Producers: Taylor Hackford, Stuart Benjamin, Howard Baldwin
Previous Best Film wins: None
The story: From the moment Ray Charles Robinson (Jamie Foxx), as a bold and blind teenager, boards a Florida bus bound for the jazz scene in Seattle, it’s clear the young man has the tools and talents to make a difference. Touring across the Southern musical circuit, the soulful singer gains a reputation, which leads to his discovery by Atlantic Records, who put a stamp on the piano man’s inimitable style, incorporating a myriad of musical styles from jazz to R&B to gospel and country. Still, as his star rises, Ray is haunted by his traumatic childhood–going blind at the age of five shortly after witnessing his younger brother’s accidental drowning–leaving an indelible effect on his soul and manifesting itself in a heroin addiction as well as many torrid love affairs. But Ray is no fool, having been raised by a fiercely independent mother who insisted he make his own way in the world; this one-of-a-kind genius knows what he wants–to give the world a new way to hear music.