New York Film Critics CircleFilm awards season, one of the country's oldest and most respected critics' groups, is in full swing on Tuesday as they select their picks for the best of 2024.
The group, consisting of approximately 50 print and online film critics based in the city, is often the first major critics' group to announce their best picks for the year. Their winners are chosen via ballot and on a category-by-category basis; It traditionally takes several hours to present the awards.
The first awards announced by the group were Best Supporting Actor for Kieran Culkin in “A Real Pain” and Best Animated Film, which went to “Flow” by Latvian director Gintas Zilbalodis. The award for Best First Film went to “Janet's Planet”, an A24 production produced by Annie Baker, and the award for Best Cinematography went to Jomo Frey for the first-person perspective of “Nickel Boys”.
Full list of NYFCC winners (in progress)
- film: tbd
- Director: tbd
- actor: tbd
- Actress: tbd
- supporting Actor: Kieran Culkin, “A Real Pain” (Searchlight Pictures)
- supporting Actress: tbd
- Script: tbd
- Animated Film: “Flow” (Janus Films/Sideshow)
- Cinematography: “Nickel Boys,” Jomo Frey (Amazon MGM Studios)
- First film: “Janet's Planet,” Annie Baker (A24)
- international: tbd
- Non-Fiction Film: tbd
- Special mention: tbd
- Special Awards: tbd
The group debuted in 1935, less than a decade after the advent of the Academy Awards, and has often established itself as the antidote to the Oscars' choice and, paradoxically, the choice of which one to win in the following year's Oscar race. Movies may be a factor, as a precursor to this.
“Compared to the Oscars, the group's Best Picture track record speaks for itself: 'How Green Was My Valley' over 'Citizen Kane'; 'The French Connection' over 'A Clockwork Orange'; 'The Sting' over 'Day for Night' ''Dances with Wolves,'” the organization said. “Since 1935, the Academy Awards have won 43% of NYFCC's best picture picks. Has given.”
It's been more than a decade since the NYFCC's selection of best film of the year coincided with an Oscar choice — 2011's “The Artist.” Since then, most of his choices have been nominated for at least a Best Picture Academy Award, including last year's selection for Martin Scorsese's “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
The group's choice of acting awards may be even further away from the mainstream, with some of their recent citations going to Regina Hall, best actress in 2018 Ethan Hawke for “Support the Girls”, best actor in 2018 for “First Reformed” and Charles Melton was named Best Supporting Actor in 2023 for “May in December”. On the other hand, the NYFCC caused a stir in 1998 when they gave the Best Actress award to Cameron Diaz for the outstanding comedy “There's Something About Mary”.
Their awards will be given in January.