Here Are The 2025 Spirit Nominations

Posted on December 3, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Independent Spirit Nominations were announced earlier today. As always, one should take the Spirit Awards with a grain of salt as a lot of the current Oscar contenders — like One Battle After Another and Hamnet — are not eligible for the Spirit Awards. That said, Train Dreams is an Oscar contender that is eligible for the Spirit Awards and it had a fairly nice showing today. I should also note that Peter Hujar’s Day received the most film nominations, with five.

Film Categories

BEST FEATURE (Award given to the producer)

Peter Hujar’s Day
Producers: Jonah Disend, Jordan Drake

The Plague
Producers: Derek Dauchy, Joel Edgerton, Roy Lee, Lucy McKendrick, Steven Schneider, Lizzie Shapiro

Sorry, Baby
Producers: Mark Ceryak, Barry Jenkins, Adele Romanski

Train Dreams
Producers: Michael Heimler, Will Janowitz, Marissa McMahon, Ashley Schlaifer, Teddy Schwarzman

Twinless
Producers: David Permut, James Sweeney

BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to director and producer)

Blue Sun Palace
Director: Constance Tsang
Producers: Sally Sujin Oh, Eli Raskin, Tony Yang

Dust Bunny
Director/Producer: Bryan Fuller
Producers: Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee

East of Wall
Director/Producer: Kate Beecroft
Producers: Shannon Moss, Melanie Ramsayer, Lila Yacoub

Lurker
Director: Alex Russell
Producers: Galen Core, Archie Madekwe, Marc Marrie, Charlie McDowell, Francesco Melzi D’Eril, Duncan Montgomery, Alex Orlovsky, Olmo Schnabel, Jack Selby

One of Them Days
Director: Lawrence Lamont
Producers: Deniese Davis, Poppy Hanks, James Lopez, Issa Rae, Sara Rastogi

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD – Given to the best feature made for under $1,000,000 (Award given to the writer, director and producer)

The Baltimorons
Director/Writer/Producer: Jay Duplass
Writer/Producer: Michael Strassner
Producers: David Bonnett Jr., Drew Langer

Boys Go to Jupiter
Director/Writer: Julian Glander

Eephus
Director/Writer/Producer: Carson Lund
Writer/Producer: Michael Basta
Writer: Nate Fisher
Producers: David Entin, Tyler Taormina

Esta Isla (This Island)
Directors/Writers/Producers: Cristian Carretero, Lorraine Jones Molina
Writer: Kisha Tikina Burgos

Familiar Touch
Director/Writer/Producer: Sarah Friedland
Producers: Alexandra Byer, Matthew Thurm

