39th NAACP Image Awards Winners

February 14, 2008 - Hollywood, CA - The big winners of the 39th NAACP Image Awards included The Great Debaters, Tyler Perry's House of Pain, and Alicia Keys. The awards were handed out in a ceremony. Another highlight of the evening included the induction of Stevie Wonder into the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame.

For a complete list of NAACP Image Award nominees, go to the 39th NAACP Image Awards Show 2008 nominations article.

39th NAACP Image Awards Winners: Motion Pictures

The big winner this year is The Great Debaters.The Great Debaters won the following NAACP Image Awards:

Outstanding Motion Picture
Actor in a Motion Picture - Denzel Washington
Actress in a Motion Picture - Jurnee Smollett
Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture: Denzel Whitaker

The Great Debaters is based on the true story of college professor Melvin B. Tolson. Melvin B. Tolson was an inspiration to his students who formed the college's first debate team. (IMDB.com)

The Great Debaters was also nominated by the Foreign Press Association for a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Drama. This film was ignored by the Academy Awards and received no nominations.

The next motion picture with the most NAACP Image Awards wins is Talk To Me. Talk To Me the following NAACP Image Awards:

Directing in a Motion Picture: Kasi Lemmons
Writing in a Motion Picture: Michael Genet and Rick Famuyiwa

Talk To Me is another film based on real life. It focuses on the story of a Petey Green, a 1960s activist and radio talk show host in Washington, D.C. (IMDB.com) This film also won the Best Ensemble Cast award in the Gotham Awards.

Actors from Talk To Me are also nominated for Independent Spirit Awards, which will be handed out on February 23, 2008.

A number of other films received one NAACP Image Award each:

Janet Jackson won the Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for the comedy Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?

The film which won for Independent or foreign film was Honeydripper. Honeydripper which was written and directed by John Sayles, won the Best Screenplay award in the San Sebastian International Film Festival.