(16 Mar 2022) WILL SMITH, AUNJANUE ELLIS, QUESTLOVE AMONG NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW HONOREES
Actor Will Smith says changing his priorities lead to his successful portray of the father of tennis greats Venus and Serena Williams in the drama “King Richard.”
“I’m learning to pay attention to the right things, you know?” he said on the red carpet Tuesday (15 March) at the National Board of Review Awards ceremony, continuing, “And, you know, life is going do what it do, you know, and there will be some beautiful, glorious days and it’ll be balanced out with some of the other ones,”
Smith, who was honored as best actor, shared his motivation for the performance, saying he was not going to worry about box-office success or awards. Instead, he would focus on the essence of the story.
“My attention is fully and completely locked on honoring Venus and Serena and their family. And you know, winning or not winning. I’m just not – I’m not even taking my head there. I feel completely humbled and honored to be able to shine a light on their journey.”
Smith’s on-screen wife, played by Aunjanue Ellis, who the NBR named best supporting actress, found the recent attention “surreal.”
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson was honored for his documentary “Summer of Soul.” Questlove called accolades for the film the by-product of “daydreaming.”
“I once watched an episode of ‘Soul Train,’ where Michael Jackson told Don Cornelius daydreaming was his pastime. And when I first saw it, I thought, ‘Tt’s the silliest answer I ever heard.’ t now I realize that daydreaming puts you in the mind state of achieving your goals. So, you know, all in the pandemic. I was daydreaming, and this is just a part of that manifestation,” he said.
“Encanto” took home best animated feature and actor Stephanie Beatriz, who voices Mirabel Madrigal, spoke about the film’s “power of empathy.”
“I think that that message that this film is giving to families and particularly to really impressionable children is a big deal. They need to remember and learn for the first time, many of them, that empathy is a superpower,” Beatriz said.
Empathy was a theme of the night with many commenting on the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.
Danish director Jonas Poher Rasmussen, of the Oscar-nominated “Flee” drew similarities with the subject matter in his animated feature about Afghani refuges and the war in Ukraine.
“It’s sadly relevant to what’s going on right now. And I really hope that because this is a story, a refugee story told from the inside of a friendship that that it’s able to get some nuance and some perspective to the refugee experience.’
Rasmussen was honored with the Freedom of Expression Award presented by actor Morena Baccarin.
“One of my passions is being ambassador for the International Rescue Committee, and so it’s been a lot of attention, a lot of work gone in recently to help the refugees of Ukraine. But it’s insane. I mean, that’s just adding to the problem because of course, we can’t forget about Yemen and Afghan refugees. And you know, the world is having a really difficult time with that in general. Right now, what’s happening in the Ukraine is abhorrent. I can’t even, you know, watching the news is difficult,” Baccarin said.
Widely considered a harbinger of the Academy Awards, the National Board of Review has supported cinema for more than a century. Each year, its diverse group of film enthusiasts, filmmakers and academics watches over 250 films to determine the annual honors.

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