Tag: SEFCA

Categories
Film Features Film/TV

Southeastern Film Critic’s Association Names 2024 Award Winners

Mark Eydelshteyn and Mikey Madison in Anora. (Courtesy Neon)

Eighty members of the Southeastern Film Critic’s Association have voted Anora as the best film of 2024. The organization polls its members, including this columnist, annually to determine the 10 best films of the year, and award outstanding acting performances, as well as awards for writing and directing.

It was a contentious year for the critics.The closest category in this year’s balloting was for Best Documentary. With only two ballots left to be tabulated, the category was a three-way tie between Will & Harper, Sugarcane, and Super/Man the Christopher Reeve Story. When the final two votes were added, Sugarcane, an investigation into the Canadian Indian residential school system by directors Julian Brave, NoiseCat, and Emily Cassie, took the crown.

Another close result resulted in Jane Schoenbrun’s I Saw The TV Glow just missing the top 10. The acclaimed A24 film about a TV show’s increasingly creepy fandom was narrowly edged out by James Mangold’s Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown, which hits theaters on Christmas Day.

“Every year we hear from the naysaying sectors of the industry that it wasn’t a very good year for film,” says Scott Phillips, President of SEFCA and writer for Forbes.com. “This slate of winners easily disproves that statement for 2024.

“Between theatrical distribution and streaming, releases can be a bit scattered and hard to find, but if you take the time to find the better films of 2024, they form a potent lineup. We hope that film fans out there can use our Top 10 list to catch up on some of the best that 2024 had to offer.”

Look for my Best of 2024 in next week’s issue of the Memphis Flyer. Meanwhile, here are the complete results of the SEFCA’s poll.

SEFCA’s Top 10 Films of 2024

  1. Anora
  2. The Brutalist
  3. Conclave
  4. Dune Part 2
  5. Challengers
  6. Nickel Boys
  7. Sing Sing
  8. Wicked
  9. The Substance
  10. A Complete Unknown
    Runner-Up: I Saw the TV Glow

Best Actor
Winner: Adrian Brody, The Brutalist
Runner-Up: Colman Domingo, Sing Sing

Best Actress
Winner: Mikey Madison, Anora
Runner-Up: Demi Moore, The Substance

Best Supporting Actor 
Winner: Guy Pearce, The Brutalist
Runner-Up: Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain

Best Supporting Actress:
Winner: Ariana Grande, Wicked
Runner-up: Zoe Saldana, Emilia Perez

Best Ensemble
Winner: Conclave
Runner-Up: Sing Sing

Best Director
Winner: Brady Corbet, The Brutalist
Runner-Up: Sean Baker, Anora

Best Original Screenplay
Winner: Sean Baker, Anora
Runner-Up: Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold, The Brutalist
 
Best Adapted Screenplay
Winner: Peter Straughan, Conclave
Runner-Up: RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes, Nickel Boys

Best Documentary
Winner: Sugarcane
Runner-Up: Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story

Best Animated Film
Winner: The Wild Robot
Runner-Up: Flow

Best Foreign Language Film
Winner: Emilia Perez
Runner-Up: The Seed of the Sacred Fig

Best Cinematography
Winner: Grieg Fraser, Dune Part 2
Runner-Up: Jarin Blaschke, Nosferatu

Best Score
Winner: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Challengers
Runner-Up: Daniel Blumberg, The Brutalist

Categories
Film Features Film/TV

Southeastern Film Critic’s Association Names Best Films of 2022

Michelle Yeoh

Everything Everywhere All At Once emerged as the best picture of 2022 in the annual poll of the 84 members of the Southeastern Film Critic’s Association (SEFCA), which includes this columnist. Michelle Yeoh was tapped as Best Actress for her role in the film as a failing laundrymat owner who is unexpectedly thrust into a multiverse adventure, Key Huy Quan won Best Supporting Actor for playing several versions of Yeoh’s longsuffering husband, and Daniel Kwan & Daniel Sheinert beat out runner-up Steven Spielberg for Best Director.

“Personally, I am thrilled SEFCA recognized Everything Everywhere All at Once in so many categories,” says SEFCA President Matt Goldberg. “As film critics, one of the best things we can do is celebrate films that push the boundaries of narrative and genre. We hope that our voice can pull in viewers who may not normally check out a film where two women with hot dog fingers figure out their relationship. As strange as the film can be, its core message of embracing the richness of our relationships in the face of nihilistic apathy will endure far beyond this year’s award season.”

Here are the full results from the SEFCA poll:

Top 10 Films

1.     Everything Everywhere All at Once

2.     The Banshees of Inisherin

3.     The Fabelmans

4.     Tár

5.     Top Gun: Maverick

6.     RRR

7.     Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

8.     Women Talking

9.     Nope

10.  The Batman

Best Actor

Winner: Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin

Runner-Up: Brendan Fraser, The Whale

Best Actress

Winner: Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Runner-Up: Cate Blanchett, Tár

Best Supporting Actor: 

Winner: Key Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Runner-Up: Brendan Gleeson, The Banshees of Inisherin

Best Supporting Actress:

Winner: Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin

Runner-Up: Stephanie Hsu, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Ensemble:

Winner: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Runner-Up: Women Talking

Best Director

Winner: Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Runner-Up: Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans

Best Original Screenplay

Winner: Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Runner-Up: Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin

Best Adapted Screenplay

Winner: Sarah Polley, Women Talking

Runner-Up: Rian Johnson, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Best Documentary

Winner: Fire of Love

Runner-Up: Good Night Oppy

Best Foreign-Language Film

Winner: RRR

Runner-Up: Decision to Leave

Best Animated Film

Winner: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

Runner-Up: Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

Best Cinematography

Winner: Claudio Miranda, Top Gun: Maverick

Runner-Up: Janusz Kaminski, The Fabelmans

Best Score

Winner: Michael Giacchino, The Batman

Runner-Up: John Williams, The Fabelmans

The Gene Wyatt Award (Film That Best Evokes the Spirit of the South)

Winner: Elvis

Runner-Up: Till

Categories
Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Nomadland Wins Five Southeastern Film Critic’s Association Awards

Francis McDormond won the SEFCA’s Best Actress award for her performance in Nomadland.

