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Soul Food (film)
Encyclopedia
Soul Food is a 1997 American comedy-drama film, produced by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Tracey Edmonds
, and Robert Teitel
, and released by Fox 2000 Pictures. Featuring an ensemble cast
, the film stars Vanessa L. Williams
, Vivica A. Fox
, Nia Long
, Michael Beach
, Mekhi Phifer
, Jeffrey D. Sams
, Irma P. Hall
, Gina Ravera
, and Brandon Hammond
. Written
and directed
by George Tillman, Jr.
(in his major studio debut), the film centers on the trials of an extended African-American family, held together by longstanding family traditions which begin to fade as serious problems take center stage. Tillman based the family in the film on his own, and Soul Food was widely acclaimed for presenting a more positive image of African-Americans than is typically seen in Hollywood films.
In 2000, Showtime premiered a one-hour television series based upon the film. By the time the series was canceled in 2004, it had become the longest running drama with a predominantly Black
cast in the history of North America
n prime-time television.
(Hammond), follows the trials of the Joseph family, a close-knit Chicago
family that gets together to have Sunday dinner every week, with plenty of soul food
to go around. As Mother (Big Mama) Joe
(Hall) has three daughters, who each have had varying success in life: oldest daughter Teri
(Williams) has become a successful lawyer but has also suffered relationship problems ever since her younger sister Maxine
(Fox) stole and married Teri's old boyfriend, Kenny
(Sams). Teri's current husband, Miles (Beach), also a lawyer, desires to follow his dreams of being an R&B musician, which Teri doesn't seem to support. Youngest Joseph daughter Robin (Long)—nicknamed "Bird"—has just opened a barber
shop/beauty parlor
, and most of the family is uneasy about her marriage to Lem
(Phifer), an ex-convict.
These problems are complicated when Mother Joe, the diabetic but wise and caring matriarch of the family and the glue that holds it together, suffers a debilitating stroke
during an operation to amputate her leg and slips into a coma
. Without her guidance, the family begins to fall apart. Teri takes in her troubled cousin Faith (Ravera), who grows close to, and eventually gets caught having sex with Miles by Teri. As an ex-con, Lem cannot find a job, so Bird makes an uneasy deal with her ex-boyfriend Simuel St. James (Mel Jackson
) to get Lem a job, but this leads to a series of events that eventually cause him to be arrested again. By contrast, Kenny and Maxine are reasonably stable, and have their third child at the beginning of the film; however, Teri and Maxine's constant feuding—stemmed mainly from Teri's jealousy of Maxine's successful relationship with Kenny and her frustration over everyone seemingly taking advantage of her wealth, as well as Maxine's resentfulness of Teri's bossiness and insensitivity to family tradition—are the main factors in what starts to drive the family apart. Ahmad, Kenny and Maxine's oldest child, is worried about the state of his extended family, and conspires to find a way to bring them all back together.
Halle Berry
and Whitney Houston
were both considered for the role of Teri. Regina King
, Kenya Moore
and Jada Pinkett-Smith were all considered for the role of Bird. Vivica A. Fox
auditioned for the role of Teri, but landed the role of Maxine instead.
The character Miles (Michael Beach
) plays keyboards in an R&B group called "Milestone"; the vocalists of the group are portrayed by two sibling teams of professional R&B performers: brothers K-Ci Hailey and Jo-Jo Hailey (of Jodeci
and K-Ci & Jo-Jo); and Babyface and his brothers Kevon Edmonds
and Melvin Edmonds (both of After 7
). Actor Malik Yoba
of New York Undercover
fame makes a brief cameo as their studio engineer.
, would also take place in and be shot on location in Chicago.
. It peaked at #4 on the Billboard 200
and was eventually certified 2x Multi-Platinum for over 2 million copies sold.
s opening weekend and In & Out
s second.
Williams won an Image Award
for "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture"; Fox was also nominated for the award. Hammond won an Image Award for "Outstanding Youth Actor/Actress", and Irma P. Hall won for "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture". Mekhi Phifer and Irma P. Hall both appeared in HBO's 1999 adaptation of A Lesson Before Dying
, the 1993 novel by Ernest J. Gaines.
