NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Motion Picture

2009

The Secret Life of Bees [3]

Lily Owens is a young girl who lives on the peach farm that her abusive father owns. Rosaleen is a black woman hired by Lily's father to be a stand in mother for Lilly. Rosaleen insults some of the biggest racists in their town. Lily and Rosaleen run away to a town Lily believes that her mother once lived in. They go to live with the three Boatwright sisters on their honey farm. She finds solace in their mesmerizing world of beekeeping. Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. Starring Queen Latifah, Dakotah Fanning & Jennifer Hudson. Based on the book The Secret Life of Bees [4] by Sue Monk Kidd. PG-13

2008

The Great Debaters

Melvin B. Tolson is a professor at Wiley College in Texas. Wiley is a small African-American college. In 1935, Tolson inspired students to form the school's first debate team. Tolson turns a group of underdog students into a historically elite debate team which goes on to challenge Harvard in the national championship. Inspired by a true story. Directed by & starring Denzel Washington. PG-13

2007

The Pursuit of Happyness [5]

Based on the true story of Chris Gardner, a San Francisco Salesman who's struggling to make ends meet when his girlfriend walks out, leaving him to raise their 5 year old son alone. Chris lands an unpaid internship in a stockbroker program but without a salary loses his apartment and is forced to live in homeless shelters or on the streets. Despite these problems, Chris, with the love and trust of his son, rises above these obstacles and becomes a Wall Street legend and millionaire. Directed by Gabriele Muccino. Starring Will Smith. PG-13

2006

Crash [6]

A car accident brings together a group of strangers in Los Angeles. Crash takes a provocative, unflinching look at the complexities of racial tolerance in contemporary America. Directed by Paul Haggis. Starring Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon. R

2005

Ray [7]

Ray Charles went blind at the age of seven. Inspired by his mother who insisted he make his own way, he found his calling at the keyboard. ' Ray ' follows as he overcomes drug addiction while becoming one of the country's most beloved performers. Directed by Taylor Hackford. Starring Jamie Foxx. PG-13

2004

The Fighting Temptations [8]

Darren is a New York ad executive who travels to a small town in the deep south after receiving word that his aunt has left him a sizable inheritance. Darren is informed that he will only receive the money if he successfully leads a local gospel choir to victory at an upcoming competition. Darren takes on the task of finding the best singers in town and forming the group. There, he meets Lilly, a single mother who not only possesses an incredible voice but also the ability to warm Darren's cold heart. Directed by Jonathan Lynn. Starring Cuba Gooding Jr. & Beyoncé Knowles. PG-13

2003

Antwone Fisher [9]

Guided by a determined Navy psychiatrist, a troubled sailor embarks on a personal, emotionally inspiring journey to confront his past and connect with the family he never knew. Inspired by the true life experiences of Antwone Fisher. Directed by Denzel Washington.  Starring Derek Luke & Denzel Washington. PG-13

2002

Ali [10]

Dramatic biography of boxing great Muhammad Ali , which focuses on the ten-year period of 1964-1974. In that time, the brash, motor-mouthed athlete quickly dominates his sport, meets and marries his first wife, converts to Islam (changing his name from Cassius Clay), and defies the United States government by refusing to submit to military conscription for duty in Vietnam. His world heavyweight champion title thus stripped from him entirely for political reasons, the champ sets about to win back his crown, culminating in a legendary unification bout against George Foreman in Zaire, dubbed the "Rumble in the Jungle." Directed by Michael Mann.  Starring Will Smith. R

2001

Remember the Titans [11]

The true story of a newly appointed African American coach and his high school team on their first season as a racially integrated unit. After leading his team to fifteen winning seasons, white football coach Bill Yoast is demoted and replaced by African American Herman Boone, tough, opinionated and as different from Yoast as could be. The two men overcome their differences and turn a group of hostile young men into champions. Directed by Boaz Yakin. Starring Denzell Washington. PG

2000

The Best Man [12]

Harper Stewart is a commitment-shy writer and the best man at the wedding of Lance and Mia. Unfortunately for Harper, the timing couldn't be worse. His new book is coming out and it chronicles his college life with his friends in a less than perfect light. Directed by Malcolm D. Lee.  Starring Taye Diggs & Nia Long. R

1999

How Stella Got Her Groove Back [13]

