You may have noticed that The Film Experience never publishes the lists of nominees from small critics organizations. The winners we like to cover, yes. But nominees? This is, in my opinion, the last thing the already crowded landscape of movie awards needs is for each tiny critics organization to attempt to share not just their advocacy for Best of the Best but all the other ones they liked too. If winners announcements are good enough for the three most prestigious societies (NYFCC, LAFCA and NSFC) they should be good enough for the smaller groups. It all becomes too much noise. The multiple daily announcements actually bring one of We Need To Talk About Kevin's best scenes to mind. Tilda's weary mom stops near a construction site to allow a jackhammer to drown out the endless crying of her demon baby. Hilariously wrong but you feel for her.
But now that we have some winners, here we go!
San Diego Film Critics Society
Film The Artist
Director Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive
Actress Brit Marling, Another Earth
Actor Michael Shannon, Take Shelter
Supporting Actress Shailene Woodley, The Descendants
Supporting Actor Nick Nolte, Warrior
Ensemble Performance Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Animated Film Arthur Christmas
Documentary Project Nim
Foreign Film I Svil
Cinematography Emmanuel Lubezki, The Tree of Life
Editing Oliver Bugge Coutté, Beginners
Production Design Dante Ferretti, Hugo
Original Screenplay Midnight in Paris by Woody Allen
Adapted Screenplay Moneyball by Steve Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin
Score Alexandre Desplat, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2
Body of Work Jessica Chastain
Kyle Counts Award Lee Ann Kim, San Diego Asian Film Foundation
Houston, Toronto, Indiana, and the African American Film Critics Association after the jump with more cities to come...
Houston Film Critics Society
Film The Descendants
Director Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive
Actress Tilda Swinton, We Need To Talk About Kevin
Actor Michael Fassbender, Shame
Supporting Actress Shailene Woodley, The Descendants
Supporting Actor Albert Brooks, Drive
Animated Film Rango
Documentary Project Nim
Foreign Film I Saw the Devil
Cinematography Emmanuel Lubezki, The Tree of Life
Screenplay The Descendants by Alexander Payne, Nat Foxon and Jim Rash
Score Ludovic Bource, The Artist
Song "Life's a Happy Song" by Bret Mckenzie for The Muppets
Worst Film of the Year Your Highness
Toronto Film Critics Association
Film The Tree of Life (ru: The Artist, The Descendants)
Director Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life (ru: Hazanavicius, Refn)
Actress Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn (ru: Olsen, Streep)
Actor Michael Shannon, Take Shelter (ru: Clooney, Fassy)
Supporting Actress Jessica Chastain, Take Shelter (ru: Chastain for Tree of Life, and Woodley for The Descendants)
Supporting Actor Christopher Plummer, Beginners (ru: Brooks, Oswalt)
Animated Film The Adventures of Tintin (ru: Puss in Boots, Rango)
Documentary Nostalgia for the Light (ru: Into the Abyss, Project Nim)
Foreign Film Mysteries of Lisbon (ru: Attenberg, Le Havre, A Separation)
Screenplay Moneyball (ru: The Descendants, The Tree of Life)
First Feature Attack the Block (ru: Margin Call, Martha Marcy May Marlene)
Rogers Canadian Film Award Finalists "Cafe de Fore (Jean Marc Vallée), A Dangerous Method (David Cronenberg) and Monsieur Lazhar (Philippe Falardeau)
Indiana Film Journalists Association
Film The Artist (ru: The Descendants)
Director Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist (ru: Terrence Malick)
Actress Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene (ru: Tilda Swinton)
Actor Paul Giamatti, Win Win (ru: Ralph Fiennes for Coriolanus)
Supporting Actress Viola Davis, The Help (ru: Amy Ryan for Win Win)
Supporting Actor Christopher Plummer, Beginners (ru: Albert Brooks)
Animated Film Rango (ru: Winnie the Pooh)
Documentary Project Nim (ru: Into the Abyss)
Original Screenplay Win Win (ru: Margin Call)
Adapted Screenplay The Descendants (ru: Moneyball)
Musical Score Ludovic Bource, The Artist (ru: Howard Shore for Hugo)
Original Vision Award The Tree of Life (ru: The Artist)
The Hoosier Award Lindsay Goffman, producer of Dumbstruck
African American Film Critics Association
Film The Tree of Life (rest of top ten: Drive, Pariah, Rampart, Shame, Moneyball, The Descendants, A Better Life, My Week With Marilyn, and The Help)
Director Steve McQueen, Shame
Actress Viola Davis, The Help
Actor Woody Harrelson, Rampart
Supporting Actress Octavia Spender, The Help
Supporting Actor Albert Brooks, Drive
Breakout Performance Adepero Oduye, Pariah
Documentary The Black Power Mixtape
Screenplay I Will Follow
Foreign Film Kinyarwanda
Best Song "The Show" from Moneyball
Independent Film Pariah
Legacy Award Richard Roundtree
Horizon Award Hattie Winston
Cinema Vanguard George Lucas
Special Achievement Sony Pictures Classics
It's exciting to have a year with so few sweepers in any category (beyond The Tree of Life's strangehold on cinematography and Hugo's on art direction), don't you think?