BEST DIRECTOR

Clint Bentley
Train Dreams

Mary Bronstein
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You

Lloyd Lee Choi
Lucky Lu

Ira Sachs
Peter Hujar’s Day

Eva Victor
Sorry, Baby

BEST SCREENPLAY

Michael Angelo Covino, Kyle Marvin
Splitsville

Angus MacLachlan
A Little Prayer

James Sweeney
Twinless

Christian Swegal
Sovereign

Eva Victor
Sorry, Baby

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

Andrew DeYoung
Friendship

Elena Oxman
Outerlands

Alex Russell
Lurker

Syreeta Singleton
One of Them Days

Constance Tsang
Blue Sun Palace

BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE

Everett Blunck
The Plague

Rose Byrne
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You

Kathleen Chalfant
Familiar Touch

Chang Chen
Lucky Lu

Joel Edgerton
Train Dreams

Dylan O’Brien
Twinless

Keke Palmer
One of Them Days

Théodore Pellerin
Lurker

Tessa Thompson
Hedda

Ben Whishaw
Peter Hujar’s Day

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE

Naomi Ackie
Sorry, Baby

Zoey Deutch
Nouvelle Vague

Kirsten Dunst
Roofman

Rebecca Hall
Peter Hujar’s Day

Nina Hoss
Hedda

Jane Levy
A Little Prayer

Archie Madekwe
Lurker

Kali Reis
Rebuilding

Jacob Tremblay
Sovereign

Haipeng Xu
Blue Sun Palace

BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE

Liz Larsen
The Baltimorons

Misha Osherovich
She’s the He

Kayo Martin
The Plague

SZA
One of Them Days

Tabatha Zimiga
East of Wall

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Alex Ashe
Peter Hujar’s Day

Norm Li
Blue Sun Palace

David J. Thompson
Warfare

Adolpho Veloso
Train Dreams

Nicole Hirsch Whitaker
Dust Bunny

BEST EDITING

Ben Leonberg
Good Boy

Carson Lund
Eephus

Fin Oates
Warfare

Sara Shaw
Splitsville

Sofía Subercaseaux
The Testament of Ann Lee

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast

The Long Walk
Director: Francis Lawrence
Casting Director: Rich Delia
Ensemble Cast: Judy Greer, Mark Hamill, Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Tut Nyuot, Joshua Odjick, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Garrett Wareing

BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)

Come See Me in the Good Light
Director/Producer: Ryan White
Producers: Jessica Hargrave, Tig Notaro, Stef Willen

Endless Cookie
Director: Peter Scriver
Director/Producer: Seth Scriver
Producers: Dan Bekerman, Alex Ordanis, Jason Ryle, Chris Yurkovich

My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow
Director/Producer: Julia Loktev

The Perfect Neighbor
Director/Producer: Geeta Gandbhir
Producers: Sam Bisbee, Nikon Kwantu, Alisa Payne

The Tale of Silyan
Director/Producer: Tamara Kotevska
Producers: Jean Dakar, Anna Hashmi, Jordanco Petkovski

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)

All That’s Left of You
Palestine, Jordan, Germany, Cyprus
Director: Cherien Dabis

On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
Zambia, UK, Ireland
Director: Rungano Nyoni

A Poet
Colombia
Director: Simón Mesa Soto

The Secret Agent
Brazil
Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho

Sirāt
Spain
Director: Oliver Laxe

Emerging Filmmaker Awards

PRODUCERS AWARD – The Producers Award, now in its 29th year, honors an emerging producer who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrates the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality independent films. This award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.

Emma Hannaway

Luca Intili

Tony Yang

SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The Someone to Watch Award, now in its 32nd year, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. This award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.

Tatti Ribeiro
Director of Valentina

Neo Sora
Director of Happyend

Annapurna Sriram
Director of Fucktoys

TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The Truer Than Fiction Award, now in its 31st year, is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. This award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.

Tony Benna
Director of André is an Idiot

Rajee Samarasinghe
Director of Your Touch Makes Others Invisible

Brittany Shyne
Director of Seeds

The Gothams Honor One Battle After Another

Posted on December 2, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Last night, Awards Season began with the Gotham Awards! One Battle After Another, which I really don’t want to have to sit through but I guess now I have no choice, won Best Feature. (Oddly enough, that was the only award that One Battle After Another won, suggesting that the award had more to do with the film’s politics than its quality.) Far more interesting is the fact that Iranian dissident (who is facing prison if he even returns to his native country) Jafar Panahi won Best Director and Best Screenplay for It Was Just An Accident. Will the Academy have the courage to also honor him?

The winners are listed in bold below.

Best Feature
Bugonia
East of Wall
Hamnet
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Lurker
One Battle After Another
Sorry, Baby
The Testament of Ann Lee
Train Dreams

Best Director
Mary Bronstein – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Jafar Panahi – It Was Just an Accident
Kelly Reichardt – The Mastermind
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
Oliver Laxe – Sirât

Outstanding Lead Performance
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
Lee Byung-hun – No Other Choice
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Sopé Dìrísù – My Father’s Shadow
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon
Jennifer Lawrence – Die My Love
Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent
Josh O’Connor – The Mastermind
Amanda Seyfried – The Testament of Ann Lee
Tessa Thompson – Hedda

Outstanding Supporting Performance
Benicio Del Toro – One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value
Indya Moore – Father Mother Sister Brother
Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
Adam Sandler – Jay Kelly
Andrew Scott – Blue Moon
Alexander Skarsgård – Pillion
Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another

Best Original Screenplay
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
It Was Just an Accident
The Secret Agent
Sorry, Baby
Sound of Falling

