While Selma failed to receive recognition for it's acting stars from the Oscars when the nominations were announced last month the civil rights drama has managed to pick up several top honours at the 46th annual NAACP Image Awards in Los Angeles on Friday.
Co-producer and star of the film Oprah Winfrey took to the stage to accept the gong for Outstanding Motion Picture on the night and said: “This is more than a movie. It's important that we all know who we are so we know where we're going, and claiming the glory.”
Selma tells the story of the events surrounding the 1965 Alabama voting rights marches led by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, who is played by David Oyelowo. He picked up the prize for Best Actor for his work and thanked the film makers for giving him the chance to play such a key figure in world history. He said: “I want to take this opportunity to say I thank the Lord I was able to play one of the most transcendent human beings who ever walked the planet."
Oprah Winfrey with David Oyelowo and Ava Duvernay (WENN)
The event was hosted by Black-ish star Anthony Anderson who started the night by making a jibe at the Academy Awards for snubbing the work of non-whites in film with it slate of acting nominees this year. Whilst Selma has been nominated for both Best Picture and Best Song at the Oscars on February 22 the stars and makers of the film - including David and director Ava DuVernay have been overlooked.
Further addressing the issue on stage presenter Anthony added: “People are up in arms because they feel the other award shows have snubbed us. So what. We've got our own show, right?” He then sang a song about the subject which featured lyrics including: “Writing, directing, no respect from this city, Forget the Oscars, hallelujah, the Emmys and Golden Globes."
