The Alliance of Women Film Journalists have announced that their pick for the best of 2020 is Nomadland. Just as the AWFJ did with their nominations, they announced the winners in an exclusive for Variety. Fear not, though — my picks for the best of 2020 will be released exclusively to this site. Two can play at this game.
(I joke, of course. Ever since Clayton Davis took over, Variety’s Oscar coverage has been wonderful and the AWFJ deserves a lot of credit for having categories that are a bit more interesting than the usual stuff.)
Anyway, here’s the winners!
AWFJ BEST OF AWARDS
(These awards are presented to women and/or men without gender consideration)
Best Film
- “Minari” (A24)
- “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” (Focus Features)
- “Nomadland” (Searchlight Pictures) – WINNER
- “One Night in Miami” (Amazon Studios)
- “Promising Young Woman” (Focus Features)
- “The Trial of the Chicago 7” (Netflix)
Best Director
- Emerald Fennell, “Promising Young Woman” (Focus Features)
- Regina King, “One Night in Miami” (Amazon Studios)
- Kelly Reichardt, “First Cow” (A24)
- Aaron Sorkin, “The Trial of the Chicago 7” (Netflix)
- Chloé Zhao, “Nomadland” (Searchlight Pictures) – WINNER
Best Actor
- Riz Ahmed, “Sound of Metal” (Amazon Studios)
- Chadwick Boseman, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” (Netflix) – WINNER
- Delroy Lindo, “Da 5 Bloods” (Netflix)
Best Actress
- Viola Davis, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” (Netflix)
- Vanessa Kirby, “Pieces of a Woman” (Netflix)
- Frances McDormand, “Nomadland” (Searchlight Pictures) – WINNER
- Carey Mulligan, “Promising Young Woman” (Focus Features)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
- Sacha Baron Cohen, “The Trial of the Chicago 7” (Netflix)
- Bill Murray, “On the Rocks” (A24/Apple TV Plus)
- Leslie Odom Jr, “One Night in Miami” (Amazon Studios) – WINNER
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
- Maria Bakalova, “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” (Amazon Studios)
- Ellen Burstyn, “Pieces of a Woman” (Netflix)
- Amanda Seyfried, “Mank” (Netflix)
- Yuh-Jung Youn, “Minari” (A24) – WINNER
Best Screenplay, Original
- “Mank” (Netflix) – Jack Fincher
- “Promising Young Woman” (Focus Features) – Emerald Fennell – WINNER
- “The Trial of the Chicago 7” (Netflix) – Aaron Sorkin
Best Screenplay, Adapted
- “First Cow” (A24) – Kelly Reichardt and Jonathan Raymond
- “Nomadland” (Searchlight Pictures) – Chloé Zhao – WINNER
- “One Night in Miami” (Amazon Studios) – Kemp Powers
Best Animated Film
- “Over the Moon” (Netflix)
- “Soul” (Pixar) – WINNER
- “Wolfwalkers” (Apple TV Plus/GKIDS)
Best Cinematography
- “Mank” (Netflix) – Erik Messerschmidt
- “Nomadland” (Searchlight Pictures) – Joshua James Richards – WINNER
- “One Night in Miami” (Amazon Studios) – Tami Reiker
Best Editing
- “One Night in Miami” (Amazon Studios) – Tariq Anwar
- “Nomadland” (Searchlight Pictures) – Chloé Zhao – WINNER
- “The Trial of the Chicago 7” (Netflix) – Alan Baumgarten
Best Documentary
- “All In: The Fight for Democracy” (Amazon Studios) – WINNER (tie)
- “Athlete A” (Netflix)
- “Crip Camp” (Netflix)
- “The Painter and the Thief” (Neon) – WINNER (tie)
- “Time” (Amazon Studios)
Best Non-English-Language Film
- “Another Round” – Denmark – WINNER
- “Beanpole” – Russia
- “The Mole Agent” – Chile
- “The Painted Bird” – Czech Republic
Best Ensemble Cast – Casting Director
- “Da 5 Bloods” (Netflix) – Kim Coleman
- “One Night in Miami” (Amazon Studios) – Kimberly Hardin – WINNER (tie)
- “The Trial of the Chicago 7” (Netflix) – Francine Maisler – WINNER (tie)
EDA FEMALE FOCUS AWARDS
(These awards honor WOMEN only, excluding women who’ve won the category in the Best Of Awards.