Best Adapted Screenplay
No Other Choice
One Battle After Another
Pillion
Preparation for the Next Life
Train Dreams

Best International Feature
It Was Just an Accident
No Other Choice
Nouvelle Vague
Resurrection
Sound of Falling

Best Documentary Feature
2000 Meters to Andriivka
BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions
My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow
The Perfect Neighbor
Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk

Breakthrough Director
Constance Tsang – Blue Sun Palace
Carson Lund – Eephus
Sarah Friedland – Familiar Touch
Akinola Davies Jr. – My Father’s Shadow
Harris Dickinson – Urchin

Breakthrough Performer
A$AP Rocky – Highest 2 Lowest
Sebiye Behtiyar – Preparation for the Next Life
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another
Abou Sangaré – Souleymane’s Story
Tonatiuh – Kiss of the Spider Woman

One Battle After Another Leads The Gotham Nominations

Posted on October 28, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

For better or worse, Awards Season started today with the announcement of the Gotham nominations. The Gothams are supposed to honor independent films, though the line between studio and independent is now so thin that it’s sometimes difficult to tell which is which.

In the past, the Gothams honored obscure films and also low-budget films that captured the public’s imagination. This year, they gave the majority of their nominations to One Battle After Another, a big-budget film that starred a slew of Hollywood heavyweights. Meanwhile, Sinners, a genuinely independent feature, received one nomination.

It’s debatable how much of a precursor the Gothams are. They’re a critic-selected award and it’s always the guild awards that serve as the best precursors. Still, it always helps to be mentioned somewhere.

Here are the 2025 Gotham nominations!

Best Feature
Bugonia
East of Wall
Hamnet
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Lurker
One Battle After Another
Sorry, Baby
The Testament of Ann Lee
Train Dreams

Best Director
Mary Bronstein – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Jafar Panahi – It Was Just an Accident
Kelly Reichardt – The Mastermind
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
Oliver Laxe – Sirât

Outstanding Lead Performance
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
Lee Byung-hun – No Other Choice
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Sopé Dìrísù – My Father’s Shadow
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon
Jennifer Lawrence – Die My Love
Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent
Josh O’Connor – The Mastermind
Amanda Seyfried – The Testament of Ann Lee
Tessa Thompson – Hedda

Outstanding Supporting Performance
Benicio Del Toro – One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value
Indya Moore – Father Mother Sister Brother
Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
Adam Sandler – Jay Kelly
Andrew Scott – Blue Moon
Alexander Skarsgård – Pillion
Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another

Best Original Screenplay
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
It Was Just an Accident
The Secret Agent
Sorry, Baby
Sound of Falling

Best Adapted Screenplay
No Other Choice
One Battle After Another
Pillion
Preparation for the Next Life
Train Dreams

Best International Feature
It Was Just an Accident
No Other Choice
Nouvelle Vague
Resurrection
Sound of Falling

Best Documentary Feature
2000 Meters to Andriivka
BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions
My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow
The Perfect Neighbor
Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk

Breakthrough Director
Constance Tsang – Blue Sun Palace
Carson Lund – Eephus
Sarah Friedland – Familiar Touch
Akinola Davies Jr. – My Father’s Shadow
Harris Dickinson – Urchin

Breakthrough Performer
A$AP Rocky – Highest 2 Lowest
Sebiye Behtiyar – Preparation for the Next Life
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another
Abou Sangaré – Souleymane’s Story
Tonatiuh – Kiss of the Spider Woman

Film Review: Creed III (dir by Michael B. Jordan)

Posted on September 4, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Creed 3 opens with Adonis “Donnie” Creed (Michael B. Jordan) on top of the world.

He has just retired, as the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, from boxing. Unlike other boxers (like Big George Foreman or Rocky Balboa or Creed’s father, Apollo), Donnie is not retiring because he’s been defeated or because his health is at risk. Donnie is retiring because he has apparently worked out his anger and his issues with with his father’s legacy and now, he wants to spend some quality time with his wife (Tessa Thompson) and his daughter (Mila Davis-Kent). Donnie, however, does remain in the world of boxing by managing the new world champion, Felix (Jose Benavidez, Jr.), and setting up a title fight between Felix and Donnie’s former rival, Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu). However, when Viktor is attacked by a mysterious assailant and left too injured to fight, Donnie has to find a new opponent for Felix and he has to do it quickly!