Through good times and bad, Stella and Delilah have always looked out for each other and now that Stella 's spending too much time at work, Delilah feels it's time for a change. But a quick trip to Jamaica turns into an exhilarating voyage of self-discovery as Stella learns to open her heart and find love-even if it's with a man twenty years younger! Directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan.  Starring Angela Bassett, Taye Diggs, & Whoppi Goldberg. Based on the book How Stella Got Her Groove Back [14] by Terry McMillan. R

1998

Soul Food [15]

Sunday dinner at Mother Joe's is a mouth-watering, 40-year tradition. As seen through the eyes of her grandson Ahmad, love and laughs are always on the menu, despite the usual rivalries simmering between his mom Maxine and her sisters Teri and Bird. But when serious bickering starts to tear the family apart, the good times suddenly stop. Now it's up to Ahmad to get everyone back together and teach them the true meaning of soul food. Directed by George Tillman Jr. Starring Vanessa L. Williams & Vivica A. Fox. R

1997

A Time to Kill [16]

A murder trial brings a small Mississippi town's racial tensions to the flashpoint. Amid a frenzy of activists marches, Klan terror, media clamor and brutal riots, an unseasoned but idealistic young attorney mounts a stirring courtroom battle for justice. Directed by Joel Schumacher.  Starring Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, & Samuel L. Jackson. Based on the book A Time to Kill [17] by John Grisham. R

1996

Waiting to Exhale [18]

The story of four African-American women who journey through a modern labyrinth of husbands and lovers, jobs and makeovers. Directed by Forest Whitaker.  Starring Whitney Houston & Angela Bassett. Based on the book Waiting to Exhale [19] by Terry McMillan. R

1995

Malcolm X [20]

Screen version of the life of Malcolm X , who through his religious conversion to Islam, found the strength to rise up from a criminal past to become an influential civil rights leader. Directed by Spike Lee.  Starring Denzel Washington. Based on the book The Autobiography of Malcolm X [21] as told to Alex Haley. PG-13

1994

Sister Act [22]

When a worldly singer witnesses a mob crime, the police hide her as a nun in a tradtional convent. There, her irreverent behavior attracts a flock of faithful followers - and before long she turns the nuns' choir into a soulful chorus of swingin', singing sisters. But when the group earns rave reviews, her sudden celebrity jeopardizes her hidden identity. Directed by Emile Ardolino.  Starring Whoopi Goldberg. PG

1993

Boyz N the Hood [23]

For three young men growing up in South Central Los Angeles, the " hood " is a place of drive-by shootings, unemployment, drugs and pain. But their reactions to the world around them vary -- one is an unambitious drug dealer, his brother is a college bound teenage father, and the brother's best friend is guided by a strong father who hopes for a better life for his son. Directed by John Singleton.  Starring Laurence Fishburne, Cuba Gooding Jr., & Ice Cube. R

1992

Glory [24]

Two idealistic young Bostonians lead the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, America's first Black regiment in the Civil War. Directed by Edward Zwick.  Starring Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, & Morgan Freeman. Based on the books Lay this Laurel by Lincoln Kirstein and One Gallant Rush [25] by Peter Burchard and the letters of Robert Gould Shaw. R

1991

Lean on Me [26]

This is the fact-based story of high school principal Joe Clark, who armed himself with a bullhorn and a Louisville Slugger and slammed the door on losers at Eastside High in Paterson, New Jersey. Directed by John G. Avildsen.  Starring Morgan Freeman. PG-13

1990

Coming to America [27]

Comedy about a wealthy, pampered African prince who comes to America in search of a bride. Accompanied by his closest companion, the prince quickly finds a new job, new friends and lots of trouble. Directed by John Landis.  Starring Eddie Murphy & Arsenio Hall. R

1989

Lethal Weapon [28]

Two Vietnam-vets-turned cops have only one thing in common : they both hate to work with partners, but when a routine murder investigation turns into a no holds barred war with an international heroin ring their partnership becomes the key to survival. Directed by Richard Donner.  Starring Mel Gibson & Danny Glover. R

1988

The Color Purple [29]

An uneducated woman living in the rural American south who was raped by her father, deprived of the children she bore him and forced to marry a brutal man she calls "Mister" is transformed by the friendship of two remarkable women, acquiring self-worth and the strength to forgive. Directed by Stephen Spielberg.  Starring Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, Margaret Avery, & Oprah Winfrey. Based on the book The Color Purple [30] by Alice Walker. PG-13