The African American Film Critics Association bestowed their Special Achievement Awards to Vanessa Morrison, president of 20th Century Fox Animation; Michael Phillips, film critic for Chicago Tribune; director Anthony Hemingway; and legendary Disney animator Floyd Norman for their career achievements on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2017, at the California Yacht Club in Marina Del Rey, California.
The event drew a cross-section of entertainment professionals that included: Sony Pictures president Michael Barker; entertainment attorney Nina Shaw; Blacklist founder Franklin Leonard; Ebert Digital CEO Chaz Ebert; producer Deborah Martin Chase, diversity executive, Deborah Langford NALIP executive director; Ben Lopez and Elizabeth Kilpatrick, Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. The organization will hold its annual AAFCA Awards event on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017, honoring the best in film and TV.