Soul Food spawned a follow-up cable
television show on the Showtime network. Soul Food: The Series
aired from 2000 through 2004 on Showtime, and currently airs in reruns on BET
.
Soul Food is rated R16 in New Zealand and it contains offensive language and sex scenes.
Tracey Edmonds
Tracey Edmonds is the CEO of Edmonds Entertainment Group Inc and COO of Our Stories Films.- Education :...
, and Robert Teitel
Robert Teitel
Robert Teitel is an American film producer.Teitel is most notable for producing the films Soul Food , Men of Honor , and the three films in the Barbershop series: Barbersop, Barbershop 2: Back in Business, and Beauty Shop. He is also co-producer of the television series Barbershop: The Series.He...
, and released by Fox 2000 Pictures. Featuring an ensemble cast
Ensemble cast
An ensemble cast is made up of cast members in which the principal actors and performers are assigned roughly equal amounts of importance and screen time in a dramatic production. This kind of casting became more popular in television series because it allows flexibility for writers to focus on...
, the film stars Vanessa L. Williams
Vanessa L. Williams
Vanessa Lynn Williams is an American pop-R&B recording artist, producer, dancer, model, actress and showgirl. In 1983, she became the first woman of African-American descent to be crowned Miss America, but a scandal generated by her having posed for nude photographs published in Penthouse magazine...
, Vivica A. Fox
Vivica A. Fox
Vivica Anjanetta Fox is an American actress and television producer. She is best known for her roles in the films Independence Day, Set It Off, Soul Food, Why Do Fools Fall In Love,Kill Bill and Juwanna Mann....
, Nia Long
Nia Long
Nia Talita Long is an American actress and occasional music video director. She is best known for her roles in the television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Third Watch, and the films Boiler Room, Soul Food, Love Jones, The Best Man, Big Momma's House, Big Momma's House 2, Are We There...
, Michael Beach
Michael Beach
-Biography:Beach was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, of Cape Verdean descent. He attended the prestigious Noble & Greenough School in Dedham, Massachusetts on scholarship from ABC . He was introduced to acting when he was sidelined by a lacrosse injury during high school by a classmate...
, Mekhi Phifer
Mekhi Phifer
Mekhi Thira Phifer is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his multi-year role as Dr. Greg Pratt on NBC's long-running medical drama ER and his co-starring role opposite Eminem in the feature film 8 Mile...
, Jeffrey D. Sams
Jeffrey D. Sams
Jeffrey D. Sams is an American actor known primarily for his television work.A native of Ohio, Sams has been a main cast member of several television series, few of which have made it past their first season...
, Irma P. Hall
Irma P. Hall
Irma P. Hall is an African American actress who has appeared in numerous films and television shows since the 1970s. She is best known for playing matriarchal figures the films A Family Thing, Soul Food and The Ladykillers....
, Gina Ravera
Gina Ravera
Gina Ravera is an American actress from San Francisco, California. She is best known for the role of Irene Daniels during the first four seasons TNT's Emmy Award winning crime drama The Closer, and was the only regular cast member to leave the series during its run...
, and Brandon Hammond
Brandon Hammond
Brandon Hammond is an American former child actor who appeared in a string of high profile projects in the 1990s.Hammond's first film role was in Menace II Society where he played the younger version of the main character Caine...
. Written
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by George Tillman, Jr.
George Tillman, Jr.
George Tillman, Jr. is an American film director and producer. He attended John Marshall High School in Milwaukee, where he took Mass Communications magnet classes. He graduated from Columbia College in Chicago in 1991 with a major in Film and Video.Tillman is most notable for directing the films...
(in his major studio debut), the film centers on the trials of an extended African-American family, held together by longstanding family traditions which begin to fade as serious problems take center stage. Tillman based the family in the film on his own, and Soul Food was widely acclaimed for presenting a more positive image of African-Americans than is typically seen in Hollywood films.
In 2000, Showtime premiered a one-hour television series based upon the film. By the time the series was canceled in 2004, it had become the longest running drama with a predominantly Black
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
cast in the history of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n prime-time television.
