Weekend Awards Wrap-Up: LAFCA, EFA, BIFA, and more!

by Cláudio Alves

ANORA is consolidating its position as a Best Picture frontrunner. Mikey Madison nears lock status, too, but Best Actress is a more volatile race.

The season has started in full, which means an avalanche of awards coming our way every single day. It's impossible to keep up, so we'll be doing these weekend wrap-ups from now on – like last year, sort of. The past few days saw such groups as Gotham Awards, the NYFCC, and the NBR handing out their honors. All of those have posts of their own, but there's still more to consider. For example, this Sunday was busy as all hell, with the LA, Boston, and Washington, DC, critics announcing their winners. At the same time, across the Atlantic, the British Independent Film Awards held their annual ceremony. That last one is exciting because it's one of the few industry awards we get before the onslaught of guild nominations. One can say the same about the European Film Award and the International Documentary Association. Discover their victors, after the jump…

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"Conclave" and "A Complete Unknown" lead the AARP Nominations

by Cláudio Alves

What would Cardinal Lawrence's AARP ballot look like?

Though they're not especially insightful for punditry purposes, the AARP Movies for Grownups Awards have a special place in the season. If you've ever listened to the fabulous "This Had Oscar Buzz" podcast by Chris Feil and Joe Reid, you've undoubtedly heard of them and their distinctive tastes. Sometimes, the AARP Magazine offers choices that are good for a laugh. Still, there's obvious value in celebrating so-called movies for grownups within an industry that so often seems obsessed with youth – both as product and consumer. This year, Conclave and A Complete Unknown lead the nominations, with five a piece, closely followed by Gladiator II and September 5, with four, and Emilia Pérez with three. Come read their full lineup and some added commentary, after the jump…

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"Anora" leads the Gotham Nominations

by Cláudio Alves

ANORA seems poised to dominate the awards season.

Another year, another awards season. And, like it happens every fall, the Gotham Awards have the privilege of kicking the race into high gear. Unsurprisingly, Anora leads with four nominations, followed by Nickel Boys and I Saw the TV Glow with three nods a piece, though the latter failed to get a spot in the Best Feature category. Then again, it's worth remembering that the Gothams' nine categories are divided into five distinct committees with no overlap between them. The same people (critics, curators, editors, and programmers) who decide the Director and Screenplay nominees have no say in who makes it into the acting races, for example.

So, expect idiosyncrasies and don't put much stock in how some films appear in a couple of major categories but not others. More than a precursor for Oscar gold, these prizes often feel like an opportunity to highlight the richness of the cinematic year before the viable contenders get reduced to a limited lot. So, let's take a look at their selection…

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10 Questions about the Oscar race

by Nathaniel R

Every Oscar chart has been updated. Late October is always a strange time in the awards race. It's a time when most of the major players have surfaced (at festivals or screenings) but nobody has yet seen everything and no awards groups (beyond festival juries) have sorted and sifted through the abundance. Which means anything is still possible until the critics groups and awards org begin to narrow the focus of Academy voters in ways that tend to be both interesting and disheartening. They'll boost a couple of unexpected but worthy contenders into the conversation but at the same time their hive mind choices will pour abundant love on too few titles and starve other beauties of sunlight and water.

So as you peruse the charts, answer these ten questions in the comments...

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Cannes Diary: Best of the Fest from this 'Jury of One'

by Elisa Giudici

ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT © Cannes Film Festival

Cannes is coming to an end. In fact the closing awards ceremony begins less than four hours after this article's pubication. While we wait to finish reviewing all the films in competition and find out who will win the much-coveted Palme d'Or, it's time for A Jury of One...

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