It’s always a celebration when Black excellence is in the room, and the 10th Annual American Black Film Festival Honors exceeded expectations.

The who’s who of Hollywood gathered at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills to honor icons in the entertainment industry who are driving culture forward from both in front of and behind the camera.

This year’s honoree list was stacked with industry hard-hitters such as Angela Bassett, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Jennifer Hudson, Damson Idris, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, and the creative team behind Sinners: Zinzi and Ryan Coogler, and Sev Ohanian.

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The night was hosted by KevOnStage, who shared how prepared he was for hosting the evening’s festivities. “It’s not like a normal stand-up set, there’s more stakes. You want to make sure that you’re funny, but you can’t be crazy. There are sponsors here, there’s Vivica Fox. I can’t just talk crazy in front of Vivica Fox.”

The red carpet was also star-studded with celebrity attendees and presenters like Keke Palmer, Wunmi Mosaku, Raphael Saadiq, and more. And of course, they brought the fashions as well.

HelloBeautiful was proud to be in the building capturing moments on the carpet and chatting with the evening’s guests and honorees, including Excellence in the Arts honoree Angela Bassett, who shared gems she learned in theatre. And yes, we tried to get some tea on Black Panther 3 from rumored T’Challa, Damson Idris.

Keep scrolling for more looks from the red carpet.

Zinzi Coogler

The post Icons Only — Angela Basset, Damson Idris, Jennifer Hudson & More Personified Main Character Energy At The American Black Film Festival Honors 2026 appeared first on MadameNoire.