The FFI's treatment of ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT will go down as THE awards season fumble.
The awards season continues to heat up, though we're about to hit a bit of a pause or a slump as the holidays tend to mark a decrease in such activity. As if to make up for that incoming quieting, the outpour of film honors only grew stronger the past week. This included the Pandora International Film Critics, an unofficial initiative spearheaded by the Filmotomy site – they also organize the Femme Filmmakers Festival every year – that gathers writers and film buffs from all over the world. This year, they invited me to be part of the voting body, and I am delighted to share the results, even if I don't necessarily agree with all of them…
PANDORA INTERNATIONAL FILM CRITICS
Best International Motion Picture: ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT
Best English-Language Motion Picture: THE BRUTALIST
Best Director: Coralie Fargeat, THE SUBSTANCE
Best Actress: Marianne Jean-Baptiste, HARD TRUTHS
Best Actor: Adrien Brody, THE BRUTALIST
Best Supporting Actress: Katy O'Brian, LOVE LIES BLEEDING
Best Supporting Actor: Josh O'Connor, CHALLENGERS
Best Ensemble Cast: CONCLAVE
Best Original Screenplay: Jane Schoenbrun, I SAW THE TV GLOW
Best Adapted Screenplay: RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes, NICKEL BOYS
Best Editing: Marco Costa, CHALLENGERS
Best Cinematography: Jarin Blaschke, NOSFERATU
Best Set Design: Craig Lathrop, NOSFERATU
Best Costume Design: Linda Muir, NOSFERATU
Best Hair & Make-Up: THE SUBSTANCE
Best Special Effects: DUNE: PART TWO
Best Score Composing: Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, CHALLENGERS
Best Song Composing: "Compress/Repress" from CHALLENGERS
Best Sound Design: FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA
Best Animated Motion Picture: THE WILD ROBOT
Best Documentary Motion Picture: NO OTHER LAND
Filmmaking Breakthrough: RaMell Ross, NICKEL BOYS
Acting Breakthrough: Clarence Maclin, SING SING
Can you guess my biggest frustration here? It's the lack of supporting players in the supporting categories, of course. Not even with an organization completely unaffiliated with studios and distributors or their FYC material, the categorization narratives prevail, no matter how nonsensical. At least, Katy O'Brian and Josh O'Connor make for a nice pair of LEAD performances. But, as this season has made apparent, the fight against category fraud is a lost cause. I only pity the actual supporting players who won't get their just rewards, outshined by co-protagonists galore.
Moving on from fraudulent campaigning, there's a lot to celebrate here. The Pandora Awards ask their voters to consider international cinema and furnish 50% of their nomination ballots with such films. Indeed, their main category is the International Film one, while the Best English-Language Film is a secondary honor. That makes All We Imagine As Light the champion of the season, even if it didn't pick any additional prizes. Original Screenplay was an exceptionally tight race, with Mike Leigh's Hard Truths battling it out with Jane Schoenburn's I Saw the TV Glow until the bitter end. Challengers is the overall leader of the pack, with four victories, while Nosferatu isn't far behind, taking most of the visual categories. Pandora voters were enamored with Eggers' vampiric vision.
BLACK FILM CRITIC CIRCLE
Top Ten Films:
- SING SING, Greg Kwedar
- WICKED, Jon M. Chu
- CONCLAVE, Edward Berger
- THE BRUTALIST, Brady Corbet
- NICKEL BOYS, RaMell Ross
- THE WILD ROBOT, Chris Sanders
- DUNE: PART TWO, Denis Villeneuve
- THE SUBSTANCE, Coralie Fargeat
- EXHIBITING FORGIVENESS, Titus Kaphar
- FLOW, Gints Zilbalodis
Best Director: RaMell Ross, NICKEL BOYS
Best Actress: Cynthia Erivo, WICKED
Best Actor: Colman Domingo, SING SING
Best Supporting Actress: Danielle Deadwyler, THE PIANO LESSON
Best Supporting Actor: Clarence Maclin, SING SING
Best Ensemble: SING SING
Best Original Screenplay: Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold, THE BRUTALIST
Best Adapted Screenplay: RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes, NICKEL BOYS
Best Cinematography: Jomo Fray, NICKEL BOYS
Best Animated Film: THE WILD ROBOT
Best Documentary: DAUGHTERS
Best Foreign Language Film: ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT
Pioneer Award: Denzel Washington
Best Newcomer: Malcolm Washington
Special Mention: THE SPACE RACE, Lisa Cortes & Diego Hurtado de Mendoza
It's nice to see Danielle Deadwyler pick another award, even if she's in the wrong category. Speaking of The Piano Lesson, those special honors to the Washingtons feel awful generous in the younger man's case. I wonder how close the August Wilson adaptation was to the top ten or the Adapted Screenplay prize.
