If it’s a Sunday in December it means it’s time for the Los Angeles Film Critics Association to hand out their year-end honors. The big winner was Steve McQueen’s film anthology commissioned for the BBC and Amazon Prime Video, “Small Axe.” It took Best Film, Best Cinematography and McQueen was runner up for Best Director.
READ MORE: “First Cow” chosen as Best Film of 2020 by NYFCC
Chloe Zhao won Best Director for “Nomadland” which also was runner up for Cinematography.
Chadwick Boseman won Best Actor posthumously for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” while Riz Ahmed helped is Oscar campaign by following up in second for “Sound of Metal.” Carey Mulligan won Best Actress for “Promising Young Woman” while Boseman’s co-star, Viola Davis, was runner up.
Even in an unconventional year for cinema, there were a number of surprises. Glynn Turman won Best Supporting Actor for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” over a crowded field including co-star Colman Domingo. “Sound of Metal’s” Paul Raci was runner up. Less surprising was Youn Yuh-jung taking Best Supporting Actress for “Minari” while Amanda Seyfried was second for “Mank.”
Focus Features collectively took the Best Screenplay honor as Emerald Fennell won for “Promising Young Woman” and Eliza Hittman was runner up for “Never Really Sometimes Always.”
Best Animated Feature went to “Wolfwalkers,” with “Soul” right behind it. Documentary/Nonfiction film was awarded to “Time,” (also second in Editing to “The Father”) while “Collective” was the runner up.
LAFCA previously announced that career achievements will be given to Hsiao-Hsien and Harry Belafonte. Norman Lloyd will also be honored with the organization’s first-ever Legacy Award.
The complete list of 2020 LAFCA honorees are as follows:
Best Film: “Small Axe”
Runner Up: “Nomadland”
Best Director: Chloe Zhao, “Nomadland”
Runner Up: Steve McQueen, “Small Axe”
Best Foreign Language Film: “Beanpole”
Runner Up: “Martin Eden”
Best Documentary/Nonfiction Film: “Time”
Runner Up: “Collective”
Best Screenplay: Emerald Fennell, “Promising Young Woman”
Runner Up: Eliza Hittman, “Never Really Sometimes Always”
Best Actor: Chadwick Boseman, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Runner Up: Riz Ahmed, “Sound of Metal”
Best Actress: Carey Mulligan, “Promising Young Woman”
Runner Up: Viola Davis, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Best Supporting Actress: Youn Yuh-jung, “Minari”
Runner Up: Amanda Seyfried, “Mank”
Best Supporting Actor: Glynn Turman, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Runner Up: Paul Raci, “Sound of Metal”
Best Editing: Yorgos Lamprinos, “The Father”
Runner Up: Gabriel Rhodes, “Time”
Best Production Design: Donald Graham Burt, “Mank”
Runner Up: Sergei Ivanov, “Beanpole”
Best Music/Score: “Soul”
Runner Up: “Lovers Rock”
Best Cinematography: Shabier Kirchner, “Small Axe”
Runner Up: Joshua James Richards, “Nomadland”
Best Animation: “Wolfwalkers”
Runner Up: “Soul”
New Generation: Radha Blank, “The 40-Year-Old-Version”
The Douglas Edwards Experimental Film prize will be given to John Gianvito’s “Her Socialist Smile”