Interestingly enough, Dame Anderson (Jonathan Majors) has just returned to town. Donnie and Dame were childhood friends. When they were kids, Dame was the aspiring boxer who dreamed of going to the Olympics, turning pro, and then eventually becoming the world champion. However, those plans changed when Dame went to prison. While Donnie was becoming world champion, Dame was serving hard time and writing letters to Donnie, all of which were hidden from Donnie by Donnie’s well-meaning mother (Phylicia Rashad). When Dame returns home, a guilt-stricken Donnie gives Dame a job as Felix’s sparring partner and even promises to help Dame out with his late-in-life boxing career. (As just about everyone points out, boxing is a young person’s sport and Dame is even older than Donnie.) When Dame asks Donnie to give him the title shot against Felix, Donnie ignores everyone else’s advice and gives it to him. Donnie justifies his decision by reminding everyone that Apollo gave Rocky a shot.

Directed by Michael B. Jordan, Creed III is an exciting and intelligent sports film that also works as a deconstruction of some of the genre’s most beloved clichés. Donnie himself points out that everyone loves an underdog story and that’s certainly true, from Rocky to this year’s Champions. Dame uses the world’s love for the underdog to his advantage, just to turn out to be a vicious and self-destructive fighter. This is the film that answers the question, “What if Rocky Balboa wasn’t such a nice guy?” Dame also uses Donnie’s guilt about the past to his advantage. If the previous two films were all about Donnie coming to peace with the legacy of Apollo Creed, this film is about Donnie (and, to an extent, Dame) coming to peace with the legacy of Adonis Creed.

And yet, Dame himself is not a one-dimensional villain. For much of the film, he’s actually more likable than Donnie and, even after he nearly kills Felix in the ring, he still seems to be incapable of understanding why everyone’s so upset. While the other characters treat boxing as a sport and ignore the violence at the center of it, Dame understands that boxing is just a fight with a bigger audience. After twelve years in prison, the system has dumped Dame on the streets and ordered him to make something of his life without bothering to help him develop any of the skills necessary to do so. Dame fights because that’s what he’s had to do his entire life. Since he went to jail for a fight that Donnie could have just as easily been arrest for, Dame is who Donnie easily could have become. While his performance has since been overshadowed by his own legal issues, Jonathan Majors is never less than compelling as Dame, perfectly capturing both Dame’s bitterness and his own need for approval.

This film is Michael B. Jordan’s directorial debut. There are a few moments when Jordan falls victim to the first-time director’s trap of trying too hard to show off his artistic bona fides. A sequence, during the final match, when the audience vanishes and Donnie and Dame dance around the ring and roar at each other like animals is occasionally effective and occasionally silly. That said, Creed III is a hundred times more compelling and visually interesting than the more conventionally-directed Creed II. Jordan gets good performances from his entire cast and shows himself to be a strong story teller. I look forward to seeing what he does next as a director.

Finally, as everyone knows, Sylvester Stallone does not return as Rocky in this film, though the character is mentioned several times. Stallone’s absence isn’t really felt. That’s not a slight against Stallone, an actor who has gotten considerably more likable in his later years. It’s just that there’s really not a place for Rocky Balboa in this film. (Arguably, there really wasn’t much of a place for Rocky in the second film as well.) Rocky Balboa has earned his retirement and hopefully, is still visiting his grandson in Canada. This film belongs to Donnie and Dame.

Film Review: Creed II (dir by Steve Caple, Jr.)

Posted on September 4, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yesterday, in anticipation of finally watching Creed III, I decided that I should first rewatch 2018’s Creed II. I actually did see Creed II when it was originally released in theaters and I seem to remember that I enjoyed it but, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I couldn’t remember much more about it.