It's notable that All We Imagine As Light triumphed here, too, with a voting body that tends to privilege Black stories. Payal Kapadia's winning streak is one of the season's great success stories and it tastes like avenging justice in the face of the Film Federation of India's trash-talking. In a recent statement, they defended their choice of Lost Ladies as the country's Oscar submission by dismissing All We Imagine as Light as very poor technically. Say what you want about France's selection kerfuffle last season, the committee didn't resort to discrediting Anatomy of a Fall to defend their choice – the same can't be said of certain filmmakers, but that's another matter altogether.
DALLAS FORT-WORTH FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
Best Picture: ANORA
Runner-Up: THE BRUTALIST
Best Director: Sean Baker, ANORA
Runner-Up: Brady Corbet, THE BRUTALIST
Best Actress: Mikey Madison, ANORA
Runner-Up: Demi Moore, THE SUBSTANCE
Best Actor: Ralph Fiennes, CONCLAVE
Runner-Up: Adrien Brody, THE BRUTALIST
Best Supporting Actress: Zoë Saldaña, EMILIA PÉREZ
Runner-Up: Margaret Qualley, THE SUBSTANCE
Best Supporting Actor: Guy Pearce, THE BRUTALIST
Runner-Up: Kieran Culkin, A REAL PAIN
Best Screenplay: Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold, THE BRUTALIST
Runner-Up: Sean Baker, ANORA
Best Cinematography: Greig Fraser, DUNE: PART TWO
Runner-Up: Lol Crawley, THE BRUTALIST
Best Musical Score: Kris Bowers, THE WILD ROBOT
Runner-Up: Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, CHALLENGERS
Best Animated Film: THE WILD ROBOT
Runner-Up: FLOW
Best Documentary: SUGARCANE
Runner-Up: DAUGHTERS
Best Foreign Language Film: THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG
Runner-Up: EMILIA PÉREZ
Russel Smith Award for Cutting-Edge Independent Film: THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG
Is it me or is The Wild Robot picking some steam in this race with Flow? At first, it seemed like the Latvian feline adventure movie was the critical darling to end all critical darlings, but Chris Sander's painterly flick is finally showing up. Oscar-wise, the Dreamworks contender is a much likelier champion than Flow.
In other news, it's nice to see Greig Fraser taking home some more hardware for the Dune movies, now that it's been revealed he won't come back for Messiah. Instead, Linus Sandgren will shoot Villeneuve's third Dune adaptation. Perchance, the Swedish cinematographer will finally earn his second Oscar nomination for that bad boy. He's been notoriously snubbed since he won on his first try.
DUBLIN FILM CRITICS CIRCLE
Top Ten:
- THE ZONE OF INTEREST, Jonathan Glazer
- ANORA, Sean Baker
- THE SUBSTANCE, Coralie Fargeat
- PERFECT DAYS, Wim Wenders
- THE WILD ROBOT, Chris Sanders
- EMILIA PÉREZ, Jacques Audiard
- TOUCH, Baltasar Kormákur
- CONCLAVE, Edward Berger
- ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT, Payal Kapadia
- ROBOT DREAMS. Pablo Berger
Best Director: Jonathan Glazer, THE ZONE OF INTEREST
Runner-Up: Coralie Fargeat, THE SUBSTANCE
Best Actress: Mikey Madison, ANORA
Runner-Up: Demi Moore, THE SUBSTANCE
Best Actor: Ralph Fiennes, CONCLAVE
Runner-Up: Cillian Murphy, SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE
Best Screenplay: Jonathan Glazer, THE ZONE OF INTEREST
Runner-Up: Peter Straughan, CONCLAVE
Best Cinematography: Stéphane Fontaine, CONCLAVE
Runner-Up: Greig Fraser, DUNE: PART TWO
Best Documentary: WILL AND HARPER
Runner-Up: DAHOMEY
Best Irish Film: KNEECAP
Runner-Up: SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE
Best Breakthrough: Nykiya Adams, BIRD
Because the Dublin critics follow the Irish release schedule, there are some eligibility discrepancies with their American colleagues. So, we get The Zone of Interest and Perfect Days back in the conversation months after their awards narratives seemed finished. Glazer's Oscar-winner picked up a couple more prizes here, while, at long last, Small Things Like These got a mention, even if it was only as a runner-up. It's a pity Cillian Murphy isn't more in the conversation – he's legitimately more impressive in this Berlinale-competing drama than in last year's Oppenheimer. At least, to me, he is.
