National Board Of Review Selects Da 5 Bloods As Best Film Of 2020

The New York Times Critic Circle selected “First Cow.” The Los Angeles Film Critics Association picked “Small Axe.” And now the National Board of Review has finally weighed in by announcing that Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods” is their selection for Best Film, Best Director, and Best Ensemble of 2020.

READ MORE: “Nomadland” wins Best Feature and Audience Award at the Gotham Awards [Winners List]

“Sound of Metal’s” Riz Ahmed took Best Actor while “Promising Young Woman’s” Carey Mulligan won Best Actress. Ahmed’s co-star Paul Raci took the Supporting Actor honor while Youn Yuh-jung won Supporting Actress for “Minari.” Sidney Flanigan won Breakthrough Performance for “Never Rarely Sometimes Always.”

“La Llorona” was a surprise winner for Best Foreign Language Film while “Time” took another Best Documentary win.

Surprising snubs among the nominees as well as NBR’s Top 10 lists for Film and Independent Film include “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Mank,” “Shirley” and “Palm Springs,” among others.

And it should be noted that the inclusion of “Miss Americana” in the top 5 documentaries is what we would describe as a “choice.”

A complete list of the NBR’s selections are as follows:

Best Film
DA 5 BLOODS

Best Director
Spike Lee, DA 5 BLOODS

Best Actor
Riz Ahmed, SOUND OF METAL

Best Actress
Carey Mulligan, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN

Best Supporting Actor
Paul Raci, SOUND OF METAL

Best Supporting Actress
Youn Yuh-jung, MINARI

Best Adapted Screenplay
Paul Greengrass & Luke Davies, NEWS OF THE WORLD

Best Original Screenplay
Lee Isaac Chung, MINARI

Breakthrough Performance
Sidney Flanigan, NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS

Best Directorial Debut
Channing Godfrey Peoples, MISS JUNETEENTH

Best Animated Feature
SOUL

Best Foreign Language Film
LA LLORONA

Best Documentary
TIME

NBR Icon Award
Chadwick Boseman

NBR Freedom of Expression Award
ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI

NBR Spotlight Award
Radha Blank for writing, directing, producing and starring in THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VERSION

Best Ensemble
DA 5 BLOODS

Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
Joshua James Richards, NOMADLAND

Top Films
(in alphabetical order)

First Cow

The Forty-Year-Old Version

Judas and the Black Messiah

The Midnight Sky

Minari

News of the World

Nomadland

Promising Young Woman

Soul

Sound of Metal

Top 5 Foreign Language Films
(in alphabetical order)

Apples

Collective

Dear Comrades

The Mole Agent

Night of the Kings

Top 5 Documentaries
(in alphabetical order)

All In: The Fight for Democracy

Boys State

Dick Johnson is Dead

Miss Americana

The Truffle Hunters

Top 10 Independent Films
(in alphabetical order)

The Climb

Driveways

Farewell Amor

Miss Juneteenth

The Nest

Never Rarely Sometimes Always

The Outpost

Relic

Saint Frances

Wolfwalkers