In Creed II, Adonis “Donnie” Creed (Michael B. Jordan) finally becomes heavyweight champion of the world and immediately finds himself being taunted by Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu), the son of Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren). To be honest, Donnie really does have more to think about then some other boxer demanding that Donnie give him a fight. Donnie has finally married his girlfriend, Bianca Taylor (Tessa Thompson), and she’s pregnant. However, Donnie cannot get Viktor out of his mind because Viktor is the son of the man who killed Donnie’s father in the ring. Ivan Drago has not only raised his son to be a fearsome fighter but he’s also Viktor’s trainer.

Have you ever wondered if Ivan Drago ever felt guilty about causing the death of Apollo Creed? This film suggests that he does not and that he instead blames Apollo’s friend, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), for not stopping the fight. In Creed II, Ivan and Viktor fly to Philadelphia to try to get their fight with Donnie. Ivan goes to Rocky’s restaurant by himself and he explains that, after losing to Rocky in Russia, he lost everything. Rocky went home a hero while Ivan went home with nothing. By turning his son into a fearsome boxer, Ivan is vicariously getting the career that he feels he deserved. Ivan wants Donnie to fight Viktor and Donnie wants to fight Viktor. However, Rocky wants nothing to do with it and, when you consider how big Viktor is compared to Donnie, it’s easy to understand why.

Donnie recruits Little Duke (Wood Harris, who co-starred with Jordan on The Wire) to serve as his new manager and trainer. The fight between Donnie and Viktor is a disaster, with Donnie letting his emotions get the better of him. Donnie is nearly killed in the ring but Viktor proves to be such an aggressive fighter that he loses by disqualification. Will Donnie survive the inevitable rematch with Viktor and will that rematch be fought in Moscow? Will Rocky finally agree to train Donnie and also find the courage to travel up to Canada to see his son and meet his grandson? Will Ivan realize that he’s pushing his son too hard? Even if you haven’t seen the film, you can probably guess the answers to all of those questions.

As opposed to the first film, there aren’t many surprises to be found in Creed II. It’s a well-made but thoroughly conventional boxing movie and it lacks both the grit and the attention to detail that Ryan Coogler brought to the first Creed. Running over two hours, Creed II has a few too many slow spots and even the big training montage drags a bit. That said, Creed II works wonderfully well as an epilogue to Rocky IV. The most ridiculed of the Rocky sequels actually provides a poignant backdrop to this film as both Donnie and Viktor struggle to both live up to and make peace with the complicated legacies of their fathers. Donnie finally feels worthy of his family name while Viktor shows the same type of raw courage that Rocky Balboa showed in his earlier films. Perhaps most surprisingly, Ivan Drago finally reveals his humanity. The scene where Ivan finally realizes that he’s turning his son into a machine who will not stop fighting until he is thoroughly broken is surprisingly powerful and Dolph Lundgren truly seems to be happy to have the chance to finally show that Ivan Drago is a human being after all.

Interestingly enough, Rocky Balboa spends much of the film sidelined and, even more so than in the first film, the emphasis is on Donnie’s emotional growth. It’s always good to see Stallone and he’s as likable as always as Rocky but, re-watching this film, it was easy to understand how a sequel could be made without the character’s presence. In the end, the best thing about the Creed films is that Donnie himself is a strong enough character that he can be compelling both with or without Rocky Balboa’s help.

Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors square off in the trailer for Creed III!

Posted on October 18, 2022 by Leonard Wilson

After working with Ryan Coogler since 2013, Michael B. Jordan’s making his directorial debut with Creed III. The trailer seems to share along with Jordan’s character Adonis Creed finding a new adversary both in and out of the boxing ring in The Harder They Fall‘s Jonathan Majors as Damian. Tessa Thompson, Wood Harris, and Phylicia Rashad are also on hand.

Creed III is set to release next March in theatres.

Here Are the 2021 Nominations of the Washington D.C. Area Film Critics!

Posted on December 5, 2021 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Washington D.C. Area Film Critics have announced their nominees for the best of 2021! The winners will be announced tomorrow so that means you have exactly one day to see all the nominees. GET TO IT!