Best Woman Director
- Emerald Fennell, “Promising Young Woman” (Focus Features) – WINNER
- Eliza Hittman, “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” (Focus Features)
- Regina King, “One Night in Miami” (Amazon Studios)
- Channing Godfrey Peoples, “Miss Juneteenth” (Vertical Entertainment)
- Kelly Reichardt, “First Cow” (A24)
- Chloé Zhao, “Nomadland” (Searchlight Pictures)
Best Woman Screenwriter
- Radha Blank, “The Forty-Year-Old Version” (Netflix) – WINNER
- Emerald Fennell, “Promising Young Woman” (Focus Features)
- Eliza Hittman, “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” (Focus Features)
- Chloé Zhao, “Nomadland” (Searchlight Pictures)
Best Animated Female
- “22” in “Soul” (Pixar) – portrayed by Tina Fey – WINNER
- “Mebh Óg MacTíre” in “Wolfwalkers” (Apple TV Plus/GKIDS) – portrayed by Eva Whittaker
- “Robyn Goodfellowe” in “Wolfwalkers” (Apple TV Plus/GKIDS) – portrayed by Honor Kneafsey
Best Woman’s Breakthrough Performance
- Radha Blank, “The Forty-Year-Old Version” (Netflix)
- Sidney Flanigan, “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” (Focus Features) – WINNER
- Helena Zengel, “News of the World” (Universal Pictures)
Outstanding Achievement by a Woman in the Film Industry
- All female heads of film festivals who successfully transitioned from live to online events to sustain festival culture through the pandemic.
- All indie female writers and directors who normalized abortion as a vital element in the cultural conversation in films such as “Saint Frances,” “Never Rarely Sometimes Always,” “Sister of the Groom,” “Once Upon a River,” The Glorias” and others. – WINNER
- Emerald Fennell for creating a film that forces empathy to put an end to the toxic sexist rape culture pervasive through modern history.
- Sophia Loren for a brilliant comeback at age 86 in “The Life Ahead,” the latest in her record-setting career. Loren won a Best Actress Oscar in 1962 for “Two Women” and was the first actor to win for a foreign language movie. She was also nominated in 1965 for “Marriage Italian Style.” If she’s nominated in 2021, it will be a 56-year span between her two most recent nominations – the current record is held by Henry Fonda, who had a 41-year gap between nominations.
EDA SPECIAL MENTION AWARDS
Grand Dame Award for defying ageism.
- Ellen Burstyn, “Pieces of a Woman” (Netflix)
- Tsai Chin, “Lucky Grandma” (Good Deed Entertainment)
- Sophia Loren, “The Life Ahead” (Netflix) – WINNER
- Frances McDormand, “Nomadland” (Searchlight Pictures)
Most Egregious Lovers’ Age Difference Award
- “The Burnt Orange Heresy” (Sony Pictures Classics) – Elizabeth Debicki and Claes Bang (23 years)
- “Devil All the Time” (Netflix) – Riley Keough and Jason Clarke (20 years)
- “Mank” – Amanda Seyfried and Charles Dance (39 years), Gary Oldman (27 years)
- “Tenet” – Elizabeth Debicki and Kenneth Branagh (30 years) – WINNER
She Deserves A New Agent Award
- Rose Byrne, “Like a Boss” (Paramount Pictures)
- Tiffany Haddish, “Like a Boss” (Paramount Pictures)
- Katie Holmes, “Dare to Dream” (Gravitas Ventures)
- Uma Thurman, “The War with Grandpa” (101 Studios) – WINNER
Most Daring Performance Award
- Maria Bakalova, “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm’ (Amazon Studios) – WINNER
- Haley Bennett, “Swallow” (IFC Films)
- Vanessa Kirby, “Pieces of a Woman” (Netflix)
- Elisabeth Moss, “The Invisible Man” (Universal Pictures)
- Carey Mulligan, “Promising Young Woman” (Focus Features)
Time Waster Remake or Sequel Award
- “The Croods: A New Age” (DreamWorks Animation)
- “Doolittle” (Universal Pictures) – WINNER
- “Rebecca” (Netflix)
