Reel Sisters Filmmakers Awards Ceremony

November, 2020 (Brooklyn, NY) –  On Tues, Nov. 17, 7 pm, Reel Sisters Love + Activism Film Festival honored the festival's award-winning filmmakers and presented a posthumous award to acclaimed theater/film actress/writer CeCelia (CeCe) Antoinette, renowned for her play BROWN GAL'S RISING (based on her poetry book Just As I Am). Cathleen Campbell, a friend who had the pleasure of directing CeCe in three short films including OUTTA MY NAME, offered a special dedication. OUTTA MY NAME, which premiered in Reel Sisters, was screened in tribute to CeCe’s outstanding work as an actress. Charles Reese, an award-winning actor, served as our Master of Ceremonies. He offered a personal tribute to her legacy as a friend and fellow artist.

“CeCe was a friend of Reel Sisters and committed her life to her craft and supporting actors, directors, writers and other artists in her community," said Carolyn A. Butts, Founder of Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film festival. “The festival’s theme for 2020 is love and activism, Cece along with our honorees, are women devoted to creating social change and helping other artists and organizations in our community evolve.”

Reel Sisters honors film professionals for their outstanding contributions in film and role in supporting women artists across the globe screening over 5,000 films since its inception.  Select honorees receive a cash prize along with the award. 

“We are proud of the outstanding storytellers winning awards in our 2020 season. The female aesthetic is finally being celebrated and appreciated all over the world as opportunities for Black women and women of color on streaming platforms like HBO, Netflix, Disney, and Hulu are giving film lovers a chance to enjoy their stories,” stated Butts. “The Indie film movement is flourishing and pushing Hollywood to open its doors to women filmmakers. Reel Sisters is thrilled to be on the forefront of being a space that centers women of color stories.”

The top award-winning films being presented with awards include A Trip With Mom (Oscar qualifying Reel Sisters Best Short Narrative Award), directed by Sophie Shui, is a haunting film about a son who must make a tough choice about his elderly mom who is suffering from dementia; The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts The Tonight Show (Reel Sisters Best Director Award & Best Documentary Award), directed by Yoruba Richen, is a historic film capturing a week when actor/activism Harry Belafonte hosted the Johnny Carson Show; and Barakat (Reel Sisters Best Narrative Feature Award), directed and written by Amy Jephta, is a warm and humorous film on a middle aged Muslim mom who must tell her adult children she is about to wed.

Reel Sisters virtual awards ceremony included performances by award-winning theater actor/singer/dancer Rodney Earl Jackson Jr. and poet Jerrie Johnson. DJ Thelma Ramsey will spin!

Previous Reel Sisters award winners include Nana Camille Yarbrough, Sandra Guzman , JT Takagi (Third World Newsreel), Terence Nance (HBO's Random Acts of Flyness),  Tamara Tunie, Nicole Beharie, Cathy Hughes, Naturi Naughton, Issa Rae, Ebony Jo-Ann, Jessica Williams, Vinie Burrows, Margot B., Neema Barnette, Julie Dash, Michelle Materre, Pearl Bowser, Shola Lynch, Lonette McKee, Mahen Bonetti, Mable Haddock, Moikgantsi Kgama, Irene Cara, Madeline Anderson and Kojo Ade.

The celebration culminated with a virtual After Party.

Filmmaker Rhonda Haynes, Reel Sisters host, interviews Sophie Shui, the director of A Trip With Mom, the winner of Reel Sisters Best Short Narrative Award 2020 (Oscar Qualifying film).

About Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival & Lecture Series

Founded by African Voices magazine and LIU Brooklyn Campus, Reel Sisters is the first Academy Qualifying Film Festival devoted to women of color. Since 1997, Reel Sisters has showcased over 3,540 films produced, directed and written by women filmmakers in every genre. Reel Sisters attracts more than 2,271 film lovers from across the nation and globe including California, Chicago, Florida to as far away as Britain, Germany, Africa and India. The festival screens over 40 films each year.  Reel Sisters also provides scholarships to emerging women filmmakers and offers other resources for women filmmakers.

The Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival is supported, in part, by Council members Laurie Cumbo (35 C.D.) and Farah Louis (45 C.D.), WarnerMedia, New York State Council on the Arts, and the Brooklyn Arts Council.