Best Film
Belfast
The Green Knight
The Power of the Dog
tick, tick…BOOM!
West Side Story

Best Director
Kenneth Branagh – Belfast
Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog
David Lowery – The Green Knight
Steven Spielberg – West Side Story
Denis Villeneuve – Dune

Best Actor
Nicolas Cage – Pig
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Power of the Dog
Andrew Garfield – tick, tick…BOOM!
Will Smith – King Richard
Denzel Washington – The Tragedy of Macbeth

Best Actress
Olivia Colman – The Lost Daughter
Nicole Kidman – Being the Ricardos
Lady Gaga – House of Gucci
Kristen Stewart – Spencer
Tessa Thompson – Passing

Best Supporting Actor
Jamie Dornan – Belfast
Ciarán Hinds – Belfast
Troy Kotsur – CODA
Jesse Plemons – The Power of the Dog
Kodi Smit-McPhee – The Power of the Dog

Best Supporting Actress
Caitríona Balfe – Belfast
Ariana DeBose – West Side Story
Ann Dowd – Mass
Kirsten Dunst – The Power of the Dog
Aunjanue Ellis – King Richard

Best Acting Ensemble
Belfast
The French Dispatch
The Harder They Fall
Mass
The Power of the Dog

Best Youth Performance
Jude Hill – Belfast
Emilia Jones – CODA
Woody Norman – C’mon, C’mon
Saniyya Sidney – King Richard
Rachel Zegler – West Side Story

Best Voice Performance
Awkwafina – Raya and the Last Dragon
Stephanie Beatriz – Encanto
Abbi Jacobson – The Mitchells vs. the Machines
Kelly Marie Tran – Raya and the Last Dragon
Jacob Tremblay – Luca

Best Original Screenplay
Kenneth Branagh – Belfast
Mike Mills – C’mon, C’mon
Zach Baylin – King Richard
Paul Thomas Anderson – Licorice Pizza
Fran Kranz – Mass

Best Adapted Screenplay
Siân Heder – CODA
Jon Spaihts and Denis Villeneuve and Eric Roth – Dune
Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog
Steven Levenson – tick, tick…BOOM!
Tony Kushner – West Side Story

Best Animated Feature
Encanto
Flee
Luca
The Mitchells vs. the Machines
Raya and the Last Dragon

Best Documentary
The First Wave
Flee
The Rescue
Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
Val

Best International/Foreign Language Film
Drive My Car
A Hero
Lamb
Titane
The Worst Person in the World

Best Production Design
Jim Clay, Production Designer; Claire Nia Richards, Set Decorator – Belfast
Patrice Vermette, Production Designer; Richard Roberts and Zsuzsanna Sipos, Set Decorators – Dune
Adam Stockhausen, Production Designer; Rena DeAngelo, Set Decorator – The French Dispatch
Tamara Deverell, Production Designer; Shane Vieau, Set Decorator – Nightmare Alley
Adam Stockhausen, Production Designer; Rena DeAngelo, Set Decorator – West Side Story

Best Cinematography
Haris Zambarloukos – Belfast
Greig Fraser – Dune
Andrew Droz Palermo – The Green Knight
Ari Wegner – The Power of the Dog
Bruno Delbonnel – The Tragedy of Macbeth

Best Editing
Úna Ní Dhonghaíle – Belfast
Joe Walker – Dune
Andrew Weisblum – The French Dispatch
Peter Sciberras – The Power of the Dog
Myron Kerstein & Andrew Weisblum – tick, tick…BOOM!

Best Original Score
Bryce Dessner & Aaron Dessner – Cyrano
Hans Zimmer – Dune
Alexandre Desplat – The French Dispatch
Jonny Greenwood – The Power of the Dog
Jonny Greenwood – Spencer

Here Are The Gotham Winners!

Posted on November 30, 2021 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Gotham Awards were held last night and the big winners were CODA and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Lost Daughter. The Gothams aren’t exactly the biggest or most influential of the Oscar precursors but they were are one of the first so a victory can only help!

