Academy Award® winning actress Nicole Kidman will receive the Career Achievement Award at the Palm Springs International Film Awards for her performance in Being the Ricardos. The Film Awards will take place in-person on January 6, 2022 at the Palm Springs Convention Center, with the festival running through January 17, 2022.
Beanie Feldstein, Regina Hall and Naomi Watts announced the nominations for the 2022 Film Independent Spirit Awards. Zola lead the field with 7 nominations including Best Feature, Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Female Lead and Best Supporting Male. The Novice scored 5 nominations including Best Feature, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Female Lead and Best Supporting Female.
Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced the annual selection of 25 movies to be inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress for 2021. Selected for their cultural, historic or aesthetic importance to preserve the nation’s film heritage, the newest selections include major roles for Jennifer Lopez and Cicely Tyson, extraordinary animated features, comedy and music, and films that took on racially-motivated violence against people of color decades ago.
Kino Lorber released the official trailer for Brighton 4, Georgia’s Official Submission to the 94th Academy Awards; and winner of Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Actor at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival. Directed by Levan Koguashvil, the film tells the story of Kakhi, a Georgian ex-wrestler who travels from Tbilisi to Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, to help his son Soso find a way out of a gambling debt.
The Jewish Museum and Film at Lincoln Center will present the 31st annual New York Jewish Film Festival (NYJFF) in person and virtually from January 12 through 25, 2022. The NYJFF lineup showcases 33 wide-ranging and exciting features and shorts (24 features and nine shorts), including the latest works by dynamic voices in international cinema, as well as the world premiere of a new 4K restoration of the 1984 film Kaddish by Steve Brand.
Johnny Depp stars as W. Eugene Smith, the American photographer who documented the effects of mercury poisoning on the citizens of Minamata, Kumamoto, Japan, in the film Minamata, directed by Andrew Levitas. Also starring in the film are Hiroyuki Sanada, Tadanobu Asano, Katherine Jenkins, Jun Kunimura, Lily Robinson, Ryo Kase, Akiko Iwase, Minami, and Bill Nighy.
Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast took Best Picture honors, and Branagh won for Best Director and Best Screenplay, in the Phoenix Film Critic’s Society’s 2021 awards. The film also captured awards for Ciaran Hinds for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and for Jude Hill for Best Performance by a Youth. With five wins, Belfast tied with Dune for the most honored film of the year.
The Power of the Dog was named the Best Picture of 2021 by the Southeastern Film Critics Association, along with Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for Jane Campion, Best Actor for Benedict Cumberbatch, Best Supporting Actor for Kodi Smit-McPhee and Best Supporting Actress for Kirsten Dunst. This is the second time a film directed by Jane Campion has won Best Picture and Best Director as SEFCA also recognized her film The Piano in 1993.
“Belfast” along with “West Side Story” lead this year’s film contenders for the 27th Annual Critics Choice Awards, earning eleven nominations each. In addition to Best Picture, “Belfast” racked up several acting nominations including Best Supporting Actor nods for both Jamie Dornan and Ciarán Hinds, Best Supporting Actress for Caitríona Balfe, Best Young Actor/Actress for Jude Hill, and Best Acting Ensemble, while Kenneth Branagh could take home both the Best Director and Best Original Screenplay trophies. “Belfast” also earned nominations for Haris Zambarloukos for Best Cinematography, Jim Clay and Claire Nia Richards for Best Production Design, and Úna Ní Dhonghaíle for Best Editing.
The Philadelphia Film Critics Circle named Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog the Best Film of 2021 at its fifth annual year-end awards. The Power of the Dog received six award including Best Director and Best Script (both for Jane Campion), Best Actor (Benedict Cumberbatch), Best Supporting Actor (for Kodi Smit-McPhee) and Best Soundtrack/Score (for Johnny Greenwood.)
Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast and Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog lead the nominations for the 79th Annual Golden Globe Awards, with seven nominations each, including Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director.
The Boston Online Film Critics Association (BOFCA) loved Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog, awarding the film top honors in an impressive 7 categories including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay for Campion, Best Cinematography, Best Actor for Benedict Cumberbatch, Best Supporting Actor for Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Best Supporting Actress for Kirsten Dunst.