FLORIDA FILM CRITICS CIRCLE
Best Film: THE BEAST
Best Director: Bertrand Bonello, THE BEAST
Best Actress: Léa Seydoux, THE BEAST
Best Actor: Kieran Culkin, A REAL PAIN
Best Supporting Actress: Zoë Saldaña, EMILIA PÉREZ
Best Supporting Actor: Jeremy Strong, THE APPRENTICE
Best Cast: CONCLAVE
Best Original Screenplay: Jane Schoenbrun, I SAW THE TV GLOW
Best Adapted Screenplay: Justin Kuritzkes, QUEER
Best Cinematography: Lol Crawley, THE BRUTALIST
Best Production Design: Patrice Vermette, DUNE: PART TWO
Best Visual Effects: DUNE: PART TWO
Best Score: Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, CHALLENGERS
Best Animated Film: FLOW
Best Documentary: SOUNDTRACK TO A COUP D'ÉTAT
Best International Film: ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT
Best First Movie: Mike Cheslik, HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS
Breakthrough Performance: Mikey Madison, ANORA
Another year, another opportunity for the Florida critics to show off their exquisite taste and unwillingness to cosign the season's narratives. Some may say they're just trying to be cool and different, but I'd rather see critics awards with a strong personality than a repeat of all we've seen before. Case in point, the Floridians love Bonello's unorthodox Henry James adaptation. But you must also respect a group that awards Kieran Culkin in the correct category. If only they had been as bold when handling Saldaña who's as much a lead of Emilia Pérez as Karla Sofía Gascón. Hell, the musical begins and ends with her character, and she's even ahead in terms of screen time.
INDIANA FILM JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION
Best Film: THE SUBSTANCE
Runner-Up: THE BRUTALIST
Best Director: Coralie Fargeat, THE SUBSTANCE
Runner-Up: Brady Corbet, THE BRUTALIST
Best Lead Performance: Demi Moore, THE SUBSTANCE
Runner-Up: Adrien Brody, THE BRUTALIST
Best Supporting Performance: Margaret Qualley, THE SUBSTANCE
Runner-Up: Guy Pearce, THE BRUTALIST
Best Vocal/Motion-Capture Performance: Lupita Nyong'o, THE WILD ROBOT
Runner-Up: Jonno Davies & Robbie Williams, BETTER MAN
Best Ensemble Acting: HIS THREE DAUGHTERS
Runner-Up: SING SING
Best Original Screenplay: Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold, THE BRUTALIST
Runner-Up: Coralie Fargeat, THE SUBSTANCE
Best Adapted Screenplay: RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes, NICKEL BOYS
Runner-Up: Peter Straughan, CONCLAVE
Best Editing: Jérôme Eltabet, Coralie Fargeat & Valentin Feron, THE SUBSTANCE
Runner-Up: Dávid Jancsó, THE BRUTALIST
Best Cinematography: Jarin Blaschke, NOSFERATU
Runner-Up: Lol Crawley, THE BRUTALIST
Best Musical Score: Daniel Blumberg, THE BRUTALIST
Runner-Up: Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, CHALLENGERS
Best Special Effects: THE SUBSTANCE
Runner-Up: HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS
Best Stunt/Movement Choreography: FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA
Runner-Up: BETTER MAN
Best Animated Film: MARS EXPRESS
Runner-Up: THE WILD ROBOT
Best Documentary: DAUGHTERS
Runner-Up: NO OTHER LAND
Best Foreign Language Film: MARS EXPRESS
Runner-Up: AATTAM
Breakout of the Year: Vera Drew, THE PEOPLE'S JOKER
Runner-Up: Mikey Madison, ANORA
Original Vision: HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS
Runner-Up: THE SUBSTANCE
As a devoted fan of Mars Express and The People's Joker, I couldn't be happier about their victories with the Indiana film journalists. If nothing else, it's nice to see something other than Flow or The Wild Robot take the Best Animated Film prize. It is, however, a tad disappointing that so many of the categories came down to The Brutalist and The Substance. Spread the wealth a little!
