The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced shortlists in 10 categories for the 94th Academy Awards®: Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject, International Feature Film, Makeup and Hairstyling, Music (Original Score), Music (Original Song), Animated Short Film, Live Action Short Film, Sound and Visual Effects.
NEON’s Flee is among the top animated films with five nominations for the 49th Annie Awards, celebrating animation in film, television. Flee is nominated for Best Indie Feature along with Belle, Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko, Pompo the Cinephile and The Summit of the Gods
The Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association voted the Western drama The Power of the Dog as the Best Film of 2021, according to the results of its 28th annual critics’ poll. The film also won the award for Best Actor for Benedict Cumberbatch, Best Supporting Actor for Kodi Smit-McPhee, along with Best Director and Best Screenplay for Jane Campion.
The Indiana Film Journalists Association named Mass as Best Film of the Year, along with Best Original Screenplay for Fran Kranz, the first-time writer/director who also was named Breakout of the Year, and Best Ensemble Acting for the cast of Reed Birney, Ann Dowd, Jason Isaacs and Martha Plimpton.
The Power of the Dog took Best Picture honors along with three other awards, leading a wide-ranging list of winners for the 2021 Utah Film Critics Association awards. The film was also recognized for Best Achievement in Directing by Jane Campion, Best Male Supporting Performance for Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Best Score for Jonny Greenwood.
The St. Louis Film Critics Association awarded Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza the honor of Best Film of 2021 along with Best Comedy Film. The Power of the Dog snagged the most honors, winning Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for Jane Campion; Best Supporting Actor for Kodi Smit-McPhee; and Best Cinematography.
Rebecca Hall’s Passing was awarded the honor of Best Movie About Women at the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC), 2021 awards, along with Best Screen Couple for Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson. The film based on Nella Larsen’s 1929 book, Passing, stars Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson as two light-skinned Black women, one of whom passes for white.
The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) named Drive My Car directed by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi as Best Picture of the Year, along with Best Screenplay. Other awards went to Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) for Best Documentary along with Best Editing; and Best Film Not in the English Language went to Petite Maman.
Portland Critics Association honored David Lowery’s The Green Knight with the award for Best Picture at their first annual awards. Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog picked up the other top honors, winning the award for Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Actor for Benedict Cumberbatch.
The Phoenix Critics Circle awarded their top honor of Best Picture of 2021 to The Power of Dog, along with Best Director for Jane Campion, Best Actor for Benedict Cumberbatch, Best Supporting Actress for Kirsten Dunst and Best Score. Other awards went to Licorice Pizza for Best Comedy Film, Titane for Best Horror Film, Drive My Car for Best Foreign Language Film and Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) for Best Documentary.
SFFILM presented its SF Honors Award for achievement in filmmaking to Award-winning Director Joe Wright’s Cyrano, the 124-year old drama reimagined as a musical by Screenwriter Erica Schmidt, starring Peter Dinklage, Haley Bennett, and Kelvin Harrison Jr. The film screened to a live audience, in partnership with UAR and MGM, at San Francisco’s famed Roxie Theater. The SF Honors Award was presented to the filmmakers and cast virtually ahead of their participation in live post-screening Q&A.
Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Memoria, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car, and Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir Part II took the top spots among films released in 2021 on Film Comment’s annual end-of-year survey. Of the films that screened at festivals worldwide but have not announced stateside distribution, Claire Simon’s I Want To Talk About Duras, Ted Fendt’s Outside Noise, and Kyoshi Sugita’s Haruhara-san’s Recorder received the top rankings.