The Southeastern Film Critic’s Association (SEFCA) has released the results of their annual members’ poll of the best films of the year. The big winner was Nomadland, which topped the list of best films released between January 1, 2020 and Feb. 15 2021—an extended voting period due to COVID pandemic-related delays. The film also earned the Best Actress award for Francis McDormand, Best Director for Chloé Zhao, Best Cinematography for Joshua James Richards, and Best Adapted Screenplay for Zhao. The film, in which McDormand plays a van-dwelling itinerant worker in the American west, is currently playing in Memphis theaters and available on Hulu. “Nomadland was an overwhelming favorite among our members in this year’s award season,” says SEFCA president Matt Goldberg. “It’s clear that Zhao’s thoughtful, deeply humanistic, and heartfelt portrait of life at the fringes of our country connected with our members across the Southeast, and it is our pleasure to name it the Best Film of 2020.”

Youn Yuh-jung (center) won the SEFCA’s Best Supporting Actress award for Minari.

The #2 film Minari took home three trophies, including Best Original Screenplay for writer/director Lee Issac Chung, Best Supporting Actress for Youn Yuh-jung, and the Gene Wyatt Award, dedicated to the film that best embodies the spirit of the South. Minari is director Chung’s semi-autobiographical story of growing up as a Korean immigrant to rural Arkansas in the 1980s.

Best Actor went to Chadwick Boseman for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Boseman, famous for his role as Black Panther, was suffering from terminal cancer when he portrayed a volatile trumpeter in the jazz-era saga. The Best Ensemble acting award went to The Trial of the Chicago 7, and Sacha Baron Cohen won Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Abbie Hoffman in Aaron Sorkin’s historical drama.

The SEFCA first began polling their members for their annual awards in 1992. Here is the complete list of this year’s recipients.

Top Ten Films of 2020
1. Nomadland
2. Minari
3. The Trial of the Chicago 7
4. Promising Young Woman
5. Sound of Metal
6. One Night in Miami...
7. Da 5 Bloods
8. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
9. Soul
10. Mank

Best Actor
Winner: Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Runner-Up: Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal

Best Actress
Winner: Frances McDormand, Nomadland
Runner-Up: Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman

Best Supporting Actor
Winner: Sacha Baron Cohen, The Trial of the Chicago 7
Runner-Up: Paul Raci, Sound of Metal

Best Supporting Actress
Winner: Youn Yuh-jung, Minari
Runner-Up: Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Best Ensemble
Winner: The Trial of the Chicago 7
Runner-Up: One Night in Miami…

Best Director
Winner: Chloé Zhao, Nomadland
Runner-Up: Regina King, One Night in Miami…

Best Original Screenplay
Winner: Lee Isaac Chung, Minari
Runner-Up: Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman

Best Adapted Screenplay
Winner: Chloé Zhao, Nomadland
Runner-Up: Kemp Powers, One Night in Miami…

Best Documentary
Winner: Time
Runner-Up: Dick Johnson Is Dead

Best Foreign-Language Film
Winner: Another Round
Runner-Up: Bacurau

Best Animated Film
Winner: Soul
Runner-Up: Wolfwalkers

Best Cinematography
Winner: Joshua James Richards, Nomadland
Runner-Up: Erik Messerschmidt, Mank

The Gene Wyatt Award
Winner: Minari
Runner-Up: One Night in Miami…

Categories
Sing All Kinds We Recommend

Argo Leads Southeastern Film Critics Association’s Annual Awards

The Southeastern Film Critics Association, which comprises 47 members in nine Southern states, including, locally, myself and the Commercial Appeal‘s John Beifuss, has announced its winners for 2012.

Argo leads the way, topping the overall Top Ten and winning Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. Second place Zero Dark Thirty, scheduled to open in Memphis on January 11th, finished second in the Best Picture race and was runner-up in three other categories — Director (Kathryn Bigelow), Actress (Jessica Chastain), and Original Screenplay.

Ben Afflecks Argo tops the Southeastern Film Critics awards for 2012.

  • Ben Affleck’s Argo tops the Southeastern Film Critics awards for 2012.

Third place finisher Lincoln also took top honors for Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis) and Best Ensemble, while finishing second in Supporting Actor (Tommy Lee Jones) and Supporting Actress (Sally Field), as well as Adapted Screenplay.

The Louisiana-set indie Beasts of the Southern Wild, which finished sixth overall, won the organization’s annual Wyatt Award for best Southern-themed film.

I’m going to hold off on revealing my SEFCA ballot until after my own year-end picks are revealed at the end of the month, but for now I will say that I voted for exactly half of the SEFCA Top Ten.

Full results:

2012 SEFCA AWARD RESULTS
TOP TEN

1.    Argo 
2.    Zero Dark Thirty 
3.    Lincoln 
4.    Moonrise Kingdom 
5.    Silver Linings Playbook 
6.    Beasts of the Southern Wild 
7.    The Master 
8.    Les Misérables 
9.    Life of Pi 
10.    The Dark Knight Rises