{"id":8810,"date":"2022-09-30T15:07:18","date_gmt":"2022-09-30T15:07:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/?p=8810"},"modified":"2022-09-30T16:03:53","modified_gmt":"2022-09-30T16:03:53","slug":"alonge-hawes-wins-big-at-2022-minnesota-webfest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/alonge-hawes-wins-big-at-2022-minnesota-webfest\/","title":{"rendered":"Alonge Hawes Wins Big At 2022 Minnesota Webfest"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Alonge Hawes didn\u2019t need much forewarning that he\u2019d have a successful evening during the awards ceremony of the 6th<\/sup> annual Minnesota Webfest. Following the enthusiastic audience response to his world premiering series \u2018Silver & Gold\u2019 and \u2018Good Black Man\u2019; Hawes walked into the Annex du Nord Art Hostel with 9 nominations (with a surprise 10th<\/sup> nomination announced during the ceremony) between the two series. Of those nominations, Hawes had already set a record at the festival for having the two dramatically differing series competing against each other in four categories. Concerns regarding vote-splitting set aside, it was obvious that the judges and committee of the festival felt that Hawes\u2019s work merited some sort of validation. That validation was realized as Hawes walked away with three awards, one for each series as well as a tying honor for both series in marketing\/promotional excellence.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hawes was accompanied by \u2018Silver & Gold\u2019 co-stars Quentin Williams, Brittaney Traylor (herself an acting nominee of the evening for Best Dramatic Performance) Shani Hawes and \u2018Good Black Man\u2019 cast member Brittani Krystin. Joshua Dennard, who is the Cinematographer and Editor for both series, was also in attendance. \u2018Silver & Gold\u2019 was awarded Best Series Script for the pilot episode \u2018The Birth Of The Cool\u2019; beating out stiff competition from not only \u2018Good Black Man\u2019; but also work from award winning writer Marty Lang (\u2018Bad Influence\u2019) and award winner and Sundance Institute Semi-Finalist Mike Swift (\u2018The Ushers\u2019).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hawes thanked his ancestors, who as he put it \u201cFought and died for the right for some of us in this room to be able to read and write. And so we all in this room owe them a round of thanks because without them there would be no Langston Hughes, no James Baldwin, no Zora Neale Hurston, no Donald Glover, there\u2019s no Isaa Rae, there\u2019s no Jerrod Carmichael. All of these creatives that you love, come from them and their sacrifice.\u201d  Hawes also thanked his late father Reginald Hawes before concluding. Check out the full speech in the clip below.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later in the evening, Minnesota Webfest founder George Reese took the stage to announce a surprise category, Best Marketing, which as he put it \u201cgoes to the creators who have done the best job of promoting their work.\u201d When announcing the nominees, he added \u201cIt\u2019s a bit weird with this one because really two of the nominees are really one team and it was hard to differentiate because ya\u2019ll do a very good job of balancing promotion of both which is extremely hard to maintain two brands at the same time. So I put \u2018Good Black Man\u2019 but really you can call it for whatever (series) you want.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A surprised Hawes took the stage and quipped \u201cMarketing is important. So do it a lot!\u201d He then thanked editor Joshua Dennard for assisting him in the marketing campaign for both series. Explaining that the marketing campaigns, which included teaser trailers, press articles, casting announcements, and heavy social media engagement; was part of the overall strategy for both series since their conceptions. He concluded with \u201cSo in the spirit of marketing, Silver & Gold October 11th<\/sup>! On Jaro Media!\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The final award of the night for Hawes and his team was for Best Representation Of Communities Of Color. An award that Hawes first won at the inaugural Minnesota Webfest in 2017 for his debut digital series Blue Collar Hustle. This time it was \u2018Good Black Man\u2019s moment to shine solo as the series triumphed over \u2018Silver & Gold\u2019 as well as the critically acclaimed narrative podcast \u2018Apollyon\u2019, the French language digital series \u2018Hogtown\u2019, and popular YouTube series Its Not You.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hawes thanked his cast & crew for believing in him to execute the series vision. He also gave a shoutout to \u2018Good Black Man\u2019 cast member Alex Patterson, who wasn\u2019t in attendance due to commitments on another film project. He also took time to thank his daughter and co-star Amina Hawes on inspiring the series creation. \u201cI promised that I would keep going until I could star in a show with her. We started filming when she was four, she\u2019s six years old now, so Amina I love you and I\u2019m bringing this home for you.\u201d Check out the full speech in the video below.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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