Horace Ove

The event held at the British Film Institute (BFI) in the South Bank will be one of the biggest projects highlighting the presence of Black directors, producers, actors, actresses and writers who have shaped film and television.

Over the next three months, visitors to the website can vote for their best Black screen icon, best director as well as Best all time film. There will also be a separate voting category for the people's choice nominations outside the main 100 list.

Speaking at the launch, film director John Akomfrah of Smoking Dogs Films said: "This is a project about my heroes, my friends, people who I admire, people who changed the way I see the world. This initiative is a celebration of Black film makers, actors and actresses. For the first time ever it brings together Black innovators, some of the greats - the people who shaped how Black people were seen on screen."

Supported by BFI, the project is sponsored by the UK Film Council and the BBC. The initiative was developed by the founder of Every Generation Media, Patrick Vernon and Gaylene Gould, Head of Creative Programming for the Bernie Grant Arts Centre.

The list of screen nominees includes actors such as Chiwetel Ejiofor, Paul Robeson, Halle Berry, Forest Whitaker and Marianne Jean Baptiste. Among the list of directors are Menelik Shabazz, Spike Lee, Gordon Parks and Horace Ove who directed the 1975 film 'Pressure', shot in the UK telling the tale of a Black teenager's struggle growing up in London in the 70s.

Patrick Vernon, said: "I wanted to do this campaign as a follow up to our previous '100 Great Black Britons'. Although film and TV are generally well documented, some of the films starring those actors/actresses, directors and producers have not been televised properly or even shown on TV. This project provides an opportunity for those hidden people to come out of the woodwork and for us to celebrate the talent that has been there for a long time."

He added: "In Britain we have our own stories to tell and this gives the next generation of directors, actors, actresses and writers a legacy, and hopefully from this campaign, promote the ongoing talent in this country."

To vote for your favourite Black screen icon visit www.100blackscreenicons.com