IOWA FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
Best Film: ANORA
Best Director: Sean Baker, ANORA
Best Actress: Mikey Madison, ANORA
Best Actor: Adrien Brody, THE BRUTALIST
Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande, WICKED and Isabella Rossellini, CONCLAVE (tie)
Best Supporting Actor: Kieran Culkin, A REAL PAIN
Best Original Song: "Kiss The Sky" from THE WILD ROBOT
Best Animated Film: THE WILD ROBOT
Best Foreign Language Film: THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG
Through a tie, the Iowa critics managed to reward an actual supporting performance in the Supporting Actress category. Sure, there's still Ariana Grande representing the co-lead coalition, but, at last, Isabella Rossellini gets some flowers. In the other acting races, Culkin continues his sweep, while Madison and Brody feel like they're consolidating their lock status as far as Oscars are concerned. Locked for a nomination, that is. Both thespians feel like they're in that weird spot where their nomination is a done deal, but a win isn't so sure. For Madison, this is especially notable since I'd say she's the only concrete lock in the Best Actress Oscar race. And yet, I can't imagine her winning Hollywood's most coveted trophy when all is said and done.
NEVADA FILM CRITICS SOCIETY
Best Film: THE BRUTALIST
Best Director: Brady Corbet, THE BRUTALIST
Best Actress: Cynthia Erivo, WICKED
Best Actor: Adrien Brody, THE BRUTALIST
Best Supporting Actress: Zoë Saldaña, EMILIA PÉREZ
Best Supporting Actor: Guy Pearce, THE BRUTALIST
Best Original Screenplay: Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold, THE BRUTALIST
Best Adapted Screenplay: Peter Straughan, CONCLAVE
Best Cinematography: Lol Crawley, THE BRUTALIST
Best Production Design: Judy Becker, THE BRUTALIST
Best Visual Effects: WICKED
Best Animated Movie: FLOW
Best Documentary: SUGARCANE
Who looks at Wicked and decides those are the absolutely best effects of the year? Anyway, congratulations to Cynthia Erivo for breaking the through with this group who was very into musicals when it came to actressing. Indeed, after a couple of lackluster weeks, Zoë Saldaña is finally emerging as a force to be reckoned with in the year's messiest race. Guy Pearce is also becoming a more prominent alternative to Kieran Culkin than it seemed when all these awards announcements started.
NEW YORK FILM CRITICS ONLINE
Best Picture: THE SUBSTANCE
Runner-Up: THE BRUTALIST
Best Director: Coralie Fargeat, THE SUBSTANCE
Runner-Up: Brady Corbet, THE BRUTALIST
Best Actress: Marianne Jean-Baptiste, HARD TRUTHS
Runner-Up: Demi Moore, THE SUBSTANCE
Best Actor: Adrien Brody, THE BRUTALIST
Runner-Up: Ralph Fiennes, CONCLAVE
Best Supporting Actress: Natasha Lyonne, HIS THREE DAUGHTERS
Runner-Up: Danielle Deadwyler, THE PIANO LESSON
Best Supporting Actor: Guy Pearce, THE BRUTALIST
Runner-Up: Clarence Maclin, SING SING
Best Ensemble Cast: CONCLAVE
Runner-Up: SING SING
Best Screenplay: Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold, THE BRUTALIST
Runner-Up: Coralie Fargeat, THE SUBSTANCE
Best Cinematography: Lol Crawley, THE BRUTALIST
Runner-Up: Stéphane Fontaine, CONCLAVE
Best Use of Music: THE BRUTALIST
Runner-Up: WICKED
Best Animation: FLOW
Runner-Up: THE WILD ROBOT
Best Documentary: NO OTHER LAND
Runner-Up: DAHOMEY
Best International Feature: ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT
Runner-Up: I'M STILL HERE
Best Debut Director: Annie Baker, JANET PLANET
Runner-Up: Josh Margolin, THELMA
Breakthrough Performer: Mikey Madison, ANORA
Runner-Up: Clarence Maclin, SING SING
Congrats to Lyonne and Deadwyler for getting noticed for their strong work this season. Pity they're in the wrong category. Considering how much these voters loved The Substance, I wouldn't be surprised if Qualley – another lead – was a major vote-getter, too. Supporting Actor, for once, lacks outright leads, with Kieran Culkin left off the top. Another notable choice is I'm Still Here as the runner-up for Best International Feature. All We Imagine as Light, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, and Emilia Pérez have dominated the race so far, but Brazil's historical drama also deserves some love.
