2023 AWARD SEASON BEGINS

The 2023 award season has finally begun with several critics groups weighing on what each considers the best of the year. As always, this can vary wildly yet there are a few select films and performances that tends to appear somewhere in each group's list. But they also tend to find room to recognize films  under the radar that will greatly benefit from the attention.

Since 1975, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, comprised of L.A.-based professional film critics, honor screen excellence on both sides of the camera. This year, "The Zone of Interest" took the top prize from the LAFCA. This intense drama about an Auschwitz commandant and his family trying to live a comfortable life in their home next to a concentration camp also marked the return of the British filmmaker, Jonathan Glazer after a ten year absence, who received the Best Director award. This group does reveal the runners-up in each category and the acting categories are genderless but two winners are selected in each of them.

Here are the winners of the 2023 Los Angeles Film Critics Association:

Best Picture: "The Zone of Interest"
Best Director: Jonathan Glazer, "The Zone of Interest"
Best Screenplay: Andrew Haigh, "All of Us Strangers"
Best Lead Performance: Sandra Hüller, "Anatomy of a Fall" and "The Zone of Interest" and Emma Stone, "Poor Things"
Best Supporting Performance: Rachel McAdams, "Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret" and Da'Vine Joy Randolph, "The Holdovers"
Best Documentary/Nonfiction: "Menus-Paisirs – Les Troisgros"
Best Animation: "The Boy and the Heron"
Best Cinematography: Robbie Ryan, "Poor Things"
Best Editing: Laurent Sénéchal, "Anatomy of a Fall"
Best Production Design: Sarah Greenwood, "Barbie"
Best Music/Score: Mica Levi, "The Zone of Interest"
Career Achievement Award: Agnieszka Holland

The New York Film Critics Circle Awards annually make their selections to honor excellence in cinema worldwide. While the group chose "Killers of the Flower Moon", Scorsese's lengthy period drama, as their Best Film, the members of NYFCC spread the other awards around to honor "Oppenheimer", "The Holdovers", "May December" and an inspired Best Actor choice with Franz Rogowski for his amazing work in "Passages"

Here are the winners of the 2023 The New York Film Critics Circle:

Best Film: "Killers of the Flower Moon"
Best Director: Christopher Nolan, "Oppenheimer"
Best Screenplay: Samy Burch and Alex Mechanik, "May December"
Best Actress: Lily Gladstone, "Killers of the Flower Moon"
Best Actor: Franz Rogowski, "Passages"
Best Supporting Actress: Da'Vine Joy Randolph, "The Holdovers"
Best Supporting Actor: Charles Melton, "May December"
Best Cinematography: Hoyte Van Hoytema, "Oppenheimer"
Best International Film: "Anatomy of a Fall"
Best Non-Fiction Film: "Menus-Plaisirs — Les Troisgros"
Best Animated Feature Film: "The Boy and the Heron"
Best First Film: "Past Lives"

For over a hundred years the National Board of Review has been dedicated in its efforts to support cinema as both art and entertainment. This private organization of film enthusiasts, largely New York based, has been offering their selections for the best in cinema each Year. Usually the first of the critics groups to announce their picks but recently others have jumped ahead to try and be the first out the gate. This year, the NBR has selected Martin Scorsese's recent "Killers of the Flower Moon" as the big winner with Best Film, Best Director, Lily Gladstone as Best Actress and Rodrigo Prieto for his camerwork for this film and "Barbie". "The Holdovers" follows with three awards for Best Original Screenplay and Paul Giamatti and Da'Vine Joy Randolph for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress respectively.

Here are the winners of the 2023 National Board of Review:

Best Film: "Killers of the Flower Moon"
Best Director: Martin Scorsese, "Killers of the Flower Moon"
Best Original Screenplay: David Hemingson, "The Holdovers"
Best Adapted Screenplay: Tony McNamara, "Poor Things"
Best Actress: Lily Gladstone, "Killers of the Flower Moon"
Best Actor: Paul Giamatti, "The Holdovers"
Best Supporting Actress: Da'Vine Joy Randolph, "The Holdovers"
Best Supporting Actor: Mark Ruffalo, "Poor Things"
Best Ensemble: "The Iron Claw"
Best Documentary: "Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie"
Best International Film: "Anatomy of a Fall" (France)
Best Animated Feature: "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse"
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography: Rodrigo Prieto, "Barbie" and "Killers of the Flower Moon"
Outstanding Achievement in Stunt Artistry: Chad Stahelski, Director and Stephen Dunlevy & Scott Rogers, Stunt Coordinators, "John Wick: Chapter 4"
Best Directorial Debut: Celine Song, "Past Lives"
Breakthrough Performance: Teyana Taylor, "A Thousand and One"
NBR Icon Award: Bradley Cooper

And the nominations of the Film Independent Spirit Awards were announced with "Past Lives", "May December" and "American Fiction" each receiving five noms apiece. To be eligble for a Spirit Award, films must have a budget below $30 million, making many of the most buzzed about movies of this season unable to be recognized by this non-profit arts organization. The 39th Spirit Awards will be held on February 25, 2024 on the beach in Santa Monica, CA. hosted by Aidy Bryant. The awards will be streamed live on the IMDb and Film Independent YouTube channels.