Plot
Soul Food is told through the eyes of 11-year-old AhmadAhmad Chadway
Ahmad Chadway is a fictional character from the Showtime television series Soul Food. He first appeared as the narrator and central character of the 1997 film Soul Food. Originally, he was named Ahmad Simmons, and was portrayed by Brandon Hammond...
(Hammond), follows the trials of the Joseph family, a close-knit Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
family that gets together to have Sunday dinner every week, with plenty of soul food
Soul food
Soul food cuisine consists of a selection of foods traditional in the cuisine of African Americans. It is closely related to the cuisine of the Southern United States...
to go around. As Mother (Big Mama) Joe
Josephine Joseph (Soul Food)
Josephine Joseph is a fictional character from the 1997 film Soul Food, and the Showtime television series of the same name. Along with her grandson Ahmad -- who refers to her as "Big Mama" -- she serves as the moral and emotional center of the film. Additionally, she makes recurring appearances...
(Hall) has three daughters, who each have had varying success in life: oldest daughter Teri
Teri Joseph
Teri Joseph Carter is a fictional character from the Showtime television series Soul Food. The character first appeared in the 1997 film Soul Food, and was portrayed by Vanessa L. Williams...
(Williams) has become a successful lawyer but has also suffered relationship problems ever since her younger sister Maxine
Maxine Chadway
Maxine Joseph Chadway is a fictional character from the Showtime television series Soul Food. The character first appeared in the 1997 film Soul Food as Maxine Joseph Simmons, and was portrayed by Vivica A. Fox. In the television series, the surname was changed to Chadway, and the role was assumed...
(Fox) stole and married Teri's old boyfriend, Kenny
Kenny Chadway
Kenneth "Kenny" Chadway is a fictional character from the Showtime television series Soul Food. The character first appeared in the 1997 film Soul Food as Kenny Simmons, and was portrayed by Jeffrey D. Sams...
(Sams). Teri's current husband, Miles (Beach), also a lawyer, desires to follow his dreams of being an R&B musician, which Teri doesn't seem to support. Youngest Joseph daughter Robin (Long)—nicknamed "Bird"—has just opened a barber
Barber
A barber is someone whose occupation is to cut any type of hair, and to shave or trim the beards of men. The place of work of a barber is generally called a barbershop....
shop/beauty parlor
Beauty salon
A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment dealing with cosmetic treatments for men and women...
, and most of the family is uneasy about her marriage to Lem
Lem Van Adams
Lem Van Adams is a fictional character from the Showtime television series Soul Food. The character first appeared in the 1997 film Soul Food as Lem Harris, and was portrayed by Mekhi Phifer...
(Phifer), an ex-convict.
These problems are complicated when Mother Joe, the diabetic but wise and caring matriarch of the family and the glue that holds it together, suffers a debilitating stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
during an operation to amputate her leg and slips into a coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
. Without her guidance, the family begins to fall apart. Teri takes in her troubled cousin Faith (Ravera), who grows close to, and eventually gets caught having sex with Miles by Teri. As an ex-con, Lem cannot find a job, so Bird makes an uneasy deal with her ex-boyfriend Simuel St. James (Mel Jackson
Mel Jackson
Melton Jackson is an African-American actor, producer, spoken word artist and R&B musician.- Career :Film...
) to get Lem a job, but this leads to a series of events that eventually cause him to be arrested again. By contrast, Kenny and Maxine are reasonably stable, and have their third child at the beginning of the film; however, Teri and Maxine's constant feuding—stemmed mainly from Teri's jealousy of Maxine's successful relationship with Kenny and her frustration over everyone seemingly taking advantage of her wealth, as well as Maxine's resentfulness of Teri's bossiness and insensitivity to family tradition—are the main factors in what starts to drive the family apart. Ahmad, Kenny and Maxine's oldest child, is worried about the state of his extended family, and conspires to find a way to bring them all back together.
