBO television movie was based and starred Mos Def, Alan Rickman and Gabrielle Union.

"2004 was an exciting year in film with African-American actors leading the way in critically acclaimed performances.  With movies 'Ray,' 'Hotel Rwanda,' 'Baadasssss!' and the crossover success of other major films, 'I, Robot' and 'Barbershop 2: Back in Business' the year will long be noted as one of the best in the history of black cinema.  This year's awards show was one of our finest and we are moving fast forward with planning for 2006.  We eagerly anticipate this year's movie and television projects and hope to see a wide range of daring, provocative and thoughtful pieces of art.  The bar has been raised much higher for black films in 2005," said Tim Gordon, Executive Director and FAAAF/Black Reel Awards Founder.

Founded in 2000, The FAAAF/Black Reel Awards recognize and celebrate the achievements of African-Americans in feature, independent and television films from their character portrayals onscreen, to their technical artistry behind the scenes.  The FAAAF/Black Reel Awards benefit The Foundation for the Advancement of African Americans in Film (FAAAF), a non-profit arts organization whose mission is to provide educational opportunities to the next generation of minority film executives.  Through the FAAAF "Producer's Institute," scholarships are awarded to graduate students pursuing a business career in the movie and television industries.