Here are the nominations of the 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards (Film):

Best Feature:

"All of Us Strangers"
"American Fiction"
"May December"
"Passages"
"Past Lives"
"We Grown Now"

Best Director:

Andrew Haigh, "All of Us Strangers"
Todd Haynes, "May December"
William Oldroyd, "Eileen"
Ira Sachs, "Passages"
Celine Song, "Past Lives"

Best Screenplay:

David Hemingson, "The Holdovers"
Cord Jefferson, "American Fiction"
Laura Moss and Brendan J. O’Brien, "Birth/Rebirth"
Emma Seligman and Rachel Sennott, "Bottoms"
Celine Song, "Past Lives"

Best Lead Performance:

Jessica Chastain, "Memory"
Greta Lee, "Past Lives"
Trace Lysette, "Monica"
Natalie Portman, "May December"
Judy Reyes, "Birth/Rebirth"
Franz Rogowski, "Passages"
Andrew Scott, "All of Us Strangers"
Teyana Taylor, "A Thousand and One"
Jeffrey Wright, "American Fiction"
Teo Yoo, "Past Lives"

Best Supporting Performance:

Erika Alexander, "American Fiction"
Sterling K. Brown, "American Fiction"
Noah Galvin, "Theater Camp"
Anne Hathaway, "Eileen"
Glenn Howerton, "BlackBerry"
Marin Ireland, "Eileen"
Charles Melton, "May December"
Da'Vine Joy Randolph, "The Holdovers"
Catalina Saavedra, "Rotting in the Sun"
Ben Whishaw, "Passages"

Best Cinematography:

Katelin Arizmendi, "Monica"
Eigil Bryld, "The Holdovers"
Jomo Fray, "All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt"
Pablo Lozano, "Chronicles of a Wandering Saint"
Pat Scola, "We Grown Now"

Best Editing:

Santiago Cendejas, Gabriel Díaz and Sofía Subercaseaux, "Rotting in the Sun"
Stephanie Filo, "We Grown Now"
Daniel Garber, "How to Blow Up a Pipeline"
Jon Philpot, "Theater Camp"
Emanuele Tiziani, "Upon Entry"

Best Documentary:

"Bye Bye Tiberias"
"Four Daughters"
"Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project"
"Kokomo City"
"The Mother of All Lies"

Best International Film:

"Anatomy of a Fall" (France)
"Godland" (Denmark/Iceland)
"Mami Wata" (Nigeria)
"Tótem" (Mexico)
"The Zone of Interest" (United Kingdom, Poland)

Best First Feature:

"All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt"
"Chronicles of a Wandering Saint"
"Earth Mama"
"A Thousand and One"
"Upon Entry"

Best First Screenplay:

Samy Burch; Story by Samy Burch, Alex Mechanik, "May December"
Noah Galvin, Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman and Ben Platt, "Theater Camp"
Tomás Gómez Bustillo, "Chronicles of a Wandering Saint"
Laurel Parmet, "The Starling Girl"

Best Breakthrough Performance:

Marshawn Lynch, "Bottoms"
Atibon Nazaire, "Mountains"
Tia Nomore, "Earth Mama"
Dominic Sessa, "The Holdovers"
Anaita Wali Zada, "Fremont"
Alejandro Rojas and Juan Sebastián Vásquez, "Upon Entry"

John Cassavetes Award (Given to the best feature made for under $1,000,000):

"The Artifice Girl"
"Cadejo Blanco"
"Fremont"
"Rotting in the Sun" "The Unknown Country"

Someone To Watch (Recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition):

Joanna Arnow, "The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed"
Laura Moss, "Birth/Rebirth"
Monica Sorelle, "Mountains"

Truer Than Fiction Award (Presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition):

Set Hernandez, "unseen"
Jesse Short Bull and Laura Tomaselli, "Lakota Nation vs. United States"
Sierra Urich, "Joonam"

Robert Altman Award (Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast):

"Showing Up"