Cast
- Vanessa L. WilliamsVanessa L. WilliamsVanessa Lynn Williams is an American pop-R&B recording artist, producer, dancer, model, actress and showgirl. In 1983, she became the first woman of African-American descent to be crowned Miss America, but a scandal generated by her having posed for nude photographs published in Penthouse magazine...
as TeriTeri JosephTeri Joseph Carter is a fictional character from the Showtime television series Soul Food. The character first appeared in the 1997 film Soul Food, and was portrayed by Vanessa L. Williams... - Vivica A. FoxVivica A. FoxVivica Anjanetta Fox is an American actress and television producer. She is best known for her roles in the films Independence Day, Set It Off, Soul Food, Why Do Fools Fall In Love,Kill Bill and Juwanna Mann....
as MaxineMaxine ChadwayMaxine Joseph Chadway is a fictional character from the Showtime television series Soul Food. The character first appeared in the 1997 film Soul Food as Maxine Joseph Simmons, and was portrayed by Vivica A. Fox. In the television series, the surname was changed to Chadway, and the role was assumed... - Nia LongNia LongNia Talita Long is an American actress and occasional music video director. She is best known for her roles in the television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Third Watch, and the films Boiler Room, Soul Food, Love Jones, The Best Man, Big Momma's House, Big Momma's House 2, Are We There...
as Bird - Michael BeachMichael Beach-Biography:Beach was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, of Cape Verdean descent. He attended the prestigious Noble & Greenough School in Dedham, Massachusetts on scholarship from ABC . He was introduced to acting when he was sidelined by a lacrosse injury during high school by a classmate...
as Miles - Mekhi PhiferMekhi PhiferMekhi Thira Phifer is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his multi-year role as Dr. Greg Pratt on NBC's long-running medical drama ER and his co-starring role opposite Eminem in the feature film 8 Mile...
as LemLem Van AdamsLem Van Adams is a fictional character from the Showtime television series Soul Food. The character first appeared in the 1997 film Soul Food as Lem Harris, and was portrayed by Mekhi Phifer... - Brandon HammondBrandon HammondBrandon Hammond is an American former child actor who appeared in a string of high profile projects in the 1990s.Hammond's first film role was in Menace II Society where he played the younger version of the main character Caine...
as AhmadAhmad ChadwayAhmad Chadway is a fictional character from the Showtime television series Soul Food. He first appeared as the narrator and central character of the 1997 film Soul Food. Originally, he was named Ahmad Simmons, and was portrayed by Brandon Hammond... - Irma P. HallIrma P. HallIrma P. Hall is an African American actress who has appeared in numerous films and television shows since the 1970s. She is best known for playing matriarchal figures the films A Family Thing, Soul Food and The Ladykillers....
as Mother JoeJosephine Joseph (Soul Food)Josephine Joseph is a fictional character from the 1997 film Soul Food, and the Showtime television series of the same name. Along with her grandson Ahmad -- who refers to her as "Big Mama" -- she serves as the moral and emotional center of the film. Additionally, she makes recurring appearances...
(Big Mama) - Jeffrey D. SamsJeffrey D. SamsJeffrey D. Sams is an American actor known primarily for his television work.A native of Ohio, Sams has been a main cast member of several television series, few of which have made it past their first season...
as KennyKenny ChadwayKenneth "Kenny" Chadway is a fictional character from the Showtime television series Soul Food. The character first appeared in the 1997 film Soul Food as Kenny Simmons, and was portrayed by Jeffrey D. Sams... - Gina RaveraGina RaveraGina Ravera is an American actress from San Francisco, California. She is best known for the role of Irene Daniels during the first four seasons TNT's Emmy Award winning crime drama The Closer, and was the only regular cast member to leave the series during its run...
as Faith - Malik YobaMalik YobaAbdul-Malik Kashie Yoba , better known by his stage name Malik Yoba, is an American actor and occasional singer. He is perhaps best known for his starring role as NYPD Detective J.C. Williams on the FOX police drama series New York Undercover or as Yul Brenner in Cool Runnings...
as Studio engineer - Kenneth "Babyface", KevonKevon EdmondsKevon Edmonds February 25, 1957, is a singer and actor and is the older brother of famous producer/songwriter/singer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. He's the 4th of 6 boys. Growing up, Kevon shied away from the church choir, preferring to sing for his own satisfaction...
