Each year, the American Black Film Festival Honors recognize black creatives for their invaluable contributions to the motion picture and television industry. And this year, for its fourth installment, the ceremony will not only reunite the cast and crew of HBO’s critically acclaimed series, The Wire, but it will be hosted by comedian Deon Cole.
Attendees at the ceremony can expect spirited tributes and an award for “Movie of the Year.”
Additionally, a press release that was provided to The Root gives us a glimpse of what else to expect:
ABFF Honors will pay tribute to HBO’s critically acclaimed television series The Wire where cast and crew will gather for a celebration and special presentation of this year’s “Classic Television Award.” Created by David Simon, the series premiered the first of its five seasons on HBO in 2002 and is widely regarded to be one of the greatest television shows of all time. The cast mainly consisted of then unknown actors, including Idris Elba (Hobbs & Shaw), Wendell Pierce (Jack Ryan), Andre Royo (Empire), Michael K. Williams (Motherless Brooklyn), Wood Harris (Empire), Sonja Sohn (The Chi), Clarke Peters (Harriet), Reg E. Cathey (House of Cards), Jamie Hector (Queen of the South), Tristan Wilds (Shots Fired), Dominic West (The Affair) and Michael B. Jordan (Black Panther) who have gone on to become major players in Hollywood.
Previous honorees include black Hollywood heavyweights Denzel Washington, Ava DuVernay, Regina King, Tiffany Haddish, and Ryan Coogler. Deadline reports that future honorees will be named at a later date.
“This has been an incredible year for diverse content and we are very excited to celebrate the many successes, milestones and breakout moments experienced by black artists,” ABFF Ventures CEO Jeff Friday said in a statement. “At the heart of the ABFF organization is our commitment to community—unifying artists in appreciation of one another’s work, and to encourage and uplift each other. ABFF Honors is our platform to accomplish this.”
The fourth annual ABFF Honors will take place on Feb. 23 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.