Awards Season 2020/2021 Roundup

2020 has been an eventful year for the film industry, as it has faced many significant changes. While most theatres were closed throughout the majority of the year and many highly anticipated releases were postponed, 2020 was a very solid year for film all things considering and there are still a handful of spectacular films that deserve awards recognition. Despite a shifted eligibility date, online guild screenings and a remote Oscars broadcast, awards season has quickly adapted to the new climate and fortunately remains mostly in tact. The staff here at keithlovesmovies are following awards season closely this year, by covering all of the major precursors. and frequently providing our updated Oscar predictions. This is part two of a regularly scheduled segment.

The European Film Awards

The winners for the 33rd annual European Film Awards were recently announced. As the title suggests, the European Film Awards celebrate the best in European cinema the year had to offer. While the exclusive nature of its criteria prevent it from being an accurate Oscars precursor, it definitely gives us an indication as to which European films will compete in the Best International Film category. Without further ado, lets take a look at the results of the major categories:

BEST FEATURE

Another Round – WINNER
Berlin Alexanderplatz
Corpus Christi
Martin Eden
The Painted Bird
Undine

EUROPEAN COMEDY

Advantages of Travelling by Train
The Big Hit – WINNER
Ladies of Steel

BEST DIRECTOR

Agnieszka Holland (Charlatan)
François Ozon (Summer of ’85)
Jan Komasa (Corpus Christi)
Marai Sadahi (Hope)
Pietro Marcello (Martin Eden)
Thomas Vinterberg (Another Round) – WINNER

BEST ACTOR

Bartosz Bielenia (Corpus Christi)
Elio Germano (Father)
Gorgan Bogdan (Father)
Luca Marinelli (Martin Eden)
Mads Mikkelsen (Another Round) – WINNER
Viggo Mortensen (Falling)

BEST ACTRESS

Andrea Brain Hovig (Hope)
Anne Dahl Torp (Charter)
Marta Nieto (Mother)
Natasha Berezhnaya (DAU. Natasha)
Nina Hoss (My Little Sister)
Paula Beer (Undine) – WINNER

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Asaca, My Home
The Cave
Collective – WINNER
Gunda
Little Girl
Saudi Runaway

ANIMATED FEATURE

Calamity
Josep – WINNER
Klaus
The Nose or the Conspiracy of Mavericks

SHORT FILM

All Cats are Grey in the Dark – WINNER
Genius Loci
Past Perfect
Sun Dog
Uncle Thomas, Accounting for the Days

The European Film Awards and the Oscars have different eligibility requirements, so there are certain films that were in the awards conversation last year and therefore won’t be up for consideration this year. Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round is eligible for awards consideration this year. With the sheer amount of attention it received at The European Film Awards, it’s safe to call the film the frontrunner for Best International Feature at the Oscars.

Boston Society of Film Critics

The Boston Society of Film Critics announced their list of award winners last week and were the first major Film Critics association to hold their awards ceremony. Nomadland winning both Picture and Director is a good indication that it is currently the Oscar frontrunner, as it’s biggest competition Mank did not win in a single category. The Boston Society of FIlm Critics also boosted the chances of Anthony Hopkins (The Father), Yuh-Jung Youn (Minari) and underdog Sidney Flanigan (Never Rarely Sometimes Always), who seem to be inching closer to a possible Oscar nomination. The inclusion of I’m Thinking of Ending Things in multiple categories also gives that film a significant boost and it may even score a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination at the Oscars, if it continues to rack up early nominations.

BEST PICTURE – Nomadland

BEST ACTOR – Anthony Hopkins (The Father)

BEST ACTRESS – Sidney Flanigan (Never Rarely Sometimes Always)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – Paul Raci (Sound of Metal)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – Youn Yuh-jung (Minari)

BEST DIRECTOR – Chloe Zhao (Nomadland)

BEST SCREENPLAY – I’m Thinking of Ending Things (Charlie Kaufman)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY – Nomadland (Joshua James Richards)

BEST DOCUMENTARY – Collective

BEST NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE FILM – La Llorona

BEST ANIMATED FILM – The Wolf House

BEST FILM EDITING – I’m Thinking of Ending Things (Robert Frazen)

New York Film Critics Circle

The New York Film Critics Circle Awards winners were announced on December 18th and they tend to be one of the more important early precursors. The immense love for Never Rarely Sometimes Always and Da 5 Bloods gives both of those films a significant boost, although I can’t say their recognition from this particular awards body is at all surprising, as the former takes place in New York and the latter is directed by Spike Lee, who’s films often have a connection to the city. The biggest surprise was First Cow winning the top prize over Nomadland, which indicates that it has a good chance at also winning at the Gotham Awards. Maria Bakalova’s award officially launches her into the Best Supporting Actress conversation, while Time and Wolfwalkers have been cemented as near-locks in their respective categories.

BEST FILM: First Cow

BEST DIRECTOR: Chloé Zhao (Nomadland)

BEST SCREENPLAY: Eliza Hittman (Never Rarely Sometimes Always)

BEST ACTRESS: Sidney Flanigan (Never Rarely Sometimes Always)

BEST ACTOR: Delroy Lindo (Da 5 Bloods)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Maria Bakalova, (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Chadwick Boseman (Da 5 Bloods)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Small Axe (All Films)

BEST NON-FICTION FILM: Time

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM: Bacurau

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: Wolfwalkers

BEST FIRST FILM: The 40-Year-Old Version

SPECIAL AWARD: Kino Lorber, “for their creation of Kino Marquee, a virtual cinema distribution service that was designed to help support movie theaters, not destroy them.”

SPECIAL AWARD: Spike Lee, “for inspiring the New York community with his short film ‘New York New York’ and for advocating for a better society through cinema.”

Boston Online Film Critics Association

The BOFCA (not to be confused with the Boston Society of Film Critics) announced their winners on December 19th. While there are some similarities to the BSFC’s list of winners, they are noticeably different. Nomadland absolutely swept, taking home five awards. The inclusion of Delroy Lindo for best actor certainly gives him a significant boost and his chances at earning an Oscar nomination are starting to seem very likely. Paul Raci is also starting to gain some buzz for his performance in Sound of Metal, as he also the New York Film Critics’ choice for Best Supporting Actor. The BOFCA are the first critics circle to include a Best Score and Best Ensemble category. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are now cemented as frontrunners to win Best Original Score at the Oscars for Soul, while it’s looking like Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom has a strong chance at earning a nomination for the top prize at the SAGs.

BEST PICTURE: Nomadland

BEST DIRECTOR: Chloé Zhao (Nomadland)

BEST ACTOR: Delroy Lindo (Da 5 Bloods)

BEST ACTRESS: Frances McDormand (Nomadland)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Paul Raci (Sound of Metal)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm)

BEST SCREENPLAY: I’m Thinking of Ending Things (Charlie Kauffman)

BEST ENSEMBLE: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

BEST SCORE: Soul (Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Nomadland (Joshua James Richard)

BEST EDITING: Nomadland (Chloé Zhao)

BEST DOCUMENTARY: The Painter & the Thief