, and Melvin Edmonds as Band members
Halle Berry
Halle Berry
Halle Berry is an American actress and a former fashion model. Berry received an Emmy, Golden Globe, SAG, and an NAACP Image Award for Introducing Dorothy Dandridge and won an Academy Award for Best Actress and was nominated for a BAFTA Award in 2001 for her performance in Monster's Ball, becoming...
and Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...
were both considered for the role of Teri. Regina King
Regina King
Regina King is an American film and television actress. She is well known for her role as Mary Jenkins's studious daughter, Brenda Jenkins, on the 1980s sitcom, 227, and for her critically acclaimed supporting role in the feature film Jerry Maguire...
, Kenya Moore
Kenya Moore
Kenya Summer Moore is an American film and television actress, producer, beauty queen, model and author.She is recognizable for her roles in movies such as Waiting to Exhale, Deliver Us from Eva and the 2007 Lindsay Lohan thriller I Know Who Killed Me...
and Jada Pinkett-Smith were all considered for the role of Bird. Vivica A. Fox
Vivica A. Fox
Vivica Anjanetta Fox is an American actress and television producer. She is best known for her roles in the films Independence Day, Set It Off, Soul Food, Why Do Fools Fall In Love,Kill Bill and Juwanna Mann....
auditioned for the role of Teri, but landed the role of Maxine instead.
The character Miles (Michael Beach
Michael Beach
-Biography:Beach was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, of Cape Verdean descent. He attended the prestigious Noble & Greenough School in Dedham, Massachusetts on scholarship from ABC . He was introduced to acting when he was sidelined by a lacrosse injury during high school by a classmate...
) plays keyboards in an R&B group called "Milestone"; the vocalists of the group are portrayed by two sibling teams of professional R&B performers: brothers K-Ci Hailey and Jo-Jo Hailey (of Jodeci
Jodeci
Jodeci is an American band, whose repertoire includes R&B, soul music, and new jack swing. The group consists of two pairs of brothers from Hampton, Virginia and Charlotte, North Carolina: Cedric & Joel Hailey and Donald & Dalvin DeGrate, all respectively known by their stage names: K-Ci & Jojo,...
and K-Ci & Jo-Jo); and Babyface and his brothers Kevon Edmonds
Kevon Edmonds
Kevon Edmonds February 25, 1957, is a singer and actor and is the older brother of famous producer/songwriter/singer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. He's the 4th of 6 boys. Growing up, Kevon shied away from the church choir, preferring to sing for his own satisfaction...
and Melvin Edmonds (both of After 7
After 7
After 7 is an R&B group founded in 1988 by brothers Melvin and Kevon Edmonds, and Keith Mitchell. The Edmonds brothers are the siblings of popular pop and R&B singer-songwriter-producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds"...
). Actor Malik Yoba
Malik Yoba
Abdul-Malik Kashie Yoba , better known by his stage name Malik Yoba, is an American actor and occasional singer. He is perhaps best known for his starring role as NYPD Detective J.C. Williams on the FOX police drama series New York Undercover or as Yul Brenner in Cool Runnings...
of New York Undercover
New York Undercover
New York Undercover is an American police drama that aired on the FOX television network from 1994 to 1998. The series starred Malik Yoba as Detective J.C. Williams and Michael DeLorenzo as Detective Eddie Torres, two undercover detectives in New York City's 4th Precinct who were assigned to...
fame makes a brief cameo as their studio engineer.
Production
Soul Food was shot primarily on location in the Chicago area. A later Tillman-produced film, BarbershopBarbershop (film)
Barbershop is a 2002 American comedy film directed by Tim Story, produced by State Street Pictures and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on September 13, 2002. Starring Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, and Anthony Anderson, the movie revolves around social life in a barbershop on the South Side of...
, would also take place in and be shot on location in Chicago.