PHILADELPHIA FILM CRITICS CIRCLE
Best Film: ANORA
Runner-Up: THE BRUTALIST
Best Director: Sean Baker, ANORA
Runner-up: RaMell Ross, NICKEL BOYS
Best Actress: Mikey Madison, ANORA
Runner-Up: Demi Moore, THE SUBSTANCE
Best Actor: Adrien Brody, THE BRUTALIST
Runner-Up: Hugh Grant, HERETIC
Best Supporting Actress: Margaret Qualley, THE SUBSTANCE
Runner-Up: Aubrey Plaza, MEGALOPOLIS
Best Supporting Actor: Kieran Culkin, A REAL PAIN
Runner-Up: Guy Pearce, THE BRUTALIST
Best Ensemble: ANORA
Runner-Up: CONCLAVE
Best Screenplay: Sean Baker, ANORA
Runner-Up: RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes, NICKEL BOYS
Best Cinematography: Jarin Blaschke, NOSFERATU
Runner-Up: Lol Crawley, THE BRUTALIST
Best Score: Daniel Blumberg, THE BRUTALIST
Runner-Up: Hans Zimmer, DUNE: PART TWO
Best Animated Film: MEMOIR OF A SNAL
Runner-Up: FLOW
Best Documentary: SUPER/MAN: THE CHRISTOPHER REEVE STORY
Runner-Up: WILL AND HARPER
Best Foreign Language Film: ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT
Runner-Up: THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG
Best Directorial Debut: Vera Drew, THE PEOPLE'S JOKER
Runner-Up: India Donaldson, GOOD ONE
Best Breakthrough Performance: Mikey Madison, ANORA
Runner-Up: Yura Borisov, ANORA
The Elaine May Award: THE SUBSTANCE
The Cheesesteak Award: THE FALL GUY
Runner-Up: THE BEEKEEPER
These specialized awards that some groups do are always a lot of fun to consider, even when they're meant as vaguely insulting – I assume they're calling The Fall Guy cheesy. The Elaine May Prize, on the other hand, is intended to recognize art that celebrates or brings awareness to a woman's perspective, making The Substance an understandable, if gruesome, honoree. Unsurprisingly, Qualley took Supporting Actress and Demi Moore was a runner-up. And yet, Anora reigned supreme in the end. I'm starting to wonder if that's going to be a narrative echoing throughout the season, with some flicks gathering great passion but Sean Baker's Cannes champion winning in the end.
It's undoubtedly the film on everybody's mouths since it premiered on VOD, though the discourse is far from unilaterally positive. Though some might say Anora is the type of thing Film Twitter fawns over, that community seems more critical and scrutinizing than assumed. Not that such things have any real influence in the awards season.
Finally, it's wonderful to see Aubrey Plaza recognized. She has quietly become one of the most interesting performers in American film in the past few years, pushing past what many assumed was a limited comedic range. Her work in My Old Ass is even more remarkable than the gonzo stuff she gets up to in Megalopolis.
PHOENIX FILM CRITICS SOCIETY
Best Picture: THE BRUTALIST
Best Director: Edward Berger, CONCLAVE
Best Actress: Mikey Madison, ANORA
Best Actor: Ralph Fiennes, CONCLAVE
Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande, WICKED
Best Supporting Actor: Kieran Culkin, A REAL PAIN
Best Performance by a Youth: Alisha Weir, ABIGAIL
Best Ensemble Acting: CONCLAVE
Best Original Screenplay: Sean Baker, ANORA
Best Adapted Screenplay: Peter Straughan, CONCLAVE
Best Film Editing: Joe Walker, DUNE: PART TWO
Best Cinematography: Jarin Blaschke, NOSFERATU
Best Production Design: Patrice Vermette, DUNE: PART TWO
Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell, WICKED
Best Visual Effects: DUNE: PART TWO
Best Original Score: Volker Bertelmann, CONCLAVE
Best Original Song: "El Mal" from EMILIA PÉREZ
Best Animated Film: THE WILD ROBOT
Best Documentary: WILL AND HARPER
Best Foreign Language Film: EMILIA PÉREZ
The Overlooked Film of the Year: STRANGE DARLING
Breakthrough Performance: Mikey Madison, ANORA
Giving Picture to The Brutalist but Director to Edward Berger feels odd, almost out of sorts. It's even weirder that Corbet's film got no other win except the top trophy. We can reasonably deduce Conclave was the runner-up there, seeing as it also took Actor, Ensemble, Adapted Screenplay, and Original Score. But speaking of the musical prizes, do we think "El Mal" is the Emilia Pérez song to beat? Or will "Mi Camino" prevail? Both are submitted and shortlisted for the Oscar, where they'll undoubtedly face off against Diane Warren's latest.
