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.
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.
“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.
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.
Joe Wright’s Cyrano was named Best Picture of 2021 by the Detroit Film Critics Society along with Best Actor for Peter Dinklage. Best Actress honors went to Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye. In other categories, Flee and Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) tied for Best Documentary.
Licorice Pizza, a coming-of-age drama set in the San Fernando Valley of the Seventies from Paul Thomas Anderson, was named Best Picture of 2021 by Atlanta Film Critics Circle.
The New York Film Critics Circle named Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car, the Best Film of 2021, however, the Power of the Dog was the big winner taking the honor of Best Director for Jane Campion, Best Actor for Benedict Cumberbatch and Best Supporting Actor for Kodi Smit-McPhee.
The National Board of Review announced their 2021 honorees, with top awards including Licorice Pizza for Best Film; Paul Thomas Anderson for Best Director for Licorice Pizza; Will Smith for Best Actor for King Richard; and Rachel Zegler for Best Actress for West Side Story.
MGM released the official trailer for Licorice Pizza, the coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, that tracks the treacherous navigation of first love.