The ballots have been counted for the Greater Western New York Film Critics Association’s third annual end-of-year Film Awards. We’ve chosen the below films as our collective favorites after engaging in a weighted scale voting process for Best Picture and fifteen other major categories. Potential titles/artists were restricted to those films released theatrically in the United States during the 2020 calendar year (with a few exceptions due to pandemic considerations).
Leading the way are NOMADLAND (6 wins), SOUND OF METAL (4 wins), and MINARI (2 wins).
The 2020 GWNYFCA Film Awards WINNERS:
Best Picture:
- Da 5 Bloods
- Driveways
- The Father
- First Cow
- I’m Thinking of Ending Things
- Mank
- Never Rarely Sometimes Always
- Nomadland – **WINNER**
- Small Axe: Lovers Rock
- Sound of Metal
Best Foreign Language Film:
- Another Round (Denmark)
- Bacurau (Brazil)
- Ema (Chile)
- Minari (United States) – **WINNER**
- Undine (Germany)
Best Animated Film:
- Onward
- Soul
- The Wolf House
- Wolfwalkers – **WINNER**
- World of Tomorrow Episode Three
Best Documentary:
- Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets
- Boys State
- Collective
- Dick Johnson is Dead
- Time – **WINNER**
Best Director:
- Spike Lee, Da 5 Bloods
- Darius Marder, Sound of Metal
- Steve McQueen, Small Axe: Lovers Rock
- Kelly Reichardt, First Cow
- Chloé Zhao, Nomadland – **WINNER**
Lead Actor:
- Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal – **WINNER**
- Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
- Anthony Hopkins, The Father
- Delroy Lindo, Da 5 Bloods
- Steven Yeun, Minari
Lead Actress:
- Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
- Sidney Flanigan, Never Rarely Sometimes Always
- Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman
- Frances McDormand, Nomadland – **WINNER**
- Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman
Supporting Actor:
- Sasha Baron Cohen, The Trial of the Chicago 7
- Brian Dennehy, Driveways
- Bill Murray, On the Rocks
- Leslie Odom Jr., One Night in Miami …
- Paul Raci, Sound of Metal – **WINNER**
Supporting Actress:
- Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
- Ellen Burstyn, Pieces of a Woman
- Olivia Colman, The Father
- Amanda Seyfried, Mank
- Youn Yuh-jung, Minari – **WINNER**
Original Screenplay:
- Hannah Bos & Paul Thureen, Driveways
- Lee Isaac Chung, Minari
- Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman
- Eliza Hittman, Never Rarely Sometimes Always – **WINNER**
- Darius Marder & Abraham Marder (story by Darius Marder & Derek Cianfrance), Sound of Metal
Adapted Screenplay:
- Eleanor Catton, Emma.
- Christopher Hampton & Florian Zeller, The Father
- Jonathan Raymond & Kelly Reichardt, First Cow
- Charlie Kaufman, I’m Thinking of Ending Things
- Chloé Zhao, Nomadland – **WINNER**
Best Cinematography:
- Christopher Blauvelt, First Cow
- Erik Messerschmidt, Mank
- Martin Ruhe, The Midnight Sky
- Joshua James Richards, Nomadland – **WINNER**
- Shabier Kirchner, Small Axe: Lovers Rock
Best Editing:
- Andy Canny, The Invisible Man
- Kirk Baxter, Mank
- Chloé Zhao, Nomadland – **WINNER**
- Mikkel E.G. Nielsen, Sound of Metal
- Alan Baumgarten, The Trial of the Chicago 7
Best Score:
- Terence Blanchard, Da 5 Bloods
- Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, Mank
- Alexandre Desplat, The Midnight Sky
- Emile Mosseri, Minari
- Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, Soul – **WINNER**
Breakthrough Performance:
- Kiera Allen, Run
- Sidney Flanigan, Never Rarely Sometimes Always
- Paul Raci, Sound of Metal – **WINNER**
- Talia Ryder, Never Rarely Sometimes Always
- Isabel Sandoval, Lingua Franca
Breakthrough Director:
- Max Barbakow, Palm Springs
- Radha Blank, The Forty-Year Old Version
- Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman
- Darius Marder, Sound of Metal – **WINNER**
- Florian Zeller, The Father
Greater WNY Film Critics Association 