The winners are listed in bold:

Best Feature
“The Green Knight”
“The Lost Daughter”
“Passing”
“Pig”
“Test Pattern”

Best Documentary Feature
“Ascension”
“Faya Dayi”
“Flee”
“President”
“Summer Of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised)”

Best International Feature
“Azor”
“Drive My Car”
“The Souvenir Part II”
“Titane”
“What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?”
“The Worst Person In The World”

Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award
Maggie Gyllenhaal for “The Lost Daughter”
Edson Oda for “Nine Days”
Rebecca Hall for “Passing”
Emma Seligman for “Shiva Baby”
Shatara Michelle Ford for “Test Pattern”

Best Screenplay
“The Card Counter,” Paul Schrader
“El Planeta,” Amalia Ulman
“The Green Knight,” David Lowery
“The Lost Daughter,” Maggie Gyllenhaal
“Passing,” Rebecca Hall
“Red Rocket,” Sean Baker & Chris Bergoch

Outstanding Lead Performance
Olivia Colman in “The Lost Daughter”
Frankie Faison in “The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain”
Michael Greyeyes in “Wild Indian”
Brittany S. Hall in “Test Pattern”
Oscar Isaac in “The Card Counter”
Taylour Paige in “Zola”
Joaquin Phoenix in “C’mon C’mon”
Simon Rex in “Red Rocket”
Lili Taylor in “Paper Spiders”
Tessa Thompson in “Passing”

Outstanding Supporting Performance
Reed Birney in “Mass”
Jessie Buckley in “The Lost Daughter”
Colman Domingo in “Zola”
Gaby Hoffmann in “C’mon C’mon”
Troy Kotsur in “CODA”
Marlee Matlin in “CODA”
Ruth Negga in “Passing”

Breakthrough Performer
Emilia Jones in “CODA”
Natalie Morales in “Language Lessons”
Rachel Sennott in Shiva Baby”
Suzanna Son in “Red Rocket”
Amalia Ulman in “El Planeta”

Breakthrough Series – Long Format (over 40 minutes)
“The Good Lord Bird”
“It’s A Sin”
“Small Axe”
“Squid Game”
“The Underground Railroad”
“The White Lotus”

Breakthrough Series – Short Format (under 40 minutes)
“Blindspotting”
“Hacks”
“Reservation Dogs”
“Run the World”
“We Are Lady Parts”

Breakthrough Nonfiction Series
“City So Real”
“Exterminate All the Brutes”
“How To with John Wilson”
“Philly D.A.”
“Pride”

Outstanding Performance in a New Series
Jennifer Coolidge in “The White Lotus”
Michael Greyeyes in “Rutherford Falls”
Ethan Hawke in “The Good Lord Bird”
Devery Jacobs in “Reservation Dogs”
Lee Jung-jae in “Squid Game”
Thuso Mbedu in “The Underground Railroad”
Jean Smart in “Hacks”
Omar Sy in “Lupin”
Anya Taylor-Joy in “The Queen’s Gambit”
Anjana Vasan in “We Are Lady Parts”

(Incidentally, I’m probably the only person not involved with the show to have noticed the victory for Philly D.A. I’m just going to be honest and say that is one of my least favorite results ever. Philly D.A. was a pure propaganda, nothing more.)

What If Oscar Season Started And No One Noticed, Part 2: Here Are The Gotham Award Nominations

Posted on October 23, 2021 by Lisa Marie Bowman

As a sign of how wrapped up I am in this year’s Horrorthon, consider this: the 2021 Gotham Nominations — the first precursor of Awards Season! — were announced on Thursday and I totally missed them! This is actually not the first year that this has happened. October is a busy month for me and sometimes, the Gotham noms get missed.

The Gothams, of course, only honor independent films and they have pretty strict rules as far as what they consider to be independent. The budget has to come in at a certain relatively low amount, for one thing. So, as a result, a lot of Oscar nominees are not Gotham eligible. But, at the same time, those Gotham rules also allow some films that otherwise might get overlooked a chance to get some precursor love. Being nominated for a Gotham is hardly a guarantee that the Academy will remember you. But it certainly doesn’t hurt.

Better late than never, here are the 2021 Gotham Nominations! As you’ll notice, the Gotham’s performance awards are gender neutral. This is the first year that the Gothams have done this. They also added categories for supporting performances and best performance in a series.

