Last week, the New York Film Critics Circle named Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist” as the Best Film of the Year. The next day, the National Board of Review crowned Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked” as its Best Film of the Year. The West Coast has now had its say as the Los Angeles Film Critics Association has selected Sean Baker’s “Anora” as the Best Picture of 2024. The runner-up was Corbet’s “The Brutalist.”
READ MORE: “The Brutalist” wins Best Film by the New York Film Critics Circle
The NEON release also saw stars Mikey Madison and Yura Borisov win one of multiple Lead and Supporting Performance honors (LAFCA awards two winners in its non-gender-based acting categories). Baker also was the runner-up in the Directing and Screenplay categories. This was the first major critics win for “Anora” although it received the same honor from the Boston Society of Film Critics earlier in the day.
In a pleasant surprise, Mohammad Rasoulof won Best Director for “The Seed of the Sacred Fig.” The Iranian film is banned in Rasoulof’s homeland and is Germany’s submission for the International Film Oscar this year. It was runner-up in the Film Not In The English Language category to Payal Kapadia‘s “All We Imagine As Light.”
Jesse Eisenberg won Best Screenplay for “A Real Pain.” His co-star, Kieran Culkin, won yet another Best Supporting Performance award. Culkin also received the equivalent honor from the NYFCC and the National Board of Review.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste, a Los Angeles resident, no less, won the other Lead Performance honor for her thunderbolt of a performance in Mike Leigh’s “Hard Truths.”
In Editing, there was a tie with both Nicholas Monsour and Hansjörg Weißbrich being recognized for “Nickel Boys” and “September 5” respectively.
“The Brutalist’s” Judy Becker also took Best Production Design. Adam Stockhausen was second for “Blitz.”
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross took Best Music/Score for “Challengers.” Eiko Ishibashi was runner-up for “Evil Does Not Exist.”
Latvia’s entry for the International Film Oscar, “Flow,” sailed to yet another Best Animation win. “Chicken For Linda” was runner-up.
LAFCA will celebrate its winners with a dinner on January 11. Filmmaker John Carpenter will be honored with the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
The complete list of this year’s winners and runners-up is as follows:
Best Picture, Winner: ANORA
Runner-up: THE BRUTALIST
Best Director, Winner: Mohammad Rasoulof for THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG
Runner-up: Sean Baker for ANORA
Best Film Not in the English Language, Winner: ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT
Runner-up: THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG
Best Documentary/Nonfiction, Winner: NO OTHER LAND
Runner-up: DAHOMEY
Best Animation, Winner: FLOW
Runner-up: CHICKEN FOR LINDA
Best Lead Performance, Winners: Marianne Jean-Baptiste, HARD TRUTHS, and Mikey Madison, ANORA
Runners-up: Demi Moore, THE SUBSTANCE, and Fernanda Torres, I’M STILL HERE
Best Supporting Performance, Winners: Yura Borisov, ANORA, and Kieran Culkin, A REAL PAIN
Runners-up: Clarence Maclin, SING SING, and Adam Pearson, A DIFFERENT MAN
Best Screenplay, Winner: Jesse Eisenberg for A REAL PAIN
Runner-up: Sean Baker for ANORA
Best Editing, Winner (TIE): Nicholas Monsour, NICKEL BOYS, and Hansjörg Weißbrich, SEPTEMBER 5
Best Production Design, Winner: Judy Becker, THE BRUTALIST
Runner-up: Adam Stockhausen, BLITZ
Best Music/Score, Winner: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, CHALLENGERS
Runner-up: Eiko Ishibashi, EVIL DOES NOT EXIST
Best Cinematography, Winner: Jomo Fray, NICKEL BOYS
Runner-up: Lol Crawley, THE BRUTALIST
New Generation: Vera Drew for THE PEOPLE’S JOKER
Douglas Edwards Experimental Film prize: Eduardo Williams’ THE HUMAN SURGE 3