Soundtrack
A soundtrack containing R&B and hip-hop was released on August 19, 1997 by LaFace RecordsLaFace Records
LaFace Records is an American record label, owned and operated by Sony Music Entertainment.-Company history:LaFace was formed in 1989 as a joint venture between the producing duo Antonio "L.A." Reid & Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, and Arista Records. The combined nicknames of the duo's successful...
. It peaked at #4 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
and was eventually certified 2x Multi-Platinum for over 2 million copies sold.
Reception
The film earned $43,700,855 during its original theatrical run. The film opened at #3 in its opening weekend at $11,197,897 behind The PeacemakerThe Peacemaker (1997 film)
The Peacemaker is a 1997 American action/thriller film starring George Clooney and Nicole Kidman and directed by Mimi Leder. It is also notable as being the first film released by DreamWorks...
s opening weekend and In & Out
In & Out
In & Out is a 1997 American romantic comedy film directed by Frank Oz and starring Kevin Kline, Joan Cusack, Matt Dillon, Tom Selleck, Debbie Reynolds, Bob Newhart, and Wilford Brimley. The screenplay was written by screenwriter Paul Rudnick...
s second.
Williams won an Image Award
NAACP Image Award
An NAACP Image Award is an accolade presented by the American National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to honor outstanding people of color in film, television, music, and literature....
for "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture"; Fox was also nominated for the award. Hammond won an Image Award for "Outstanding Youth Actor/Actress", and Irma P. Hall won for "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture". Mekhi Phifer and Irma P. Hall both appeared in HBO's 1999 adaptation of A Lesson Before Dying
A Lesson Before Dying
A Lesson Before Dying is Ernest J. Gaines' eighth novel, published in 1993.-Point of view:The reader is given a unique outlook on the status of African Americans in the South, after World War II and before the Civil Rights Movement...
, the 1993 novel by Ernest J. Gaines.
Soul Food spawned a follow-up cable
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
television show on the Showtime network. Soul Food: The Series
Soul Food: The Series
Soul Food: The Series is a television drama that aired Wednesday nights on Showtime from June 28, 2000 to May 26, 2004. Created by filmmaker George Tillman, Jr. and developed for television by Felicia D. Henderson, Soul Food is based upon Tillman's childhood experiences growing up in Wisconsin, and...
aired from 2000 through 2004 on Showtime, and currently airs in reruns on BET
Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...
.
Soul Food is rated R16 in New Zealand and it contains offensive language and sex scenes.
Awards and nominations
- Acapulco Black Film FestivalAmerican Black Film FestivalThe American Black Film Festival is an independent film festival that focuses primarily on works by Black members of the film industry. It has been called “the nation’s most prominent film festival.” The festival is held annually and features full-length narratives, short films, mobile...
(1998)- Best Film - Winner
- Best Actor (Michael Beach) - Nomination
- Best Actress (Vivica A. Fox) - Winner
- Best Actress (Vanessa L. Williams) - Nomination
- Best Soundtrack (Various Artists) - Nomination
- Best Director (George Tillman, Jr.) - Nomination
- Grammy Awards (1998)
- Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for a Television Series ("A Song for Mama", music & lyrics by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds) - Nomination
- MTV Movie AwardsMTV Movie AwardsThe MTV Movie Awards is a film awards show presented annually on MTV . It also contains movie parodies that used official movie footage with hosts and other celebrities and music performances. The nominees are decided by producers and executives at MTV. Winners are decided online by the general...
(1998)- Best Female Performance (Vivica A. Fox) - Nomination
- Best Song ("A Song for Mama", music & lyrics by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds) - Nomination
- NAACP Image Awards (1998)
- Outstanding Motion Picture - Winner
- Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture (Vivica. A Fox) - Nomination
- Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture (Vanessa L. Williams) - Winner
- Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture (Irma P. Hall) - Winner
- Outstanding Youth Actor/Actress (Brandon Hammond) - Winner
- Satellite AwardsSatellite AwardsThe Satellite Awards are an annual award given by the International Press Academy. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards.- Film :*Best Actor – Drama*Best Actor – Musical or Comedy*Best Actress – Drama...
(1998)- Best Song ("A Song for Mama", music & lyrics by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds) - Nomination