Anyway, here are the nominees:

Best Feature
“The Green Knight”
“The Lost Daughter”
“Passing”
“Pig”
“Test Pattern”

Best Documentary Feature
“Ascension”
“Faya Dayi”
“Flee”
“President”
“Summer Of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised)”

Best International Feature
“Azor”
“Drive My Car”
“The Souvenir Part II”
“Titane”
“What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?”
“The Worst Person In The World”

Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award
Maggie Gyllenhaal for “The Lost Daughter”
Edson Oda for “Nine Days”
Rebecca Hall for “Passing”
Emma Seligman for “Shiva Baby”
Shatara Michelle Ford for “Test Pattern”

Best Screenplay
“The Card Counter,” Paul Schrader
“El Planeta,” Amalia Ulman
“The Green Knight,” David Lowery
“The Lost Daughter,” Maggie Gyllenhaal
“Passing,” Rebecca Hall
“Red Rocket,” Sean Baker & Chris Bergoch

Outstanding Lead Performance
Olivia Colman in “The Lost Daughter”
Frankie Faison in “The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain”
Michael Greyeyes in “Wild Indian”
Brittany S. Hall in “Test Pattern”
Oscar Isaac in “The Card Counter”
Taylour Paige in “Zola”
Joaquin Phoenix in “C’mon C’mon”
Simon Rex in “Red Rocket”
Lili Taylor in “Paper Spiders”
Tessa Thompson in “Passing”

Outstanding Supporting Performance
Reed Birney in “Mass”
Jessie Buckley in “The Lost Daughter”
Colman Domingo in “Zola”
Gaby Hoffmann in “C’mon C’mon”
Troy Kotsur in “CODA”
Marlee Matlin in “CODA”
Ruth Negga in “Passing”

Breakthrough Performer
Emilia Jones in “CODA”
Natalie Morales in “Language Lessons”
Rachel Sennott in Shiva Baby”
Suzanna Son in “Red Rocket”
Amalia Ulman in “El Planeta”

Breakthrough Series – Long Format (over 40 minutes)
“The Good Lord Bird”
“It’s A Sin”
“Small Axe”
“Squid Game”
“The Underground Railroad”
“The White Lotus”

Breakthrough Series – Short Format (under 40 minutes)
“Blindspotting”
“Hacks”
“Reservation Dogs”
“Run the World”
“We Are Lady Parts”

Breakthrough Nonfiction Series
“City So Real”
“Exterminate All the Brutes”
“How To with John Wilson”
“Philly D.A.”
“Pride”

Outstanding Performance in a New Series
Jennifer Coolidge in “The White Lotus”
Michael Greyeyes in “Rutherford Falls”
Ethan Hawke in “The Good Lord Bird”
Devery Jacobs in “Reservation Dogs”
Lee Jung-jae in “Squid Game”
Thuso Mbedu in “The Underground Railroad”
Jean Smart in “Hacks”
Omar Sy in “Lupin”
Anya Taylor-Joy in “The Queen’s Gambit”
Anjana Vasan in “We Are Lady Parts”

Lisa Marie’s Early Oscar Predictions For July

Posted on July 31, 2021 by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s that time of the month again! It’s time for me to make my early Oscar predictions.

This year, the Cannes Film Festival really didn’t clear much up. The French Dispatch was acclaimed but, in every review, there was an admission that, for everyone who absolutely loved it, there would probably be someone else who would absolutely hate it. I did decided to include Red Rocket on my list of predictions, based on the Cannes reaction. I’m still not a 100% convinced that it’s going to be a contender, of course. But the idea of a Simon Rex movie being nominated for best picture was just too wonderfully strange for me to ignore. That’s the same logic that led to me including Pig as a best picture nominee, by the way.

On the Ridely Scott front, the overacting in the trailer for House of Gucci really turned me off so I dropped it from all of my predictions. The Last Duel looks like it might have a chance, however.

Anyway, the main thing to remember when looking at these predictions is that the majority of them are just random guesses, based on hunches and past Academy behavior. So, as always, take them with several grains of salt.

If you’re curious to see how my thinking has developed, check out my predictions for March and April and May and June!

Best Picture

Belfast

A Journal For Jordan

The Last Duel

Nightmare Alley

Pig

The Power of the Dog

Red Rocket

Soggy Bottom

The Tragedy of MacBeth

West Side Story