by Glenn Dunks
Moonlight took 4 prizes from the OFCS
The Online Film Critics Society, of which I am a member, just announced their winners and... I'd love to say they're a great bunch, but I haven't been able to see at least two of the big winners yet. International release dates (I'm back in Australia) always make voting in these sort of awards a tricky prospect when the need to be early is ever-present, but I have no doubt that the OFCS's selection of Moonlight as the best picture of 2016 is worth cheering about.
The organisation with its some 260 members awarded the Barry Jenkins' drama with three additional wins for Best Director, and duel supporting acting prizes for Mahershala Ali and Naomie Harris. Casey Affleck and Natalie Portman took the lead actor awards, Arrival and Hell or High Water took screenplay honours, Kubo and the Two Strings was handed a much-deserved animation win, and the Oscar frontrunner La La Land settled for the two technical prizes that the organization gives out for cinematography and editing.
And proving yet again that South Korea made the wrong choice by not selecting Park Chan-wook's The Handmaiden for the foreign language Oscar, it was awarded Best Film Not in the English Language alongside its nomination for Best Picture.
What do we think that film's Oscar prospects are like? Hong Kong's The Grandmaster surprised with two nominations several years ago - there's certainly precedence. It just depends on whether Oscar's costume and production design voters are having one of those years where they think more outside of the box or fall in line with general Oscar buzz.
FULL NOMINEES AND WINNERS AFTER THE JUMP...
Best Picture
Arrival
The Handmaiden
Hell or High Water
Jackie
La La Land
Manchester By the Sea
Moonlight
O.J.: Made in America
Paterson
The Witch
Best Animated Feature
Is the animation Oscar down to Kubo vs Zootopia?
Finding Dory
Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
The Red Turtle
Zootopia
Best Director
Damien Chazelle - La La Land
Barry Jenkins - Moonlight
Pablo Larraín - Jackie
Kenneth Lonergan - Manchester By the Sea
Denis Villeneuve - Arrival
Best Actor
Casey Affleck - Manchester By the Sea
Adam Driver - Paterson
Ryan Gosling - La La Land
Viggo Mortensen - Captain Fantastic
Denzel Washington - Fences
Best Actress
Amy Adams - Arrival
Isabelle Huppert - Elle
Ruth Negga - Loving
Natalie Portman - Jackie
Emma Stone - La La Land
Best Supporting Actor
Mahershala Ali - Moonlight
Tom Bennett - Love & Friendship
Jeff Bridges - Hell or High Water
Lucas Hedges - Manchester By the Sea
Michael Shannon - Nocturnal Animals
Best Supporting Actress
Viola Davis - Fences
Lily Gladstone - Certain Women
Naomie Harris - Moonlight
Octavia Spencer - Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams - Manchester By the Sea
Best Original Screenplay
Hell or High Water - Taylor Sheridan
Jackie - Noah Oppenheim
La La Land - Damien Chazelle
The Lobster - Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthymis Filippou
Manchester By the Sea - Kenneth Lonergan
Best Adapted Screenplay
Arrival - Eric Heisserer, Ted Chiang
Elle - David Birke, Philippe Djian
Love & Friendship - Whit Stillman
Moonlight - Barry Jenkins, Tarell Alvin McCraney
Nocturnal Animals - Tom Ford
Best Editing
Arrival - Joe Walker
Cameraperson - Nels Bangerter
Jackie - Sebastian Sepulveda
La La Land - Tom Cross
Moonlight - Joi McMillon, Nat Sanders
Best Cinematography
Arrival - Bradford Young
Jackie - Stéphane Fontaine
La La Land - Linus Sandgren
Moonlight - James Laxton
The Neon Demon - Natasha Braier
Best Film Not in the English Language
Elle - France
The Handmaiden - South Korea
Neruda - Chile
The Salesman - Iran
Toni Erdmann - Germany
Best Documentary
13th
Cameraperson
I Am Not Your Negro
O.J.: Made in America
Weiner
Best Non-U.S. Release (Non-competitive)
After the Storm
The Death of Louis XIV
The Girl With All the Gifts
Graduation
Nocturma
Personal Shopper
A Quiet Passion
Staying Vertical
The Unknown Girl
Yourself and Yours
Special Memorail Awards
Carrie Fisher
Gene Wilder
Alan Rickman