SEATTLE FILM CRITICS SOCIETY
Best Picture: THE SUBSTANCE
Best Director: Sean Baker, ANORA
Best Actress: Mikey Madison, ANORA
Best Actor: Colman Domingo, SING SING
Best Supporting Actress: Margaret Qualley, THE SUBSTANCE
Best Supporting Actor: Clarence Maclin, SING SING
Best Youth Performance: Izaac Wang, DÌDI
Best Ensemble: ANORA
Best Editing: Eliot Knpaman & Margaret Sixel, FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA
Best Cinematography: Jomo Fray, NICKEL BOYS
Best Production Design: Judy Becker, THE BRUTALIST
Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell, WICKED
Best Original Score: Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, CHALLENGERS
Best Visual Effects: DUNE: PART TWO
Best Action Choreography: FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA
Best Animated Film: THE WILD ROBOT
Best Documentary Film: NO OTHER LAND
Best International Film: EVIL DOES NOT EXIST
Best Pacific Northwest Film: STRANGE DARLING
Villain of the Year: Chris Hemsworth, FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA
Qualley rises and so does Maclin, while Anora has no space left to rise. Any more and Sean Baker's troupe will be floating somewhere beyond the stratosphere. But these awards shouldn't be about predicting or influencing the Oscars. As a matter of fact, they are much more valuable when they zig where other zag, celebrating achievements unlikely to be remembered by the bigger groups. For the Seattle critics, that meant showing some love to Furiosa and Ryusuke Hamaguchi's mesmerizing Evil Does Not Exist.
SOUTHERN EASTERN FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
Top Ten Films:
- ANORA, Sean Baker
- THE BRUTALIST, Brady Corbet
- CONCLAVE, Edward Berger
- DUNE: PART TWO, Denis Villeneuve
- CHALLENGERS, Luca Guadagnino
- NICKEL BOYS, RaMell Ross
- SING SING, Greg Kwedar
- WICKED, Jon M. Chu, WICKED
- THE SUBSTANCE, Coralie Fargeat
- A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, James Mangold
Best Director: Brady Corbet, THE BRUTALIST
Runner-Up: Sean Baker, ANORA
Best Actress: Mikey Madison, ANORA
Runner-Up: Demi Moore, THE SUBSTANCE
Best Actor: Adrien Brody, THE BRUTALIST
Runner-Up: Colman Domingo, SING SING
Best Supporting Actress: Ariana Grande, WICKED
Runner-Up: Zoë Saldaña, EMILIA PÉREZ
Best Supporting Actor: Guy Pearce, THE BRUTALIST
Runner-Up: Kieran Culkin, A REAL PAIN
Best Ensemble: CONCLAVE
Runner-Up: SING SING
Best Original Screenplay: Sean Baker, ANORA
Runner-Up: Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold, THE BRUTALIST
Best Adapted Screenplay: Peter Straughan, CONCLAVE
Runner-Up: RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes, NICKEL BOYS
Best Cinematography: Greig Fraser, DUNE: PART TWO
Runner-Up: Jarin Blaschke, NOSFERATU
Best Score: Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, CHALLENGERS
Runner-Up: Daniel Blumberg, THE BRUTALIST
Best Animated Film: THE WILD ROBOT
Runner-Up: FLOW
Best Documentary: SUGARCANE
Runner-Up: SUPER/MAN: THE CHRISTOPHER REEVE STORY
Best Foreign Language Film: EMILIA PÉREZ
Runner-Up: THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG
The increasing number of ensemble honors gives us a kind of precursor trail for what used to be the SAG's most unique category. Will Conclave prove as popular with the actors as with the critics, or will the ensembles of Sing Sing or Anora rise above those conspiring cardinals? Speaking of Conclave, after some uncertainty, Berger's latest has shown itself as our frontrunner in the Adapted Screenplay race.
Do you think All We Imagine As Light could have gone all the way had the FFI submitted it?