Massive Awards Roundup: "Movies for Grown-Ups", EFA, BIFA, Astra

by Nathaniel R

Image of the nominees for BIFA's "INTERNATIONAL INDEPENDENT FILM", all but one of which are also up for the top prize at EFA

The Thanksgiving holidays are typically the busiest screening times for awards voters who aren't Academy members. Many of the big mainstream groups as well as the regional critics awards will be cramming movies in before their December announcements. (Academy voters can of course wait for the Christmas break to catch up before their ballots are due) Naturally then some groups vote yet earlier than Thanksgiving because so many love to be "first" and December is all-announcements-all-the-time. So here are four groups that announced in November: BIFA, EFA, AARP, and HCA. Given their different purviews (British Films, European Films, mostly American Films with a focus on film artists of a certain age, mostly American films with a focus on Oscar buzz) there's not a ton of overlap across all four. But the two buzziest International Oscar contenders Sentimental Value and It Was Just An Accident  were honored by all four groups even if it was just a single nomination from BIFA for both).

Let's start with the 50+ set before moving to Europe and back to Hollywood...

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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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Ireland's "Kneecap" leads the BIFA nominations

by Cláudio Alves

In a fascinating turn of events, the official Oscar submission from Ireland is the most nominated film at the British Independent Film Awards. Kneecap, a comedy about the homonymous Belfast hip-hop group, scored a grand total of 14 nods, including five for its director, Rich Peppiatt. In the second place, we find Rose Glass's Saint Maud follow-up, Love Lies Bleeding. A thriller flirting with body horror, it nabbed 12 honors. Coming in third, there's The Outrun which continues to grow its awards season profile. The Scottish drama scored nine nominations overall, but its best bet is probably Best Actress, where Saoirse Ronan is aiming for gold. If things go according to Sony Picture Classic's plans, the film might add an Oscar nomination to its bounty before the season's over…

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Friday Awards Wrap-Up: BIFA, AFI, and more!

by Cláudio Alves

With the awards race heating up, there's much to discuss. Maybe too much. Da'Vine Joy Randolph is proving a sweeper in Best Supporting Actress, taking every single one of those awards so far. Her The Holdovers costar, Paul Giamatti, is also doing well for himself, somehow scoring better results than some of the supposed Oscar frontrunners. Then there's Lily Gladstone taking the lead in Best Actress, while Killers of the Flower Moon adds some more victories to go alongside its NYFCC wins. The Color Purple has struggled to make an impression, but that might be due to late screenings, while Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is making a good case for itself as a Best Picture contender. 

In any case, here's a small compendium of prizes and top ten announcements from this week, plus some additional commentary…

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BIFA worships "Aftersun". Do you?

by Nathaniel R

Aftersun

The British Independent Film Awards were not in much of a sharing mood this season, showering most of their awards upon Charlotte Wells critically-acclaimed memoir Aftersun. The beautiful mood piece took seven of their prizes in total. Its fans are truly passionate. Do you count yourself among them? And if you haven't seen it yet, make sure to do so if it's playing in a theater near you. Despite its dominance, three other films managed multiple wins with the lesbian school drama Blue Jean picking up both main acting prizes and casting, the documentary about Sinéad O'Connor, Nothing Compares, receiving two awards, and the UK's current Oscar submission Winners also nabbing prizes. (Nothing Compares is streaming on Showtime and Blue Jean will be released next year in the US by Magnolia. There's no word yet on a US release for Winners)

Though Aftersun also took prizes for its cinematography and editing, it didn't win all the craft prizes making room for a few other films to emerge as winners, too. Complete winners list after the jump. Links to go our coverage of the films...

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